Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 5, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
The “Lost Canadians” legislation, designed to amend Canada’s citizenship-by-descent rules, has now become law after passing in the Senate and receiving royal assent on Nov. 20.
The legislation, previously known as Bill C-3, makes several changes to the Citizenship Act, allowing Canadian citizens born abroad—who have lived in Canada for at least 1,095 days—to pass citizenship to their foreign-born children. It also reinstates citizenship to individuals who had lost it under former regulations and simplifies the process for adopted children to obtain citizenship.
