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Canadian Citizenship by Descent: What Bill C-3 Changes

Plain-English summary of the December 15, 2025 amendment to Canada's Citizenship Act. Every factual claim links to a primary government source or a reputable secondary outlet.

Last updated: September 9, 2026

Bill C-3 has been in force since December 15, 2025. According to IRCC, the amendments removed the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent for people born or adopted abroad before that date and introduced a new substantial connection test for births and adoptions on or after. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated approximately 115,000 people may become eligible over five years — a costing of the predecessor Bill C-71, carried over to C-3, against which IRCC has said it expects tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.

In 30 seconds

This page is informational, not legal advice. The Next Passport is an independent document organization tool — not a law firm, not a Canadian government agency, and not authorized to practice law in Canada or the United States. This page gathers publicly reported information from English-language news outlets and primary Canadian government sources, and explains it in plain English for descendants trying to understand how the December 2025 amendments may affect their eligibility. For guidance on your specific situation, always consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney. Canadian citizenship law changes frequently — the information below reflects publicly reported sources as of September 9, 2026 and may not reflect subsequent developments.

How we source this page

Every factual claim links to a primary Canadian government source (canada.ca IRCC announcements, justice.gc.ca Charter statements, Library of Parliament legislative summaries) or to a reputable English-language outlet (CIC News, MLT Aikins, Migration Law Group, Serotte Law). We do not conduct primary interviews, sit in Parliament, or make independent legal determinations.

1. What happened

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Bill C-3 — An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025) — received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025 and came into force on December 15, 2025. The bill amends the Citizenship Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29) and is the most significant change to Canadian citizenship-by-descent law since the 2009 and 2015 Lost Canadians legislation.

Per IRCC's December 15, 2025 news release, the amendments restore Canadian citizenship to certain individuals known as 'Lost Canadians' and their descendants who lost or never had citizenship status due to outdated provisions of previous citizenship legislation. Separately — and it is not IRCC's number, so we attribute it separately — the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that approximately 115,000 people may become eligible to apply for proof of citizenship over five years. Two caveats travel with that figure and should not be dropped: the PBO costed Bill C-71, C-3's predecessor, and the estimate has been carried over; and the Parliamentary Budget Officer costed the predecessor bill at roughly 115,000 newly eligible people over five years, not hundreds of thousands. It is the only headcount anyone publishes, which is a reason to quote it carefully rather than a reason to treat it as a count.

Two core changes:

  • The first-generation limit has been removed for persons born or adopted abroad before December 15, 2025. Previously, citizenship by descent could not pass beyond one generation born outside Canada — the 'first-generation limit' introduced by Bill C-37 in 2009. Per MLT Aikins and the Library of Parliament legislative summary, this restriction is now lifted for pre-December 15, 2025 births and adoptions.
  • A new substantial connection test applies prospectively to persons born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025. According to Migration Law Group's explainer, the Canadian parent must demonstrate at least 1,095 cumulative days (three years) of physical presence in Canada at any point before the child's birth or adoption. The days do not need to be consecutive.

Per IRCC, Lost Canadians and their descendants who become citizens by virtue of these amendments are considered citizens automatically — no separate restoration application is required. However, to receive formal recognition (a Citizenship Certificate, useful for obtaining a Canadian passport), an applicant typically files form CIT 0001 with the standard IRCC processing fee. Processing times are approximately 33 months as of September 2026 (up from ~25 months in August and ~19 months in July on the Bill C-3 surge).

The Bill C-71 question

Bill C-3's predecessor, Bill C-71, was introduced in the previous Parliament on May 23, 2024 as the government's initial response to the Bjorkquist Charter ruling. Per OpenParliament's bill tracker, Bill C-71 did not pass before the 44th Parliament was prorogued on January 6, 2025, and effectively died at prorogation. Bill C-3 was reintroduced in the current Parliament on June 5, 2025 with substantially the same architecture and passed quickly, receiving Royal Assent on November 20, 2025. If you encounter references to Bill C-71 in older coverage, treat them as historical context — Bill C-3 is the law that actually changed things.

June 2026: IRCC clarified its documentation standards

On June 17, 2026, IRCC updated its proof-of-citizenship documentation guidance. Per IRCC's Document Checklist (form CIT 0014, version 06-2026) and its Section 3 application guide (CIT 0001), an application must be supported by authentic, reliable and verifiable documents 'for every generation' and 'cannot be supported solely by third-party records.' For each ancestor, the applicant must provide at least one document issued by the original authority — for example a provincial/territorial or foreign birth certificate showing the parent-child relationship, a Canadian citizenship or naturalization certificate, a Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad or of Retention, or a British naturalization certificate issued in Canada or Newfoundland and Labrador.

Per IRCC's Section 3 guide, when a birth record cannot be located the guide lists alternatives also issued by the original authority — a hospital record of birth, a record from the physician or midwife who witnessed the birth, a baptismal certificate or record (the June 19 guide specifies 'including copies or certified records', where the baptism took place within a reasonable time after the birth), census records, or a boat manifest — and asks the applicant to explain in writing why official documents cannot be provided and to show proof they were requested. IRCC revised this list's wording more than once in June 2026 (the guide's 'Date modified' moved from June 17 to June 19); the June 19 version made clear that a baptismal-record copy is acceptable. The CIT 0014 checklist itself also includes an 'any other evidence' category. A Federal Court decision, Somers-Edgar v. Canada (2026 FC 417), is cited for the proposition that applicants are entitled to rely on the instructions IRCC publishes — we take that citation from the firm that acted for the plaintiffs, because Federal Court judgments are not reachable to the automated checks we run and we have not read this one.

According to The Canadian Press (June 17, 2026), this guidance change accompanied an enforcement action: IRCC temporarily paused finalizing some Bill C-3 proof-of-citizenship applications and asked roughly a few dozen people who had already received citizenship certificates to surrender them pending a review of how those certificates were issued. IRCC said it 'is reviewing how this occurred,' and that affected individuals can continue to work during the review but cannot use a Canadian passport in the meantime. The Canadian Press reported that nearly 4,100 people had received proof of citizenship under Bill C-3 before the review began, and that the review followed the minister's public comment that records from genealogical websites such as Ancestry.ca are not sufficient on their own — a position some immigration lawyers and genealogists have challenged.

