Bill C-71, also known as the Citizenship Act, aims to amend the existing legislation to address issues related to citizenship by descent.
The current law restricts Canadian citizens born outside of Canada from passing on citizenship to their children born abroad, as well as from applying for citizenship for adopted children born outside of Canada.
However, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared this first-generation limit as unconstitutional in December 2023, prompting the Government of Canada to introduce Bill C-71 to rectify the situation. The proposed legislation seeks to automatically grant citizenship to individuals who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit. It also aims to establish a new framework for citizenship by descent, allowing for access to citizenship beyond the first generation based on a substantial connection to Canada. To demonstrate this substantial connection, a Canadian parent born abroad would need to have spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth or adoption of their child.
Additionally, Bill C-71 addresses the issue of "Lost Canadians," who are individuals that lost or never acquired citizenship due to outdated provisions of former citizenship legislation. While some cases were resolved through changes to the law in 2009 and 2015, there are still other categories of "Lost Canadians" and their descendants who did not benefit from these changes.
The bill aims to restore citizenship to these individuals and their descendants, as well as to anyone born abroad to a Canadian parent in the second or subsequent generations before the legislation comes into force. This includes individuals who lost their citizenship due to requirements under the former section 8 of the Citizenship Act. In summary, Bill C-71 proposes significant changes to the Citizenship Act, addressing issues related to citizenship by descent and seeking to rectify the situation for "Lost Canadians" and their descendants.
The legislation aims to make the citizenship process fair and transparent, allowing for access to citizenship beyond the first generation based on a substantial connection to Canada, while also restoring citizenship to those who were previously affected by outdated provisions of the law.
Source: Canada.ca