Canada: Interim Measures for Certain Citizenship Applicants

Update – March 20, 2025: IRCC has extended its interim measures to expand eligibility for a discretionary grant of citizenship to more individuals affected by the first-generation limit to mitigate delays from the passage of a new law that would address outstanding constitutional issues. The expanded eligibility includes those born or adopted before December 19, 2023, who are subject to the first-generation limit, and those born or adopted on or after that date, provided their Canadian parent had at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before their birth or adoption (with prioritized consideration). Additionally, individuals born before April 1, 1949, still impacted by the first-generation limit, and those who lost citizenship because of outdated provisions of previous citizenship legislation are also eligible for consideration.

August 22, 2024: Pending a parliamentary decision on a proposed law that would extend citizenship by descent beyond the first generation and would automatically confer Canadian citizenship to persons born abroad to a Canadian parent who is also born abroad (whereas currently, a Canadian citizen parent can only pass on citizenship to a child born outside Canada if they were either born in Canada or naturalized before the birth of the child), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced interim measures which allow certain foreign nationals who are otherwise impacted by the current first generation limit to gain citizenship. Applicants who have submitted a proof of citizenship application under urgent processing that is currently subject to the first-generation rule will have their applications reviewed by IRCC, instead of automatically rejected. IRCC will either hold their application under processing until a decision is made on the proposed law, or, if it determines that the applicant is eligible for urgent processing, grant applicants the option to request a discretionary grant of citizenship (granted by the immigration minister to individuals in special or exceptional cases). Affected applicants should contact their immigration professional for case-specific advice.