Immigration lawyer Amandeep Hayer (Hayer Law Office), whose firm represented the plaintiffs in Somers-Edgar v. Canada (2026 FC 417), argues in a June 13, 2026 analysis that the CIT 0014 checklist is illustrative rather than exhaustive — it expressly accepts 'any other evidence' — and that, per the Federal Court in Thompson v. Canada (2021 FC 914) and Somers-Edgar, applicants are entitled to rely on the instructions IRCC publishes. The Next Passport does not predict how any individual file will be handled; if your application may be affected, consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer.

June 30, 2026: IRCC says the review is complete

On June 30, 2026, IRCC announced that this review is complete. In its statement, IRCC said the early-June routine review had identified 100 certificates issued under C-3 with potentially insufficient supporting documentation; those certificates were temporarily suspended while eligibility was verified, and the review was then expanded to the roughly 6,500 citizenship-by-descent applications received under C-3 to date. Of the 100 identified cases, IRCC automatically reinstated 33 certificates after confirming the applicant met the legal requirement for citizenship. The remaining 67 cases — which IRCC says represent roughly one per cent of all certificates issued under C-3 to date — are still outstanding; IRCC said it is contacting those clients directly to either confirm eligibility or ask for additional information, a process it expected to complete 'within a matter of days.'

Notably, IRCC acknowledged that its own guidance on acceptable documentation — for both officers and applicants — had been unclear and 'may have contributed to certificates being issued without sufficient evidence,' and said it has since reinforced guidance to its officers and provided clearer information for applicants. The Next Passport does not predict how any individual file will be resolved; if you received a suspension letter, consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer about your specific situation.

August 2026: IRCC says documents do not need to be certified

Guidance IRCC gave in a presentation to the Association of Canadian Archivists, reported on August 12, 2026, walks back a widespread reading of the June standard. Per that reporting, documents 'do not need to be certified' — what matters is that the record was issued by the original source authority that created or keeps it. Certified copies are requested only where the authenticity of a document is in doubt. That narrows the June guide revisions, which had left 'certified' doing more work than this later guidance suggests IRCC intended. We do not say how many applicants were affected — nobody publishes that.

The same guidance describes a two-tier framing of evidence. Primary documents include a provincial birth certificate, a citizenship or naturalization certificate, a British naturalization certificate, and proof of British subject status before 1947. Secondary documents include baptismal, census, hospital, marriage or death, and military records, as well as passports. IRCC stressed that 'the list is not exhaustive, and officers must assess all relevant evidence provided by the applicant.' Two practical points came with it: Canada Gazette naturalization entries through 1952 — free to search via Library and Archives Canada — are accepted as secondary evidence, and a formal 'No Record Found' letter is not required, since correspondence showing you searched for the record is enough.

We are reporting this as guidance described in a presentation, not as a published change to the CIT 0014 checklist or the Section 3 guide — those documents still carry their June 2026 wording. Check the current IRCC guide before you file, and consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer about how any of this applies to your own chain.

Statements from IRCC and reputable firms covering Bill C-3

“Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), comes into effect today. The amendments restore Canadian citizenship to certain individuals known as 'Lost Canadians' and their descendants, who lost or never had citizenship status due to outdated provisions of previous citizenship legislation.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per IRCC's December 15, 2025 news release announcing that Bill C-3 had come into effect. Source
“The amendments to the Citizenship Act under Bill C-3 are now in effect. Among the most significant changes is the removal of the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent for individuals born or adopted abroad before December 15, 2025.”
MLT Aikins LLP — Per the firm's December 2025 client advisory on the Citizenship Act amendments. Source
“For persons born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025, the Canadian parent must demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada — defined as at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada at any point before the child's birth or adoption — for citizenship to pass by descent.”
Migration Law Group — Per the firm's December 2025 explainer on Bill C-3. Source
“Bill C-3 takes effect today, giving many a clear pathway to Canadian citizenship. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated that approximately 115,000 people may become eligible to apply for proof of citizenship over the next five years as a result of these amendments.”
CIC News — Per CIC News breaking coverage of December 15, 2025. Source
“Many Americans and other foreign nationals are now waking up Canadian. For those previously refused under the first-generation limit, IRCC began applying the amended Act on December 15, 2025 — and a new application or reconsideration may be warranted.”
Serotte Law — Per the firm's published analysis 'Waking Up Canadian'. Source
“Your application must be supported by authentic, reliable and verifiable documents for every generation in your application. Your application cannot be supported solely by third-party records.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per IRCC's updated Document Checklist for proof-of-citizenship applications (form CIT 0014, version 06-2026). Source
“If you don't have a birth certificate or birth record for yourself or for any of your parental ancestors, you must send other documents to show parentage and Canadian citizenship. These must be issued by the original authority and can include: hospital record of birth; record from a physician or midwife who witnessed the birth; baptismal certificate or record (including copies or certified records) … census records; boat manifest.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per IRCC's Section 3 application guide (CIT 0001), Step 1, under 'If you're missing any birth certificates' (guide last modified June 19, 2026). Source
“Where correspondence is provided by IRCC, it is not too much to require that this correspondence be: 1) accurate; 2) sufficiently clear such that it may be understood; and 3) consistent with the governing legislation.”
Federal Court of Canada (Grant J.), Somers-Edgar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 417, at [23] — Read in full on CanLII 2026-09-09. CORRECTED that day: we previously carried “it would have imposed no burden on the Department to clearly articulate what was required of applicants” as the court's words, second-hand from the firm that acted for the plaintiffs. That is the APPLICANTS' submission, recorded at [15] — not a holding. Below is the court's own statement of the principle. One limit worth knowing: neither this case nor Thompson is a citizenship matter — Somers-Edgar is parents-and-grandparents sponsorship and Thompson is Express Entry permanent residence. Both are procedural-fairness decisions about ambiguous IRCC correspondence, which is why the principle travels, but they are not authority on citizenship by descent.. Source
“There is a presumption that facts or evidence presented by an applicant are true unless there is a valid and compelling reason to doubt the truthfulness or credibility of what is presented. … An officer must not be overly suspicious or doubting of the evidence presented. That approach is not consistent with the presumption of truth that underlies the process.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per IRCC's operational manual 'Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision' (last modified August 29, 2023) — long-standing guidance to officers, not part of the June 2026 changes — on assessing the sufficiency of evidence. Source
“Duplicates and photocopies are admissible and are to be treated as originals unless there is doubt as to the authenticity of the original, in which case the original can be requested for examination.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per the same IRCC operational manual (last modified August 29, 2023), on the probative value of documentary evidence. Source
“Out of the 100 identified cases, IRCC automatically reinstated 33 citizenship certificates upon confirming that the applicant met the legal requirement for citizenship. IRCC is now undertaking next steps with the 67 cases still outstanding. It is worth noting that these outstanding cases represent roughly one per cent of total certificates issued under C-3 to date. … This process is expected to be complete within a matter of days.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per IRCC's June 30, 2026 statement, 'IRCC completes comprehensive review of citizenship certificates issued under C-3'. Source
“During the routine review in June, IRCC found that guidance on acceptable documentation for both officers and applicants was unclear and may have contributed to certificates being issued without sufficient evidence.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — Per the same June 30, 2026 statement, on the root cause of the documentation gaps. Source

