Law Commons^™

Citizenship And The First-Generation Limitation In Canada, Michael Pal, Luka Ryder-Bunting

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article considers the current Canadian regime for citizenship by descent and what is known as the “first-generation limitation.” In 2009, Parliament legislated to limit the transmission of citizenship by descent. Known as the “first-generation limitation,” the new rules mean that a Canadian parent is only entitled to pass on their citizenship to their children born abroad if the parent themselves became a citizen by birth inside Canada or by naturalization. In other words, if an individual acquired Canadian citizenship by descent, they are not entitled to pass on their citizenship to their children unless those children are born in …