![\"Nova](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/additional_1_8f93943b-ea6c-4458-aaad-f1db8e77fc07_middle.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStaff at the Nova Scotia Archives report a four-fold spike in genealogical record requests since Parliament passed Bill C-3 earlier this month removing the long-criticised \u201cfirst-generation\u201d cap on citizenship by descent. A Reddit thread that went viral on 28 March captured the scramble, with users trading tips on tracing 19th-century baptismal records and shipping manifests to prove a Canadian ancestor. The change means that anyone with a parent, grandparent or even great-grandparent born in Canada may be eligible for Canadian citizenship, provided they can document the lineage. Previously, only the first generation born abroad automatically qualified; later generations had to naturalise through standard immigration channels. <\/p>\n
For global mobility teams, the amendment opens an unexpected pathway: employees posted overseas who discover a Canadian ancestor could bypass work-permit requirements altogether. Nova Scotia, with its deep maritime migration history, has become ground zero for document hunters. Archive director Emily MacLeod says the reading room has reached capacity every day since the bill\u2019s passage. \u201cWe are seeing enquiries from Australia, South Africa, Barbados\u2014places with historic Halifax sailings,\u201d she noted. The province\u2019s Vital Statistics office is drafting contingency plans to digitise high-demand record sets ahead of the summer peak. IRCC has yet to release formal application guidance, but immigration lawyers warn that proof standards will be stringent. Applicants must establish an unbroken chain of parent-child relationships for each generation, typically through birth and marriage certificates. <\/p>\n
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