2. The first-generation limit explained

Before Bill C-3, Canadian citizenship by descent was capped at one generation born outside Canada. If your parent was a Canadian citizen born in Canada, citizenship transmitted to you automatically. But if your parent was a Canadian citizen by descent — that is, a Canadian who was themselves born outside Canada — citizenship could not pass further down to you, even if you were born to that Canadian parent. This is what's known in citizenship-by-descent communities as the 'first-generation limit.'

The first-generation limit was introduced by Bill C-37 in 2009. Its stated purpose was to prevent perpetual transmission of citizenship to descendants who might have no real connection to Canada. In practice, however, it stranded a category of people who would otherwise have been considered Canadian, creating what advocacy groups called a second wave of 'Lost Canadians.' Children of citizens-by-descent born abroad were excluded from citizenship altogether — even when their grandparent or great-grandparent had a strong Canadian connection.

Bill C-3 removed the first-generation limit for people born or adopted abroad before December 15, 2025, with the requirement that the chain of descent from a Canadian citizen ancestor is unbroken and can be documented. For births and adoptions on or after December 15, 2025, the new substantial connection test applies — the Canadian parent must demonstrate at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada at any point before the child's birth or adoption.

The substantial connection test is the government's compromise between Bill C-37's strict cutoff and the unlimited transmission that would otherwise apply: it no longer denies citizenship to children whose parents have actually lived in Canada for a substantial period. The Act's own summary puts the purpose in one clause — it confers citizenship by descent after the first generation on a child born to 'a parent who is a citizen and who had a substantial connection to Canada before the person's birth.' We quote the statute here rather than the Library of Parliament's legislative summary, which we cite elsewhere on this page but which is currently unreachable to automated checking; a reader who wants the clause-by-clause should open it in a browser.

4. What this may mean for applicants

Bill C-3 has been in force since December 15, 2025, and IRCC is applying the amended Act to new and pending applications. The following scenarios describe how different applicant situations may be affected. If you are currently applying for Canadian citizenship by descent and your eligibility depends on any of these questions, consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific situation.

I was born abroad, and so was my Canadian parent

Under the previous first-generation limit, you were generally excluded from Canadian citizenship by descent. Under Bill C-3, if you were born or adopted before December 15, 2025 and the chain of descent from a Canadian citizen ancestor is unbroken, you may now qualify automatically. To formally confirm your status, apply for proof of citizenship using form CIT 0001 — the standard $75 CAD fee applies, though the processing window has risen to approximately 33 months on the Bill C-3 surge. Document every link in the chain with long-form birth certificates and proof of citizenship for the Canadian anchor.

General description of how this situation may be affected. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application.

I (or my child) was born abroad on or after December 15, 2025

Read who this reaches before you assume it reaches you. Section 3(3) is a two-limb conjunctive test and it excludes the child only if BOTH limbs are met: the citizen parent was themselves born outside Canada AND was a citizen under one of the descent paragraphs the subsection enumerates, AND — in the Act's words — 'neither of the person's parents who was a citizen was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the person's birth.' That first limb has two halves and the second is usually dropped: s. 3(3)(a)(i)(A) lists paragraphs 3(1)(b), (c.1), (e), (g) to (j) and (o) to (r), and 3(1)(c) — citizenship by grant — is not on it, so a foreign-born parent who NATURALIZED as Canadian is outside the limb altogether. If the citizen parent was born IN Canada, limb one fails and there is no presence test at all. If a citizen parent has the 1,095 days (they need not be consecutive, and IRCC's form CIT 0555 is how they are counted), limb two fails and citizenship passes. Note also which parent the test is about: it attaches to the parent of a child born on or after December 15, 2025, whatever the parent's own birth date — a second-generation Canadian born abroad in 1990 who has a child in 2026 is squarely inside it. Where the test genuinely is not met, citizenship does not pass automatically for that birth, though a later child may qualify once the threshold is reached; and where the child would otherwise be stateless, C-3 added a separate grant at section 5(5) — 'Statelessness — bloodline connection' — for a person under 23, born abroad on or after December 15, 2025 to a citizen birth parent, who has always been stateless and has 1,095 days of their own physical presence in Canada in the four years before applying. Section 3(5) then switches subsection (3) off entirely, and it is wider than usually described: its marginal note reads 'Exception — child or grandchild of person in service abroad,' and it covers employment outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration OR the public service of a province, other than as a locally engaged person.

General description of how this situation may be affected. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application.

