Who is a Canadian citizen by descent?

Under s.3(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, a person born outside Canada after February 14, 1977 is a citizen if one parent, other than an adoptive parent, was a citizen at the birth. Section 3(3) limits that rule only for a birth on or after December 15, 2025, where the Canadian parent was a citizen by descent or by an adoption grant, was born abroad, and had fewer than 1,095 days in Canada before the birth. Read section 3 of the Citizenship Act

It is the condition in s.3(3)(a)(ii). For a child born abroad on or after December 15, 2025 to a Canadian parent who was a citizen by descent or by an adoption grant and was born abroad, s.3(1)(b) does not apply unless a citizen parent was physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days before the birth. The days need not be consecutive, and no five-year window applies. Citizenship by descent and the 2025 amendment

Section 3(3) now reaches only births on or after December 15, 2025, so an earlier birth abroad to a citizen parent falls under s.3(1)(b), and s.3(7)(h) dates that citizenship from birth. IRCC’s page on the change says that in most such cases the person is a citizen automatically. Exceptions exist, such as s.3(2.5) for a person granted citizenship who later renounced it. A citizenship certificate is how IRCC confirms it. Read section 3 of the Citizenship Act

Not through s.3(1)(b), which counts a parent other than one who adopted the person. An adopted person applies for a grant under s.5.1, which asks, among other conditions, whether the adoption was in the child’s best interests and created a genuine relationship of parent and child. For an adoption on or after December 15, 2025, s.5.1(4) adds the same 1,095-day test, counted before the adoption. Read section 5.1 of the Citizenship Act

Section 3(5) switches off the s.3(3) limit when a parent, at the child’s birth, was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or a provincial public service, and was not locally engaged. It also covers a grandparent who was employed that way when the parent was born or adopted. Section 5.1(5) does the same for adoptions under s.5.1(4). Read section 3 of the Citizenship Act

Through an application to IRCC for a citizenship certificate, which is proof of a citizenship a person already holds, not a grant. The IRCC fee is $75. IRCC states that a person who thinks they became a citizen through the 2025 change must apply for a certificate to find out for sure. An adopted person applies for a grant under s.5.1 instead. How the proof of citizenship application works

No. The adult grant under s.5(1)(c)(i) counts 1,095 days inside the five years before the application, with half-day credit for time before permanent residence under s.5(1.001). Section 3(3) counts the parent’s days of physical presence in Canada at any time before the child’s birth, with no window and no half-day rule. The physical presence calculator counts the grant version. Physical presence calculator