A new Canadian law removes limits on citizenship by descent, allowing descendants of Canadians—potentially generations removed—to claim Canadian citizenship with proof of lineage.
Canadian officials are seeing an increase in citizenship applications following a December 2025 Canadian Senate bill that removes limits on eligibility for Canadian citizenship by descent. The changes to the law mean that significant numbers of “Lost Canadians,” several generations removed from a Canadian ancestor, could claim Canadian citizenship for themselves.
Previously, Canada’s citizenship law had limited citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent. A 2023 Ontario court decision ruled those limitations were unconstitutional, and the Senate bill affirms that decision.
As a result, anybody with a Canadian ancestor—including a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, great-great-great-grandparent or earlier, who has documentation proving their lineage and their ancestor’s Canadian citizenship can apply to have their citizenship affirmed by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The Canadian ancestor or any of their descendants must not have formally renounced Canadian citizenship.
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The Senate law makes Canadian citizenship retroactive and immediate—even if the interceding ancestors never sought to affirm their own Canadian citizenship before their death. The law also recognizes the right to Canadian citizenship for those whose ancestors were born in and later emigrated from any part of what is today Canada, meaning even those born before 1947, when a separate Canadian citizenship distinct from British nationality was first created, or before 1867, when Canada was formally established as a dominion.
The wave of requests now arriving in Canada from Lost Canadians abroad has spurred a Reddit thread on the topic, as posters discuss the types of documentation required and how to navigate the forms needed to claim citizenship. IRCC estimates it currently takes around 10 months to process an application.
Once completed, a successful application recognizes the applicant’s Canadian citizenship and issues a certificate of citizenship. There is no residency requirement, and no citizenship test or oath ceremony, because the law views a successful application as restoration of citizenship to which the applicant was always entitled, not a naturalization of a new citizen.
American citizens can acquire a second citizenship without renouncing their existing citizenship. One benefit of acquiring Canadian citizenship is the ability to acquire a Canadian passport, which allows visa-free travel to 181 countries, making it the world’s 8th most powerful passport. The U.S. passport is the 10th most powerful, allowing visa-free travel to 179 countries.
There’s little downside to affirming Canadian citizenship. Many legal obligations for Canadians are based on residency, not citizenship, so Canadian citizens living abroad don’t need to pay Canadian income taxes on earnings outside Canada or serve on juries. Likewise, Canadians abroad don’t qualify to participate in Canada’s national healthcare, and most have previously lived in Canada in order to vote in federal elections.
Applicants need to provide documentary proof of their Canadian ancestor, and birth certificates and marriage certificates demonstrating their link to that ancestor. In the absence of primary documentation, such as birth certificates, Canadian officials have been able to make determinations based on secondary documentation such as census rolls. Records issued by Canadian authorities are preferred.
Some immigration lawyers will help applicants gather documents and complete the application for a fee. Canada’s rules require that applicants using a paid third party, such as an attorney or notary, must file a separate form declaring they’re using a representative. A lawyer or notary must be a member of a Canadian law society, and other immigration or citizenship consultants must be accredited by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
The bill only affords citizenship to descendants of Canadians—not spouses, although once Canadian citizenship is affirmed, it would be possible to sponsor a spouse for permanent residency in Canada.
There are no clear estimates on how many Lost Canadians are expected to exercise claims to citizenship, but some projections have placed that number in the hundreds of thousands.