Citizenship Bill C-3 Under Fire From Parents of Adopted Children

(ONTARIO, CANADA) Canadian lawmakers are racing to rewrite the Citizenship Act after a court struck down the country’s long-standing first-generation limit on citizenship by descent. As of October 16, 2025, Bill C-3 is before Parliament but has not received Royal Assent. The government faces a court-imposed deadline to pass new legislation by November 2025, and officials say the bill will correct past exclusions while setting a new standard for future citizenship-by-descent cases. Families with children adopted abroad say the proposal still leaves their kids behind.

The bill answers a December 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling that found the first-generation limit unconstitutional. For years, that rule meant Canadians born outside Canada could not automatically pass citizenship to their own children born abroad. The government chose not to appeal and drafted Bill C-3 to fix what many call a painful gap for “lost Canadians” and families split by place of birth rather than identity or loyalty to Canada 🇨🇦.

Under Bill C-3, the government would automatically grant citizenship to anyone who would be a citizen today but for the first-generation limit or outdated provisions, such as past retention rules that once cut off citizenship if not affirmed by age 28. The retroactive clause is central: it aims to restore status without requiring people to apply, bringing long-awaited relief to those who fell through the cracks because of technical rules.

Just as important, the bill establishes a new framework for citizenship by descent beyond the first generation. Going forward, a Canadian parent would need to show a “substantial connection” to Canada to pass on citizenship to a child born or adopted abroad. The test is simple to state but weighty in practice: at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada (three years) before the child’s birth or adoption. The same standard would apply to children adopted overseas by Canadian citizens, aligning adoptees with biological children of Canadians born abroad.

Parents and adoption advocates say this alignment does not equal fairness in real life. They argue that adoptees already face a separate, often lengthy adoption and immigration path before they can claim citizenship, whereas biological children born abroad do not go through those added steps. They describe the connection test for adoptees as an extra barrier that treats adopted children like newcomers, not like full members of their Canadian families from the moment the adoption is finalized.

Policy changes overview

Bill C-3’s most sweeping move is its automatic, retroactive citizenship clause. People previously excluded under the first-generation limit or other outdated sections would become citizens by operation of law.

• According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this measure could resolve cases that have lingered for years, including families who built lives in Canada only to learn a minor rule barred them or their children from citizenship.
• The retroactive fix aims to restore status without individual applications for many affected people.

For future cases, the bill’s 1,095-day presence rule would become the gatekeeper. The government presents this as a fair balance: it keeps the bond of citizenship strong while respecting global mobility and modern family life. Officials say the new approach recognizes Canadians who maintain deep ties at home even while spending time abroad.

Key provisions at a glance

• Retroactive citizenship for those excluded by the first-generation limit and older retention rules.
• Substantial connection test: 1,095 days physical presence in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.
• Parity on paper between biological children born abroad and children adopted overseas.

Concerns from adoptive families and advocates

Parents and advocates raise several objections and practical concerns:

• Adoptees face a distinct adoption and immigration process that can be lengthy and complex compared with biological children born abroad.
• The connection test is perceived as an extra hurdle that treats adopted children as newcomers rather than immediate members of their Canadian family.
• Advocates cite the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, arguing its spirit requires adoptees to enjoy the same rights as children born in the country.

“It doesn’t treat our son like the Canadian citizen he is,” one advocate said, describing how the law still falls short for adoptive families.

A proposed amendment by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith to remove the connection test for adoptees failed at the committee stage in early October. Adoption experts interpret that as a sign the process remains tougher for adoptees than it should be. Lorne Welwood of Hope Adoption Services says that, despite earlier reforms, citizenship for adoptees is still far from “automatic” in practice.

Impact on adoptive families — practical ripple effects

Parents describe real-world consequences tied to timing and paperwork:

• Delays in school enrollment, healthcare coverage, and passport issuance for a child awaiting status.
• Canadian adoption requirements layered on top of foreign adoption procedures can stretch timelines by months.
• If the 1,095-day connection test applies as written, some adoptive parents may need to:
  • Time or delay adoptions,
  • Plan returns to Canada to accumulate days,
  • Seek legal advice on documenting presence or seeking exceptions.

Supporters of Bill C-3’s approach argue the benefits of a clear, uniform standard:

• A single test avoids ad hoc exceptions and supports the idea that citizenship carries an ongoing tie to Canada.
• Applying the same test to adopted and biological children reduces past discrepancies and sets a predictable rule for the future.

Open questions and implementation details

Practical questions remain about how the government will apply the rule:

• Will past time in Canada as a child count toward an adult’s presence total?
• Will exceptions be allowed for Canadians serving abroad (e.g., official postings or humanitarian work)?
• How will households document the 1,095 days and what evidence will be accepted?

The bill leaves many of these details to regulations and guidance. The government has promised to move quickly once the law passes and to publish clear instructions. Until then, families must plan based on the bill’s text and committee record.

Legal, policy, and social context

Government lawyers and policy staff frame the bill as both inclusive and durable:

• The retroactive fix corrects past wrongs.
• The presence test establishes a predictable rule for decades ahead.

The Canadian Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section supports automatic citizenship for adoptees and accepts the general idea of a substantial connection for citizenship by descent, while urging better treatment of adoptees in both process and outcome. Advocates want the law to state plainly that adoptees become citizens as of adoption, with no additional bar beyond what applies to other children of Canadian parents.

The bill also reopens a broader debate about what it means to “belong” to Canada. Many Canadians lead global lives — cross-border careers, international study, and long postings overseas — and a strict physical-presence rule may not reflect that complexity. Conversely, lawmakers value a rule that is easy to explain and apply; three years of presence is straightforward and aligns with other thresholds in the Citizenship Act.

What families should do now

• Families considering adoption should prepare for two parallel tracks:
  1. The existing adoption process in the child’s country of origin.
  2. Canadian steps tied to citizenship and possible 1,095-day eligibility checks.

• Parents lacking three full years in Canada may consider:
  • Timing and return plans,
  • Seeking legal advice,
  • Monitoring regulatory guidance after the law (if passed).

For those affected by the first-generation limit in the past, the promise of automatic status offers real relief. Adults who built careers and raised children in Canada may become citizens once Bill C-3 takes effect, if it passes by the court deadline. But for adoptive families planning future adoptions, uncertainty around timing and proofs of presence remains a sensitive issue.

Next steps and where to follow official updates

The court’s November 2025 deadline adds urgency for Parliament to finalize and pass the bill. If Bill C-3 becomes law, officials say implementation will follow quickly and include instructions for families impacted by past limits.

For official updates and eventual guidance if the bill passes, families can follow Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on its citizenship pages at the Government of Canada: IRCC: Canadian citizenship. IRCC has said it will post detailed instructions on:

• Who gains automatic citizenship under the retroactive clause,
• How to document physical presence for the substantial connection test,
• What steps adoptive parents must take when their child is born or adopted abroad.

Final considerations

As Parliament debates Bill C-3, the stakes are clear: the bill would restore citizenship to people kept outside the circle by technical rules and bring a uniform standard for the future. Yet unless lawmakers change the connection rule for adoptees, families who have already waited years may still feel the law sees their children as newcomers first and sons or daughters second. The window to fix that gap is open now; whether Parliament uses it will shape Canadian families for years to come.