My IRCC application was previously refused

If your application was refused under the old first-generation limit, you may now qualify under Bill C-3. Per IRCC, the amended Act began being applied to new and pending applications on December 15, 2025. Per Serotte Law and other firm analyses, a new application or formal reconsideration may be warranted — the specifics depend on your refusal grounds and refusal date. Consult an immigration consultant or attorney with your refusal letter and IRCC file in hand.

General description of how this situation may be affected. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application.

I was born abroad but my Canadian parent was born in Canada

You have always been eligible — under Section 3(1)(b) if you were born after February 14, 1977, or Section 3(1)(g) if you were born before February 15, 1977. Citizenship transmits automatically because your parent is a first-generation Canadian citizen, not a citizen by descent, and Section 3(3) reaches only a person whose citizen parent 'was born outside Canada.' That is true whatever your own birth date: a child born in 2026 to a Canadian-born parent faces no 1,095-day test. Bill C-3 does not change anything in your case. Apply for a Citizenship Certificate using form CIT 0001 if you need formal proof for passport or other purposes.

General description of how this situation may be affected. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application.

I was adopted abroad by a Canadian parent

This is a different route, and nothing else on this page covers it. IRCC states it plainly: 'If you were born outside Canada and adopted by a Canadian parent, you're not automatically a Canadian citizen.' Adoption runs through a direct citizenship GRANT under Section 5.1 of the Citizenship Act — you apply and the Minister grants, rather than applying to have an existing status documented. Bill C-3 amended that section in parallel and in the same shape: Section 5.1(4) now bars a grant only where the person was adopted on or after December 15, 2025 AND no adoptive citizen parent was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the adoption, with the Section 3(5)-equivalent service-abroad exception at Section 5.1(5). C-3 also opened the route to everyone adopted abroad before that date by a parent who was a citizen. Two practical consequences: CIT 0001 is the form 'under Section 3' and is the wrong application for an adoptee, and the fee and processing figures elsewhere on this page are for the proof-of-citizenship route, not for a grant. Confirm your route with IRCC or a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer before you file anything.

General description of how this situation may be affected. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application.

5. What we're watching next

  • IRCC processing time updates under increased demand. The PBO estimate of approximately 115,000 newly eligible applicants over five years is already materializing: IRCC's proof-of-citizenship processing time has climbed to approximately 33 months as of September 2026 (queue roughly 136,000), up from ~25 months in August and about 5 months a year earlier — an eight-month jump in a single monthly revision, published without any accompanying IRCC statement on added resources or a revised service standard. We'll update this page as new figures appear.
  • Operational guidance for previously refused applicants. Per Serotte Law and other firms, IRCC is processing reconsideration requests for refusals issued under the first-generation limit, but the specific procedural pathway (reapplication vs. formal reconsideration) is still being clarified across cases. We'll add detail as published guidance becomes available.
  • Substantial connection test edge cases (Crown servant exemption, dual-country residency). The 1,095-day physical-presence requirement raises questions about how partial years, dual residency, and service postings count toward the threshold. The exception itself is in the Act: section 3(5), whose marginal note reads “Exception — child or grandchild of person in service abroad,” covers employment outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province, other than as a locally engaged person. Note also that “cumulative” and “at any time” are IRCC's gloss on the threshold, not words in section 3(3), which says only “physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the person's birth.” IRCC's form CIT 0555 is the published instrument for counting; detailed operational guidance beyond it is still appearing.
  • Further legislative or judicial activity. If additional Charter challenges, amendments, or IRCC circulars are published, they will be added here with a dated changelog entry.

Update history

  • 2026-09-09

    A second pass over the same pages, run in the two directions the first pass could not: from every citation outward to the thing it cites, and from every fact-shaped claim backward to where it came from. The first found that the neutral citation we had retracted that morning was still printing to readers in the FAQ below — this file is exempt from the source scan and its output is exempt from the build scan, so a claim we had formally withdrawn sat live behind two green checks. It is gone. It also found a miscount in our own reading of the statute: we said section 3(1)(f) preserves a past loss only for renunciation “under eight enumerated provisions.” The Act lists six for renunciation and seven for revocation. And it found the load-bearing half of a sentence missing everywhere we state the post-2025 rule. We wrote limb one as “the citizen parent was themselves born outside Canada.” The Act says that AND that the parent was a citizen under one of the descent paragraphs it enumerates — 3(1)(b), (c.1), (e), (g) to (j) and (o) to (r) — a list that does not include 3(1)(c), citizenship by grant. So a parent born abroad who NATURALIZED as Canadian falls outside the limb entirely, and their child born abroad in 2026 faces no presence test. We had been telling that reader to go and count days. Three absences closed alongside it: section 5(5), the statelessness grant C-3 added for a child under 23 born abroad on or after December 15, 2025 who would otherwise have no citizenship; IRCC's published urgent-processing grounds, which we had narrowed to “a job, travel, or a medical situation” when the actual list also covers statelessness, moving a minor child to Canada, giving up a foreign citizenship by a deadline, and accessing a pension, health care or a social insurance number; and two entries of IRCC's paper-only list, one of which — “you were born outside of Canada to a parent who was born in Canada on or before February 16, 1977, or became a naturalized Canadian citizen on or before April 16, 2009” — is the entry most descent applicants are actually caught by. We had also invented a document category: our process page told you to prove a pre-1947 ancestor with “evidence of residence in Canada,” where the CIT 0001 guide names proof of British subject status and proof of landed immigrant status before January 1, 1947. The second direction, from claim back to source, turned up almost no invented numbers and a steady drip of invented FREQUENCIES — “where most descent applicants land,” “the rule most often stated too strictly,” “a frequent family history,” “the most DIY-friendly of the seven paths,” “the biggest hidden cost,” “the clarification many applicants had been asking for.” None of those distributions is published by anyone. They are gone, and the sourced fact each was wrapped around has been kept. Two dollar comparisons on the cost calculator were contradicted by our own engine while claiming to describe it: “saves $100–$400 in apostille fees” against an Italian apostille line of $8–$100, and “$200–$500+ in translation fees” against $180–$450. Both are now computed from the same fee table the calculator reads. Below, the first pass: Canada's first full page sweep — every Canadian page on this site read end to end against the statute rather than against each other, which is not the same thing and had never been done. No law changed on September 9; what changed is what we say about it. The correction that matters most ran in the direction nobody reports, because the reader it turns away never writes in: our great-grandparent page told anyone born on or after December 15, 2025 that “the first-generation limit is reinstated for your generation and this path does not apply.” That is wrong. Section 3(3) of the Citizenship Act, as Bill C-3 rewrote it, is a two-limb conjunctive test — a person born abroad on or after that date is excluded only if the citizen parent they take citizenship from was themselves born outside Canada AND “neither of the person's parents who was a citizen was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the person's birth.” A child born in 2026 to a Canadian-BORN parent has no presence test at all. IRCC says the same thing on its own eligibility page. Three related corrections went with it: the process page attached the 1,095-day rule to the wrong people (it is a test about the parent, at the moment their child is born, whatever the parent's own birth date — a second-generation Canadian born abroad in 1990 having a child in 2026 is squarely inside it, and we had written them out of it); the Crown-servant exception at section 3(5) was published narrower than the Act, which reaches a GRANDchild and covers provincial public service, not only federal; and section 3(1.5), which C-3 added so that a death in the line before the Act came into force does not break the chain, was on no page of ours at all. We have also added the route we had simply omitted: ADOPTION. IRCC states that a person adopted abroad by a Canadian parent is “not automatically a Canadian citizen” — it is a direct citizenship grant under section 5.1, which C-3 amended in parallel with the same 1,095-day condition for adoptions on or after December 15, 2025, and CIT 0001, the form “under Section 3,” is the wrong application for an adoptee. CORRECTED on September 9, 2026: earlier that day we stopped publishing the neutral citation for the December 2023 Ontario ruling and the Charter sections it turned on, because CanLII refuses automated access and no government site carries Ontario Superior Court judgments. Both were then restored the same day once the judgment was read in a browser — it is Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152, and the Charter sections are 6 and 15, exactly as we had said. Being unable to fetch a judgment is a fact about our tooling, not about the case

