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Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship and many are applying ‘just in case’
Bill C-3 reversed citizenship limits, allowing millions of Americans to claim Canadian citizenship amid US political uncertainty, with 50,900 applications pending, says Immigration Canada.
- Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship following the passage of Bill C-3, which amends the Citizenship Act to reverse a 2009 first-generation limit.
- Canadian courts deemed previous citizenship laws unconstitutional and discriminatory, prompting the amendment that restores status to Lost Canadians who previously lost or never obtained citizenship due to outdated rules.
- Ottawa-Based immigration consultant Cassandra Fultz reports a tenfold increase in American applications, from an average of 10 to 100 monthly, while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada faces a 10-month processing backlog with about 50,900 applicants waiting.
- Many applicants seek citizenship as a 'Plan B' amid U.S. political upheaval; individuals like Ellen Robillard and Rachel Rabb cite fear of violence and economic instability as primary drivers for their applications.
- While some Canadians criticize the policy for favoring Americans with few ties, Fultz emphasizes that many applicants include doctors, lawyers, and Harvard and MIT graduates, as the amendment aims to foster equitability.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Explained | Why more Americans are applying for Canadian citizenship after new ancestry law
Millions of Americans are now seeking to apply for Canadian citizenship, provided they can prove direct lineage in the country. But why is there an uptick in US applicants for Canadian citizenship?
Local 3 News
When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, Ellen Robillard, a New York state resident, briefly considered the possibility of obtaining Canadian citizenship. After all, her mother was born in Nova Scotia.
Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship and many are applying ‘just in case’
Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship by descent, due to a change in Canadian law. And as concerns about President Trump’s second term grow, thousands of Americans are gathering paperwork to apply just in case.
Millions of Americans Are Now eligible For Canadian Citizenship, And Many Are Applying ‘Just In Case.’
One of the major transformations made towards the Canadian citizenship law has silently opened an outstanding gateway to millions of Americans. In Canada, a first-generation limit that had hitherto barred the ability of Canadian citizenship to pass beyond the first generation of Canadian-born foreign-born individuals was permanently removed by Bill C-3, which took effect in December 2025. Source
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