U.S. leads interest by wide margin in getting Canadian citizenship by descent

OTTAWA — A new law expanding eligibility for Canadian citizenship led to an initial uptick in applications from a handful of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Bill C-3 took effect on Dec. 15 to allow a citizenship claim from someone born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada, as long as the parent spent at least three years in Canada before their child’s birth or adoption.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reports receiving more than 12,000 citizenship by descent applications between Dec. 15 and the end of January.

The largest share of these applications are from the U.S., with nearly 2,500 filed in January alone.