  • 2026-09-06

    Two corrections, both found while auditing where this page's facts come from. First: we had been dating the death of Bill C-71, Bill C-3's predecessor, to a prorogation on January 6, 2026. That is a year late and impossible on its face — Bill C-3 had already received Royal Assent by November 20, 2025. The 44th Parliament's first session was prorogued on January 6, 2025, which is when C-71 died on the Order Paper; Bill C-3 was then introduced on June 5, 2025 in the 45th Parliament. Re-verified against parl.ca LEGISinfo (C-3, 45-1) and OpenParliament's C-71 tracker on September 6, 2026. Nothing about who qualifies changes — C-71 never came into force either way — but a wrong date on a page whose job is to be the reliable timeline is worth naming. Second: IRCC has issued a new version of the proof-of-citizenship Document Checklist. Where a page of ours quotes the checklist as part of the June 2026 story it still says version 06-2026, because that is what IRCC published then; where a page tells you which checklist to actually file with, it now says CIT 0014 (08-2026), verified against the live form page on September 6, 2026 ("Last updated: August 2026"). If you assembled a package earlier this year, download the current checklist before you mail it.

  • 2026-09-06

    Processing time for proof of Canadian citizenship jumped again, and this is the largest single monthly move since the Bill C-3 surge began. IRCC's own processing-times tool was updated on September 3, 2026 and now quotes approximately 33 months for a newly received citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship, form CIT 0001) — an eight-month increase, or 32%, in one revision, up from ~25 months in August and ~19 months in July. The pending queue stands at roughly 136,000 people, about 14,200 more than a month earlier. Trajectory since the surge began: ~5 months in mid-2025, 10 in January 2026, 12 in May, 15 in June, 19 in July, 25 in August, 33 now. Verified directly against IRCC's own processing times tool on September 6, 2026: it reports about 33 months for a proof of citizenship application, is stamped "Last updated: September 3, 2026", says it is updated monthly, and puts about 136,000 people waiting for a decision. The tool also carries a caveat worth knowing if you are not in North America: applications from outside Canada and the United States may take longer than the headline figure. Note also what IRCC did not publish: no statement accompanied the revision explaining the jump, and there is no announcement of added resources, a backlog-reduction plan, or a changed service standard for this application type. The queue itself grew only about 12% while the quoted estimate rose 32%, which suggests IRCC is projecting a slower finalization rate rather than simply reacting to intake. Applicants outside Canada and the United States filing through a mission should add mailing time on top. This is a processing-time update only; it does not change who qualifies under Bill C-3. Refreshed the figure across this page, the CanadaBillC3Banner, the Canadian hub, the processing-times page, the cost calculator, the bill-c3-application process page, and the eligibility-tree outcome messages. Still outstanding, and still the news: IRCC has published nothing confirming the 67 C-3 certificate cases from its June 30, 2026 review are closed — now more than two months after it said those applicants would be contacted 'within a matter of days.'

  • 2026-08-12

    Processing time for proof of Canadian citizenship has passed two years. Per IRCC's own processing-time tool as of August 10, 2026 — reported by CIC News (August 10) and independently by SPS Canada (August 11) — the estimate for a newly received application is now approximately 25 months, up from ~19 months in July. The queue grew by roughly 22,300 applications in a single month to about 121,800. For context on the trajectory since the Bill C-3 surge began: ~5 months in mid-2025, 10 in January 2026, 12 in May, 15 in June, 19 in July, 25 now. Separately, and worth stating plainly because the absence is itself the news: IRCC has still not published anything confirming that the 67 outstanding C-3 certificate cases are resolved. Its June 30, 2026 statement said those applicants would be contacted 'within a matter of days.' Six weeks later we have found no completion announcement in IRCC's newsroom or on its official channels. Reputable reporting (CIC News, July 7 and July 9; The Walrus, August 11) documents individual certificates being reactivated in early July, but no departmental close-out. We will update this page if one appears. Also added: guidance IRCC gave to the Association of Canadian Archivists, reported August 12, 2026, clarifying that documents 'do not need to be certified' — what matters is that a record was issued by the original source authority that created or keeps it, with certified copies requested only where authenticity is in doubt. IRCC also described a two-tier framing of primary documents (provincial birth certificate, citizenship or naturalization certificate, British naturalization certificate, proof of British subject status before 1947) and secondary documents (baptismal, census, hospital, marriage or death, military records, passports), while stressing that 'the list is not exhaustive, and officers must assess all relevant evidence provided by the applicant.' Canada Gazette naturalization entries through 1952 — free via Library and Archives Canada — are accepted as secondary evidence, and a formal 'No Record Found' letter is not required; correspondence showing you searched is enough.

