Restauração de descida retroativa C-3 – segunda geração ou mais nascidos antes de 15/12/2025

CA-HIS-04 é a rota retroativa de restauração de descida criada pelo Projeto de Lei C-3 (Uma Lei para alterar a Lei da Cidadania (2025), S.C. 2025, c. 5), em vigor em 2025-12-15 por Despacho do Conselho SI/2025-129 (P.C. 2025-928). Ele confere cidadania canadense, por força da lei, a pessoas nascidas fora do Canadá ANTES de 15/12/2025 que foram excluídas pelo antigo limite absoluto de primeira geração (FGL) - ou seja, os descendentes nascidos no exterior de um canadense de segunda geração e posteriores. Antes do C-3, o FGL adicionado pelo Projeto de Lei C-37 (SC 2008, c. 14, em vigor em 17/04/2009) proibia a descendência de qualquer pessoa nascida no exterior de um pai canadense que fosse cidadão por descendência, sem mecanismo de fuga. O Tribunal Superior de Ontário em Bjorkquist v. AG Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152, declarou essa barra inconstitucional (Carta s.6 + s.15); C-3 é o substituto corretivo do Parlamento. A coorte pré-CIF agora é restaurada automaticamente e se aplica apenas à PROVA de cidadania (um certificado de cidadania). Esta rota é distinta do CA-HIS-03 (antigo s.8 Lost Canadians) e do CA-DSC-02 (o teste de conexão substancial prospectivo de 1.095 dias para nascimentos em/após 15/12/2025). A partir de 01/06/2026 esta é uma lei em vigor, não pendente.

A person falls within CA-HIS-04 if: (1) they were born outside Canada BEFORE 2025-12-15; (2) at the relevant time in their ancestral chain there was a Canadian-citizen parent (or grandparent) linking them to Canada; and (3) they were excluded from citizenship solely by the old absolute first-generation limit (i.e., they are a second-or-later-generation born-abroad descendant of a Canadian). For this pre-CIF cohort the 1,095-day substantial-connection test does NOT apply — that test gates only births on/after 2025-12-15 (CA-DSC-02). Where the linking parent or grandparent died before C-3 came into force, s.3(1.5) preserves the descendant's claim notwithstanding that death. Restoration is by operation of law and retroactive: the person is treated as having been a citizen from birth (consistent with the s.3(7)(h) deemed-from-birth principle for descent), so no discretionary grant is involved. Because acquisition is automatic, the operational act is applying for proof of citizenship rather than for a grant. A genetic/legal parent-child link in the chain is required, consistent with Kandola v. Canada, 2014 FCA 85.

Because beneficiaries are already citizens by operation of law, the operational step is a proof-of-citizenship (citizenship certificate) application. Core evidence assembles the descent chain: the applicant's own foreign birth certificate; the birth certificate(s) and proof of Canadian citizenship of the linking parent and, where relevant, grandparent (e.g., their Canadian citizenship certificate, Canadian birth certificate, or naturalization record); marriage/name-change documents bridging name discrepancies along the chain; and, where the linking parent or grandparent died before 2025-12-15, the death certificate engaging s.3(1.5). Documents in a language other than English or French require a certified translation. Identity documents and photographs follow the standard IRCC proof-of-citizenship checklist. Where a genetic link could be questioned (e.g., assisted reproduction in the chain), additional proof of the biological parent-child relationship may be needed in light of Kandola. Applicants should retain the live IRCC proof-of-citizenship document list, as IRCC updates checklists; verify the current list at application time.

1. Confirm the descent chain and that the person was born outside Canada before 2025-12-15 and was excluded only by the old FGL. 2. Gather proof of the linking Canadian parent/grandparent's citizenship and the chain of birth/marriage/death records (death certificate if the linking ancestor died before CIF, for s.3(1.5)). 3. Complete IRCC's proof-of-Canadian-citizenship (citizenship certificate) application; this is the route's operational vehicle because the person is already a citizen by operation of law. 4. Pay the proof-of-citizenship fee (CAD 75). 5. Submit and await assessment; IRCC verifies the chain against records and may request additional evidence or a search of citizenship records (CAD 75). 6. On a positive decision, IRCC issues a citizenship certificate (e-certificate or paper) evidencing the pre-existing citizenship — no oath and no ceremony, because this is recognition of automatic descent, not a grant. Applications that were in progress under the 2025 interim s.5(4) measure are processed under the new C-3 rules without a new certificate application.

As of 2026-06-01 IRCC's posted processing time for a citizenship grant for adults is about 13 months, against a 12-month service standard published in the IRCC 2026-27 Departmental Plan. Proof-of-citizenship (citizenship certificate) applications, which are the operational vehicle for CA-HIS-04, are processed on a separate IRCC timeline that fluctuates and is published via the IRCC processing-times tool. The live IRCC processing-time widget returned a load error at fetch on 2026-06-01, so any month-count should be re-pinned same-day at QA before being hard-cited. Complex multi-generation chains (e.g., engaging s.3(1.5) for a deceased linking ancestor, or requiring a search of citizenship records) can take longer than a simple proof application because IRCC must verify each generational link. Urgent processing may be requested where eligibility criteria for urgency are met. No statutory maximum processing time applies; timelines are administrative.

