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Canada has clarified how citizenship by descent applies to people born outside the country, stressing that eligibility depends on an unbroken direct line to a Canadian parent and the citizenship status of each person in that line at the time of birth.
Under the rules, a person born abroad may qualify for Canadian citizenship if they can trace their citizenship connection through a parent, grandparent or other direct ancestor who was a Canadian citizen when the next generation was born.
However, citizenship cannot be passed through relatives who are not direct ancestors, including aunts, uncles and cousins.
In a post shared by Canadavisa on Friday, Canadian immigration authorities explained that citizenship by descent is based on the relationship between a child and a parent who was a Canadian citizen when the child was born.
“The Citizenship Act recognises a person born abroad to a parent who was a citizen at the time of the birth,” the post read.
The clarification follows changes made after legal challenges to earlier restrictions on citizenship by descent, which critics argued excluded some descendants of Canadians unfairly.
The updated rules mean some people previously considered ineligible may now be recognised as Canadian citizens from birth rather than only from the date they apply.
Eligibility also depends on when each person in the family line acquired Canadian citizenship. A parent who became Canadian after their child was born would generally not be able to pass citizenship to that child by descent.
“If your parent was granted citizenship after you were born, that citizenship does not pass to you through descent,” the post added.
Authorities urged applicants to examine each generation carefully when establishing their eligibility.
Marriage to a Canadian citizen does not automatically confer citizenship, while adoption by a Canadian citizen is governed by a separate process.
Applicants are advised to start with the oldest direct ancestor who was born in Canada and trace the citizenship connection forward one generation at a time.
For those who qualify, the process confirms a citizenship status they may already have held since birth, with the citizenship certificate serving as proof of that status.