  • 2026-07-13

    Updated the IRCC proof-of-citizenship processing-time figure from ~15 months to ~19 months. Per IRCC's live processing-time tool (reported by CIC News, July 8, 2026), the estimate for a newly received proof-of-citizenship application has climbed to roughly 19 months — up from ~15 months in June — and the pending queue has grown to about 99,500 applications (nearing 100,000), an increase of roughly 17,500 in a single month. The climb continues to be driven by the Bill C-3 citizenship-by-descent surge. Refreshed the figure across this page, the CanadaBillC3Banner, the Canadian hub, the processing-times page, the cost calculator, the bill-c3-application process page, and the eligibility-tree outcome messages. This is a processing-time update only; it does not change who qualifies under Bill C-3.

  • 2026-07-04

    Updated the IRCC proof-of-citizenship processing-time figure from ~10 months to ~15 months. Per IRCC's live processing-time tool (reported by CIC News and CBC, June 2026), the proof-of-citizenship queue has passed 82,000 applications and the estimate for a newly received application has climbed to roughly 15 months — up from about 5 months in mid-2025 and ~10 months earlier in 2026 — driven by the surge in Bill C-3 citizenship-by-descent applications. Corrected the earlier 'processing times unchanged / not announced as changing' framing across this page, the CanadaBillC3Banner, the Canadian hub, the cost calculator, and the eligibility-tree outcome messages to reflect the increase. This is a processing-time update only; it does not change who qualifies under Bill C-3.

  • 2026-06-30

    IRCC completed and reported the results of its review of Bill C-3 proof-of-citizenship certificates. In a June 30, 2026 statement ('IRCC completes comprehensive review of citizenship certificates issued under C-3'), IRCC said an early-June routine review had identified 100 certificates issued under C-3 with potentially insufficient supporting documentation; those certificates were temporarily suspended while eligibility was verified, and the review was then expanded to the roughly 6,500 citizenship-by-descent applications received under C-3 to date — a review IRCC now describes as complete. Of the 100 identified cases, IRCC automatically reinstated 33 certificates after confirming the applicant met the legal requirement for citizenship. The remaining 67 cases are still outstanding — roughly one per cent of all certificates issued under C-3 to date — and IRCC said it is contacting those clients directly to either confirm eligibility or request additional information, a process it expected to complete 'within a matter of days.' IRCC also acknowledged that its own guidance on acceptable documentation, for both officers and applicants, had been unclear and 'may have contributed to certificates being issued without sufficient evidence,' and said it has reinforced guidance to officers and provided clearer information for applicants. This updates the June 17 report of the suspension/surrender letters with IRCC's own figures and its confirmation that the expanded review is finished. Added IRCC's official statement to the sources and quotes, plus reputable secondary coverage (Doherty Fultz Immigration, immigration.ca).

  • 2026-06-19

    IRCC revised the Section 3 application guide (CIT 0001) again — the second revision in three days, with the guide's 'Date modified' field moving from June 17 to June 19, 2026. The refinement did not change who qualifies or the core standard (at least one document issued by the original authority for each generation, and no application supported solely by third-party records), but it softened how the missing-birth-record alternatives are described. The guide now lists a 'baptismal certificate or record (including copies or certified records)' — meaning a copy is acceptable, walking back the stricter 'certified' phrasing the June 17 version had used. Verified against the live guide; our summary and FAQs were updated to match. No change to eligibility law: Bill C-3 still governs who qualifies — this is an evidence-documentation refinement.

  • 2026-06-17

    IRCC clarified its proof-of-citizenship documentation guidance. The Document Checklist (form CIT 0014, version 06-2026) and the Section 3 application guide (CIT 0001) now state that an application must be supported by authentic, reliable and verifiable documents 'for every generation' and 'cannot be supported solely by third-party records.' For each ancestor, applicants must provide at least one document issued by the original authority (for example a provincial/territorial or foreign birth certificate, a Canadian citizenship or naturalization certificate, a Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad or of Retention, or a British naturalization certificate issued in Canada or Newfoundland and Labrador). The Section 3 guide also lists what to provide when a birth record cannot be located (hospital record, physician/midwife record, certified baptismal record, census records, boat manifest) and asks for a written explanation plus proof the record was requested. Per CIC News, the checklist still includes an 'any other evidence' category, and the Federal Court has held (Somers-Edgar v. Canada, 2026 FC 417) that applicants may rely on the instructions IRCC publishes. This guidance change accompanied an enforcement action: according to The Canadian Press (June 17, 2026), IRCC temporarily paused finalizing some Bill C-3 proof-of-citizenship applications and asked a few dozen people who had already received certificates to surrender them pending a review of how those certificates were issued; IRCC said affected individuals can keep working but cannot use a Canadian passport during the review (nearly 4,100 people had received proof under the law beforehand). Immigration lawyer Amandeep Hayer (Hayer Law Office) argues the CIT 0014 checklist is illustrative rather than exhaustive and that applicants are entitled to rely on IRCC's published instructions, citing Thompson v. Canada (2021 FC 914) and Somers-Edgar v. Canada (2026 FC 417). Added The Canadian Press and Hayer Law as sources and an FAQ on the suspension/surrender letters.