A taxa operacional para CA-HIS-04 é a taxa de prova de cidadania canadense (certificado de cidadania) de CAD 75,00, de acordo com a lista de taxas do IRCC (data modificada em 30/04/2026). Uma pesquisa de registros de cidadania, às vezes necessária para documentar o status de um ancestral mais antigo, custa CAD 75,00 adicionais. NÃO há taxa de concessão e NENHUMA taxa de direito de cidadania (RCF) para esta rota, porque a pessoa já é cidadã por força da lei e está apenas obtendo provas - a RCF (CAD 123, aumentada de CAD 119,75 em vigor em 31/03/2026) e a taxa de processamento de CAD 530 estão associadas às bolsas s.5, não ao reconhecimento de descendência. As pessoas que se tornam cidadãos automaticamente sob C-3, mas NÃO desejam a cidadania, podem usar o caminho de renúncia simplificado C-3, que não acarreta nenhuma taxa (CAD 0) de acordo com SOR/2025-278, em vez da renúncia padrão s.9 (CAD 100). Todas as taxas são definidas administrativamente e indexadas; verifique a lista atual de taxas do IRCC no momento da inscrição.

O instrumento de controle é uma lei para alterar a Lei da Cidadania (2025), SC 2025, c. 5 (Projeto de Lei C-3, 45º Parlamento, 1ª sessão), aprovado em 2025-11-20 e em vigor em 2025-12-15 pela OIC SI/2025-129 (P.C. 2025-928, elaborado nos termos do s.7 da Lei). O efeito retroativo é operacionalizado através da Lei da Cidadania consolidada, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29, s.3: a promulgação C-3 garante a cidadania por descendência para todas as pessoas nascidas fora do Canadá antes de entrar em vigor, filhas de um pai que era cidadão, e s.3 (1.5) ('cidadão apesar da morte dos pais ou avós') cura casos em que o ancestral vinculado morreu antes de C-3 entrar em vigor. A Seção 3 (6.5) (adicionada por SC 2025, c. 5) faz parte do mecanismo de avaliação/tempo de coorte retroativa dentro do s.3 consolidado; esta disposição inserida no C-3 é apoiada por evidências (seu status em vigor é resolvido por meio da análise do atraso de consolidação - CA-A-051), sendo o aparente painel 'Emendas não em vigor' um atraso de consolidação conhecido resolvido em relação ao histórico de entrada em vigor do IRCC e à Gazeta OIC SI/2025-129. A antiga disposição FGL (antiga s.3(3)(a), promulgada por SC 2008, c. 14) foi substituída por SC 2025, c. 5, s.1(8) de modo que s.3(3) agora morde apenasprospectivamente. O texto principal da descendência s.3(1)(b) e a regra s.3(7)(h) de considerar desde o nascimento permanecem inalterados.

Citizenship under CA-HIS-04 arises by operation of law, so no discretionary decision-maker confers it. The administrative decision is IRCC's verification of the descent chain and issuance (or refusal) of a citizenship certificate as evidence of the pre-existing status. IRCC officers act under the Citizenship Act and Regulations; the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is responsible for the program. Where IRCC refuses to recognize citizenship (e.g., disputes the chain or a genetic link), the remedy is judicial review in the Federal Court, the 'Court' defined in s.2(1) of the Act. The presumptive standard of review is reasonableness per Canada (MCI) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, with correctness reserved for limited categories such as constitutional questions. This contrasts with s.5 grants, where the Minister 'shall' (s.5(1)) or 'may' (s.5(4)) decide; here there is no grant decision to make — only recognition of automatic citizenship.

There is no internal statutory appeal of a proof-of-citizenship decision to a tribunal. A person whose citizenship recognition is refused may seek leave and judicial review in the Federal Court under s.22.1 of the Citizenship Act and the standard administrative-law framework, with the reasonableness standard from Canada (MCI) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, [2019] 4 SCR 653 applying to the officer's determination of the descent chain; constitutional questions (and other Vavilov-listed categories) attract correctness. The Federal Court is the 'Court' defined in s.2(1) of the Act. Practically, because the dispute is almost always documentary — whether the generational records establish the link — the more efficient course where a refusal turns on insufficient evidence is to supplement the chain (e.g., obtain the linking ancestor's record via a search of citizenship records, CAD 75) and re-apply, rather than litigate; judicial review tests the reasonableness of the officer's decision on the record before them, not fresh evidence. The constitutional foundation of the cohort's claim was settled by Bjorkquist v. AG Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152 (the old FGL struck on Charter s.6 mobility AND s.15 equality, the s.7 claim dismissed and no damages awarded), and Parliament's remedial response in C-3 means recognition now rests on statute for the whole cohort rather than on the s.24(1) constitutional-exemption mechanism the court reserved for the three named Bjorkquist applicants (Maruyama, Setterfield, Kovacs). Where assisted reproduction puts a genetic link in issue, a Kandola-type dispute may itself be the reviewable question.

Canada has permitted dual citizenship without restriction since 15 February 1977 (commencement of the Citizenship Act, S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 108). A person restored under CA-HIS-04 therefore keeps any other nationality they hold; Canada imposes no renunciation-of-foreign-citizenship requirement and does not treat acquisition of Canadian citizenship by descent as triggering loss of another. Conversely, the person should check the other country's rules, since some states restrict dual nationality and Canada cannot control a foreign state's response. Because CA-HIS-04 citizenship is automatic and retroactive to birth, the beneficiary is treated as having been Canadian all along, which can have downstream consequences abroad (e.g., tax or military-service regimes that key off nationality). A beneficiary who does not want Canadian citizenship may renounce — and C-3 created a no-fee simplified renunciation (SOR/2025-278) precisely for persons made citizens automatically under the new descent rules, distinct from the standard s.9 renunciation (CAD 100), provided the anti-statelessness condition (holding or acquiring another nationality) is met.