Canada to restore right of citizens born abroad to pass citizenship to children also born outside country
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Canada plans to restore the right of citizens born abroad to pass their citizenship to children also born outside the country, following a court ruling that a “first-generation limit” in the law was unconstitutional.
The federal government announced legislation to amend the Citizenship Act, removing a “second-generation cut-off” introduced by the previous Conservative government, after an Ontario court ruled in December that the limit was unconstitutional.
“We wanted to take this opportunity to continue to minimize differential outcomes as much as possible for children born abroad … compared to children born to Canadians [in Canada],” said Marc Miller, the immigration minister, to reporters on Thursday. “Not everyone is entitled to [citizenship], but for those who are, it needs to be fair.”
The previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper limited citizenship by descent to a single generation in 2009 following criticism of the $85m spent evacuating 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon during the brief 2006 war with Israel, with Conservatives labelling such dual nationals “Canadians of convenience”.
Since then, Canadian citizens born abroad have been unable to pass their citizenship to any children born outside the country, creating what some have called a generation of “lost Canadians” and what critics argued amounted to a two-tiered system of citizenship.
The new bill would allow a Canadian born abroad to pass on citizenship if they have a substantial connection to Canada, demonstrated by showing they have spent at least three years in the country.
The “substantial connection” clause is aimed at addressing anti-immigration critics who claim that many immigrants leave Canada after obtaining passports and will only return to claim benefits.