  • 2026-05-26

    Page published. Bill C-3 has been in force since December 15, 2025. Covers the removal of the first-generation limit for pre-December 15, 2025 births, the new substantial connection test for post-December 15, 2025 births, the relationship to the predecessor Bill C-71 (which died with prorogation in January 2026 [CORRECTION, 2026-09-09: January 2025 — see the September 6, 2026 entry above; that wrong year was corrected on the live page then, and this dated entry, which records what we published on May 26, is annotated here rather than rewritten]), guidance for previously refused applicants, and historical context from the 2009 Bill C-37 framework and the Bjorkquist v. Canada Charter ruling that prompted the legislative fix.

6. Primary sources

Every factual claim on this page is supported by one or more of the following sources. The Next Passport is not affiliated with any of the organizations listed below.

Primary sources (Canadian government)

Secondary sources (news + legal commentary)

7. Frequently asked questions

I was born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada — do I now qualify?

If you were born before December 15, 2025, you may now qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent under Bill C-3. Section 3(3) — the provision that limits descent — does not reach you at all: its opening words confine it to people born outside Canada 'on or after' that date. So there is no generational cap and no presence test, so long as the chain of descent from a Canadian citizen ancestor is unbroken and can be documented. According to IRCC, eligible individuals are considered citizens automatically — no separate restoration application is required, but you will typically need to apply for proof of citizenship using form CIT 0001 to receive a Citizenship Certificate. One exception to 'automatically': if you were ADOPTED abroad rather than born abroad, IRCC says you are 'not automatically a Canadian citizen' — adoption is a direct citizenship grant under section 5.1 and a different application. Verify your specific facts with IRCC at canada.ca or a licensed Canadian immigration consultant.

What is the 'substantial connection test' and does it affect me?

It applies only to people born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025 — and even then it is one limb of a two-limb test, not a standalone requirement. Section 3(3) of the Citizenship Act excludes such a person only if BOTH are true: the citizen parent they take citizenship from was themselves born outside Canada AND was a citizen under one of the descent paragraphs the subsection enumerates — s. 3(3)(a)(i)(A) lists 3(1)(b), (c.1), (e), (g) to (j) and (o) to (r), which pointedly omits 3(1)(c), citizenship by grant, so a foreign-born parent who naturalized as Canadian is outside this limb — AND 'neither of the person's parents who was a citizen was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the person's birth.' So a child born in 2026 to a Canadian-born parent has no presence test to meet at all, and a child whose foreign-born citizen parent has the 1,095 days is a citizen too. Note also whose days are counted: the test attaches to the PARENT of a child born on or after December 15, 2025, regardless of when that parent was born — a second-generation Canadian born abroad in 1990 who has a child in 2026 is inside it. IRCC describes the days as cumulative and countable from any point before the birth, and publishes form CIT 0555 for calculating them; that gloss is IRCC's, since section 3(3) says only 'physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the person's birth.' Section 3(5) switches the whole subsection off for the child or grandchild of a person employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or a provincial public service. If you were born before December 15, 2025, none of this applies to you.

What happened to Bill C-71?

Bill C-71 was introduced in the previous Parliament on May 23, 2024 as the government's first attempt to address the first-generation limit after the Bjorkquist v. Canada ruling. According to OpenParliament's tracker, Bill C-71 did not pass before Parliament prorogued and was effectively terminated. Bill C-3 was introduced on June 5, 2025 in the current Parliament as the replacement and received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025. Bill C-3 is the law that actually changed things — Bill C-71 never came into force. If you see references to C-71 in older articles, treat them as historical context.

My IRCC application was previously refused — can I reapply?

Possibly, yes. According to IRCC's December 15, 2025 news release, IRCC began applying the amended Act on December 15, 2025. Many people who were previously refused under the old first-generation limit may now qualify under Bill C-3, particularly second-generation-born-abroad applicants. Per Serotte Law and other firms' published analyses, a new application or formal reconsideration may be warranted depending on your specific facts. The standard form (CIT 0001) and fee structure are unchanged. Always consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific application history.

How is this different from the original 2009 Lost Canadians fix?

The 2009 changes (introduced by Bill C-37) restored citizenship to many people who had lost it under pre-1977 rules, but also introduced the first-generation limit — capping citizenship-by-descent at one generation born outside Canada. That cap was intended to prevent unlimited transmission abroad, but it had the unintended effect of stranding a new category of 'Lost Canadians' whose claim passed through more than one foreign-born generation. Bill C-3 (2025) is the legislative response to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice's December 19, 2023 ruling — the case widely referred to as Bjorkquist — which the Government of Canada's own release describes as declaring the first-generation limit unconstitutional. Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152 (Akbarali J., court file CV-21-673419-0000, also reported at 169 OR (3d) 1). The court struck s. 3(3)(a) specifically — not the whole subsection — as contrary to ss. 6 and 15 of the Charter, and suspended the declaration for six months; the s. 7 claim was dismissed. Bill C-3 removed the cap for pre-December 15, 2025 births and replaced it, prospectively, with the substantial connection test.

What documents does IRCC accept to prove each generation? Can I use Ancestry or FamilySearch copies?

Per IRCC's updated Document Checklist (form CIT 0014, version 06-2026) and the Section 3 application guide, your application must be supported by authentic, reliable and verifiable documents for every generation, and it cannot be supported solely by third-party records. For each person in your chain, you must provide at least one document issued by the original authority — for example a provincial/territorial (or foreign) birth certificate showing the parent-child relationship, a Canadian citizenship or naturalization certificate, a Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad or of Retention, or a British naturalization certificate issued in Canada or Newfoundland and Labrador. Records downloaded from genealogy platforms such as Ancestry or FamilySearch can support an application but, on their own, are treated as third-party records. The CIT 0014 checklist itself (Scenario 3) also includes an 'any other evidence that your parent is a Canadian citizen' category, and a Federal Court decision, Somers-Edgar v. Canada (2026 FC 417), is cited for the proposition that applicants may rely on the instructions IRCC publishes. We have now read it: Grant J. held at [23] that IRCC's correspondence must be accurate, sufficiently clear to be understood, and consistent with the governing legislation, and at [26] that the letters in that case were ‘actively misleading’. One limit worth knowing: it is a parents-and-grandparents sponsorship case, not a citizenship one. Confirm what your specific chain requires with IRCC at canada.ca or a licensed Canadian immigration consultant.

