Tens of thousands of children born abroad in the past decade and a half, known as “Lost Canadians,” will now be eligible to become Canadian citizens after a new bill passed the Senate Wednesday and received royal assent Thursday.
Bill C-3 allows Canadians born outside the country to pass on their citizenship to their children who are also born abroad. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) says the new law would make at least 115,000 children born outside the country eligible for Canadian citizenship.
‘Lost Canadians’ legislation becomes law after Senate approval
But Canadians living in Canada, who have adopted children from abroad, say the bill leaves out a key change — an amendment that would give their kids the same treatment as children born in Canada.
“It’s utterly cruel what the government has done to us as a family and to other families like us in Canada and it’s just mean,” said Kat Lanteigne, whose 10-year-adopted son Nathanael was born in Zambia.
The new legislation says “intercountry adoptees,” children born abroad and adopted by Canadians living in Canada, must pass a “substantial connection” test to obtain citizenship, including proving they have lived in Canada for three years.
