Losing citizenship would make someone a foreign national, and this could result in their removal from the country and a 10-year ban on reapplying for any status in Canada, according to the legal website lawyerinfo.ca. Photo: Newsweek

According to posts on Reddit and local reports, Canadian authorities allegedly sent letters to people on Saturday who appear to have obtained their citizenship certificates in 2026, after Bill C-3 passed in December 2025, which ended the first-generation limit that had blocked thousands of people from applying for citizenship.

Losing citizenship would make someone a foreign national, and this could result in their removal from the country and a 10-year ban on reapplying for any status in Canada, according to the legal website lawyerinfo.ca.

IRCC “Actively Reviewing Files”

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told Newsweek that it is “aware that a limited number of people who obtained a citizenship certificate under C-3 have been notified that their file is under review.”

The IRCC said that the purpose of the review is to “determine, through an individualized process, whether the certificate was properly issued based on the evidence required by law,” adding this was a “necessary and important safeguard, and all affected individuals will have an opportunity to provide additional documentary evidence in support of their case.”

The IRCC said that if the review confirms that the individual is entitled to the certificate, it will be returned, and that it was “actively reviewing the affected files and taking the necessary steps to ensure they are assessed fairly, consistently and in accordance with the law.”

“This situation concerns the processing of individual cases and is not directly related to recent legislative changes,” it said.

What Is Bill C-3?

Bill C-3 is a 2025 Canadian law that amended the Citizenship Act to overhaul how citizenship is passed down to people born abroad. It came into force on December 15, 2025, after a court ruling found parts of the previous law unconstitutional.

The most important change was ending the long‑standing first‑generation limit, which had prevented Canadians born outside the country from passing citizenship to their children if those children were also born abroad.

Bill C-3 instead introduced a new system requiring a “substantial connection” to Canada—meaning the parent of the child had to typically spend at least three years in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption in order for that child to qualify for citizenship.

The law was seen as notable because it offered the chance of obtaining citizenship to thousands who had been denied citizenship despite having clear ties to the country—particularly Canadians living abroad with their families, or those with children born outside of Canada.

The IRCC told Newsweek that to “protect the value of Canadian citizenship, we brought in Bill C-3—creating fair, modern rules for citizenship by descent and a requirement that citizenship applicants clearly prove their connection to Canada.”

“Individuals seeking proof of citizenship through a Canadian ancestor must establish the chain of parent-child relationships through each generation and provide solid evidence to support their claim,” it said, adding that “having Canadian ancestry does not automatically mean entitlement to citizenship.