Bill C-3 Citizenship by Descent: What the 2027 Levels Plan Does — and Does Not — Change for Families

What happened

Two big immigration stories landed within weeks of each other, and families are mixing them up. First, Bill C-3 changed Canadian citizenship by descent on December 15, 2025, ending the old first-generation limit for many people. Then, on November 5, 2026, Canada published the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan: 380,000 permanent residents a year.

The confusion is understandable — both stories are about who gets to be Canadian. But they are about two different things. Citizenship by descent is about whether you are already a Canadian citizen because of your parent. The Levels Plan is about how many permanent residents Canada plans to admit each year. One does not change the other.

• The old rule: the first-generation limit
• What Bill C-3 changed
• Who qualifies now
• The 1,095-day test, explained plainly
• How to prove it
• What the Levels Plan does not change
• What spouses and parents without a claim should do instead
• A warning if you also have a PR application in progress
• Worked family scenarios
• A practical checklist
• Frequently asked questions
• How VG Immigration Services can help

The old rule: the first-generation limit

Before Bill C-3, Canadian citizenship by descent stopped after one generation born outside Canada. If you were born abroad to a Canadian parent, you were a citizen. But if that parent had also been born abroad, your child born abroad was generally not a citizen — no matter how strong the family’s connection to Canada was.

In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that limit unconstitutional for many people. Parliament’s answer was Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), which received royal assent on November 20, 2025 and came into force on December 15, 2025.

What Bill C-3 changed

Bill C-3 removed the first-generation limit in some situations — and created a new test for others. The dividing line is a single date: December 15, 2025.

IRCC puts it plainly on its own page: the change “doesn’t affect anyone who already became a Canadian citizen before Bill C-3 became law. If you were already a citizen before the bill, you’re still a citizen.”

Who qualifies now

Born or adopted abroad before December 15, 2025

If you were born outside Canada before December 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent, you are in most cases automatically a Canadian citizen — even if your parent was also born abroad, and even if the line runs back several generations, as long as it traces to a Canadian citizen ancestor. No connection test applies to you. The 1,095-day rule does not reach back to people born before that date.

Adopted people in the same position are likely eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship through a direct grant for adopted people.

Born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025

For children born abroad on or after December 15, 2025, citizenship can still pass beyond the first generation — but only if the Canadian parent meets the substantial connection test: at least 1,095 days physically present in Canada before the child’s birth. For adopted children, the same 1,095 days must fall before the adoption, and the route is a direct grant of citizenship.

First generation: always a citizen

None of this affects the first generation. A child born abroad to a parent who was born in Canada, or who became a citizen through naturalization before the child’s birth, is a Canadian citizen by descent automatically. The test only matters from the second generation onward.

Your situation	Rule
Born abroad before Dec 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent	In most cases automatically a citizen, however many generations back the line runs. No test.
Born abroad on or after Dec 15, 2025, first generation (parent born in Canada or naturalized)	Citizen automatically. No test.
Born abroad on or after Dec 15, 2025, second generation or later	Citizen only if the Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth.
Adopted abroad on or after Dec 15, 2025, second generation or later	Direct grant of citizenship only if the Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the adoption.

The 1,095-day test, explained plainly

The test is simpler than it sounds — and stricter than people expect.

It is 1,095 cumulative days. That is three years of physical presence in Canada, added up over the parent’s life before the child’s birth. The days do not have to be consecutive, and they do not have to fall inside any particular window. What matters is that the parent was physically in Canada for 1,095 days in total before the child was born.

It is about presence, not paperwork. IRCC counts days the parent actually spent in Canada. Documents that show where the parent was, and when — school records, tax filings, employment records, leases, medical records — are how that presence is proved. Start gathering them early, because the further back the days fall, the harder they are to document.

There is no language test, no knowledge test, and no police certificate for citizenship by descent. The government has confirmed that none of those apply to this group — a child born a citizen is not screened the way an applicant for a grant of citizenship is.

It only applies going forward. The test does not apply to anyone born before December 15, 2025. If your birth date is before that line, the test is irrelevant to you.

How to prove it

Citizenship by descent is automatic if you qualify — but it is not self-evident. If you think you became a citizen because of Bill C-3, you must apply for a citizenship certificate (application form CIT 0001) to find out for sure. IRCC reviews the application, checks each link in the chain back to the Canadian ancestor, and issues a certificate if you are a citizen. That certificate is your proof — it is what lets you apply for a Canadian passport and avoid delays at the border.

Be ready for a wait. Citizenship certificate applications are heavily backlogged after the surge of applications since Bill C-3 took effect — CBC reported in October 2026 that the wait had reached about 34 months. That figure is CBC-reported, not an IRCC-published processing time, and it will move — but do not plan a trip or a PR filing around a quick certificate.

What the Levels Plan does not change

The 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan sets how many permanent residents Canada intends to admit: 380,000 a year for 2027, 2028 and 2029. Citizenship by descent is not an admissions stream. It is not counted in the 380,000, it is not capped by the plan, and the plan does not change who qualifies for it.

That matters in both directions:

• The plan does not take citizenship away from anyone who qualifies under Bill C-3. If your descent claim is good, no admissions target affects it.
• The plan does not give citizenship to anyone who does not qualify. A big PR target does not turn a sponsorship case into a citizenship case, and it does not waive the 1,095-day test for a child born abroad after December 15, 2025.

