NPZ Immigration Law Blog

In recognition of diversity of Canadian families, the Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced a change in the interpretation of “parent” under the Citizenship Act. The new change allows non-biological Canadian parent who are their children’s legal parent at birth to pass down Canadian citizenship to their children born abroad in the first generation.

The new interpretation helps Canadian parents who have relied on assisted human reproduction to start a family, including members of the LGBTQ community and couples with fertility issues. Until now, a child born abroad was automatically recognized as a citizen at birth only if the child shared a genetic link to the Canadian parent or if the child was born to a Canadian parent in the first generation. The Superior Court of Quebec affirmed that IRCC’s new interpretation of “parent” recognizes equally biological parents and legal parents at birth and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects this interpretation under the law.

At NPZ, our U.S. and Canadian Lawyers seek to assist clients with regard to employment and family immigration issues. If you or your friends or family should have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@visaserve.com or you can call our offices at 201-670-0006 (x 100). We look forward to being able to assist you.