What if no birth certificate exists for one of my ancestors?

Per IRCC's Section 3 application guide (CIT 0001, last modified June 19, 2026), if you don't have a birth certificate or birth record for yourself or any parental ancestor, you must send other documents — issued by the original authority — to show parentage and Canadian citizenship. The guide lists: a hospital record of birth; a record from the physician or midwife who witnessed the birth; a 'baptismal certificate or record (including copies or certified records)' where the baptism took place within a reasonable time after the birth; census records; or a boat manifest. Note that a baptismal record copy is acceptable — the June 19 wording walked back the stricter 'certified' phrasing used earlier in June. If you cannot provide official documents at all, IRCC asks you to explain in writing why and to show proof that you tried to obtain them (for example, emails or letters with the original authorities, or confirmation that the records are not available). IRCC has revised this guide more than once in June 2026, so check the current guide for the exact text, and verify your situation with IRCC or a licensed Canadian immigration consultant.

Do my documents have to be certified copies?

Per guidance IRCC gave in a presentation to the Association of Canadian Archivists, reported on August 12, 2026, documents 'do not need to be certified.' What matters is that the record was issued by the original source authority that created or keeps it; IRCC said certified copies are requested only where the authenticity of a document is in doubt. The same guidance describes primary documents (a provincial birth certificate, a citizenship or naturalization certificate, a British naturalization certificate, proof of British subject status before 1947) and secondary documents (baptismal, census, hospital, marriage or death, and military records, and passports) — while stressing that 'the list is not exhaustive, and officers must assess all relevant evidence provided by the applicant.' Canada Gazette naturalization entries through 1952, free to search via Library and Archives Canada, are accepted as secondary evidence, and a formal 'No Record Found' letter is not required — correspondence showing you searched for the record is enough. Note that this is guidance as described in a presentation; the published CIT 0014 checklist and Section 3 guide still carry their June 2026 wording, so check the current guide before you file and confirm your situation with a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer.

I (or a relative) received a suspension or surrender letter — what does that mean?

According to The Canadian Press (June 17, 2026), IRCC temporarily paused finalizing some Bill C-3 proof-of-citizenship applications and asked a few dozen people who had already received citizenship certificates to surrender them while it reviews how those certificates were issued. IRCC said it 'is reviewing how this occurred,' and that affected individuals can continue to work during the review but cannot use a Canadian passport in the meantime; the letters reportedly cited applications that did not include documents from the original source authority or evidence of attempts to obtain them. Immigration lawyer Amandeep Hayer (Hayer Law Office), whose firm represented the plaintiffs in Somers-Edgar v. Canada (2026 FC 417), argues that the CIT 0014 checklist is illustrative rather than exhaustive — it expressly accepts 'any other evidence' — and that applicants are entitled to rely on the instructions IRCC publishes. Update (June 30, 2026): IRCC has said this review is now complete. Per its June 30 statement, of 100 certificates initially identified with potentially insufficient documentation, 33 were automatically reinstated after IRCC confirmed the applicant met the legal requirement, and 67 remain outstanding — about one per cent of all certificates issued under C-3 to date. IRCC said it is contacting those 67 clients directly to confirm eligibility or request more information and expected to finish 'within a matter of days,' and it acknowledged that its own documentation guidance had been unclear and has since been reinforced. The Next Passport does not predict how any individual case will be resolved; if you received a letter, consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer about your specific situation.

How does IRCC weigh the documents I submit — and what makes a document persuasive?

IRCC's long-standing operational guidance to officers, 'Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision' (last modified August 2023 — not part of the June 2026 changes), describes how evidence is assessed. Because citizenship and immigration decisions are civil in nature, the standard of proof is the 'balance of probabilities' — a fact must be more likely than not (more than 50%) to be accepted. The guidance also states there is a presumption that an applicant's evidence is true 'unless there is a valid and compelling reason to doubt' it, and that an officer 'must not be overly suspicious or doubting of the evidence presented.' It adds that duplicates and photocopies are 'to be treated as originals unless there is doubt as to the authenticity of the original.' When weighing how persuasive a document is (its 'probative value'), officers consider whether it is the best document available, whether it was issued by an objective authority with no vested interest, and whether the information is verifiable — which is why submitting the best available record from the original issuing authority is generally prudent. Officers also watch for credibility concerns such as inconsistencies, signs of alteration, or damage that reduces legibility. This guidance does not determine any individual outcome; confirm your situation with IRCC or a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer.

Where can I read the actual legislation?

Start with the statute itself, which none of the commentary can substitute for. The consolidated Citizenship Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29) is on Justice Canada's Justice Laws website at laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/, section by section — the ones that decide a descent claim are section 3 (who is a citizen, including the amended subsection 3(3) and the service-abroad exception at 3(5)), section 5.1 (adoption), and section 12 (the Minister determines citizenship and issues the certificate). Justice Laws also carries the amending Act in full as An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), S.C. 2025, c. 5, under Annual Statutes; its own summary is the most compact accurate statement of what C-3 did. For the bill's passage, LEGISinfo at parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/45-1/c-3 gives every reading date and the Royal Assent of November 20, 2025. Then the secondary layer: IRCC's December 15, 2025 news release announcing the Act in force, Justice Canada's Charter Statement on Bill C-3 (note that it discusses the 2009 limit and the new substantial-connection test, and does not mention the Ontario litigation), and the Library of Parliament's Legislative Summary of Bill C-3 (45-1) for a clause-by-clause reading — that last one is a PDF that has to be opened in a browser. One caution about dates: the December 15, 2025 in-force date is NOT in the Act. Section 7 of S.C. 2025, c. 5 says only that it comes into force 'on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council,' so the date comes from IRCC's announcement, and we have not been able to cite the order in council itself.

Three next steps

The Next Passport is a document organization and research tool, not a legal authority. This page aggregates publicly reported information from English-language news outlets and primary Canadian government sources. Always verify with official sources before taking action, and consult a licensed Canadian immigration consultant or attorney for guidance on your specific situation.