December 2025

Bill C-3: An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025) came into effect this month. This amendment to Canada’s Citizenship Act means that citizenship can be obtained through descent without a limit to the number of generations between individuals born before December 15, 2025, and their Canadian ancestor. Children born after December 15, 2025, will only be able to obtain citizenship if they are born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent who spent at least three years in Canada before the child’s birth.

During Parliament’s debate on the bill, one opposition party expressed concern about the potential scope of the bill, noting that 150,000 to 300,000 individuals could potentially be eligible for citizenship.

November 2025

One of the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an interruption in plans to settle in Canada after obtaining permanent residence status. After being approved to settle in Canada, many individuals I’ve met with found they could not make the move. Finding employment, obtaining housing, and disrupting already disrupted schooling created too heavy a burden for many families. These individuals are now nearing the end of their initial five-year period after obtaining permanent residence, raising concerns that they may not have met the residency obligation.

October 2025

IRCC has updated processing times for the various immigration applications and refugee claims. For some applications, the new updated processing times raise alarms for lawyers and applicants.

September 2025

IRCC states on their website that you don’t need to hire a representative. You can get all the necessary forms and instructions for an immigration application on the IRCC website. Then, if you follow the instructions, you should be able to fill out the forms and submit them yourself. This is how it should be, but the reality is more complicated, and you should be aware of the pros and cons of self-representation before deciding on whether you would like to have a lawyer’s legal assistance. I have blogged about this issue in the past—Yes, You Really Do Need a Lawyer to Help You and Shocker: Your Canadian Immigration Application is More Likely to be Accepted if Prepared with the Assistance of a Lawyer.