If someone tells you the Levels Plan opened a new route to citizenship, or that a descent claim now depends on the plan’s numbers, that is wrong.

What spouses and parents without a claim should do instead

Many families asking about descent have a mixed picture: one person may qualify by descent, while a spouse or a parent has no Canadian ancestor at all. Those family members do not get citizenship through someone else’s descent claim. Their route is the family sponsorship system — and that is exactly where the Levels Plan does matter.

• Family target: 81,000 a year — 66,000 spouses, partners and children, plus 15,000 parents and grandparents. These are admissions targets, not guarantees.
• Parents and grandparents stay limited. The 15,000 figure means the PGP intake remains competitive. A descent claim elsewhere in the family does not create a PGP spot.
• Spousal processing goal: closer to 12 months outside Quebec. That is the plan’s stated aim — a program-level goal, not a guaranteed timeline for any one application.

The practical point: check each family member separately. One person’s citizenship by descent does not carry the rest of the family, and the family’s sponsorship applications still run on the Levels Plan’s numbers and IRCC’s queues.

A warning if you also have a PR application in progress

This is the trap our earlier post covered: a person cannot be both a permanent resident and a Canadian citizen at the same time. CBC reported — and IRCC confirmed to CBC — that if you apply for proof of citizenship while a permanent residence application is in progress, the PR application is put on hold while the citizenship claim is assessed. If citizenship is confirmed, the PR application is treated as withdrawn; if it is not confirmed, the PR application returns to its place in the queue.

We covered that problem in full in our earlier post on Bill C-3 and PR applications on hold. Before you file a citizenship certificate application, check whether a PR application is running — and in which order the two should be handled.

Worked family scenarios

A grandchild born abroad in 2018

A woman born in the United States in 2018 to a Canadian-born mother discovers her grandmother was also born abroad. Under the old limit, the chain stopped. Under Bill C-3, she was born before December 15, 2025, so she is in most cases automatically a citizen. No 1,095-day test applies. She needs a citizenship certificate to prove it — with documents for each link in the chain.

A baby born abroad in 2026

A Canadian citizen who was himself born abroad has a child outside Canada in 2026. The child is second generation, born after December 15, 2025, so the test applies: the father must show 1,095 days physically present in Canada before the birth. He lived in Toronto for four years as a student and worker before moving abroad — if he can document those days, the child is a citizen. If he cannot, the child is not.

A spouse with no Canadian ancestor

A husband is a Canadian citizen; his wife, born abroad to non-Canadian parents, has no descent claim of her own. Bill C-3 gives her nothing, and the Levels Plan gives her no shortcut either. Her route is spousal sponsorship, inside the 66,000 spouses, partners and children target — with the plan’s 12-month processing goal as an aim, not a promise.

A practical checklist

1. Find your date first: Were you (or your child) born before or after December 15, 2025? That date decides whether the 1,095-day test applies at all.
2. Count the generations: First generation born abroad to a Canadian-born or naturalized parent is a citizen automatically. The test only matters from the second generation on.
3. If the test applies, count the days: Add up the Canadian parent’s days physically present in Canada before the birth — and start collecting the documents that prove them.
4. Apply for the certificate: A citizenship certificate is the proof. Do not assume a passport application or a border crossing will settle the question.
5. Check for a running PR application first: Filing for proof of citizenship can put a PR file on hold. Decide the order before you file.
6. Check each family member separately: One person’s descent claim does not sponsor a spouse or a parent — those cases run through the Levels Plan’s family numbers.
7. Do not pay for a shortcut: No one can speed up a citizenship certificate or reserve a place under the Levels Plan.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 2027 Levels Plan change who can claim citizenship by descent?

No. Citizenship by descent is governed by the Citizenship Act as amended by Bill C-3. The Levels Plan sets permanent resident admissions targets. It neither expands nor restricts descent claims.

I was born abroad before December 15, 2025. Do I need to show 1,095 days in Canada?

No. The substantial connection test applies only to people born or adopted abroad on or after December 15, 2025. If you were born before that date to a Canadian parent, you are in most cases automatically a citizen, however many generations back the line runs.

My parent was born abroad too. Can I still be a citizen?

It depends on when you were born. Before December 15, 2025: in most cases, yes, automatically. On or after that date: only if your parent spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before your birth.

How do I prove I am a citizen by descent?

Apply for a citizenship certificate. IRCC reviews your application and the documents for each generation, and issues a certificate if you are a citizen. Expect a long wait — the backlog is large.

My spouse has no Canadian ancestry. Does my citizenship help them?

Not directly. Your spouse’s route is family sponsorship, not your descent claim. Sponsorship runs under the Levels Plan’s family targets and IRCC’s processing queues.

How VG Immigration Services can help

VG Immigration Services can check whether you or your child qualifies for citizenship by descent under Bill C-3, map out the documents for each generation, and — where a family has both a descent claim and a sponsorship case — sort out which application goes first so one filing does not stall the other.

Book a consultation at vgis.ca or message us on WhatsApp at 416-578-9269.

This post summarizes Bill C-3 and the 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan for general information. It is not legal advice for a specific case, and every file turns on its own facts and the rules in force when it is decided.