Amendment to the Citizenship Act

Bill C-37, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act came into force on April 17, 2009.

The amendments:

• restore citizenship to many individuals who have lost it due to former legislation;
• give citizenship to certain individuals who have never been Canadian, and who are of the first generation born outside Canada to a Canadian parent;
• expand the eligibility of adopted persons applying for a grant of citizenship to include persons adopted between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977;
• limit citizenship by descent to the first generation born outside Canada to a Canadian parent; and
• limit citizenship by adoption to the first generation born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian parent.

For more information about how these recent amendments might affect you, please contact one of the lawyers in our Immigration Law Practice Group.