PLANNING to visit Canada? You may not need a visa, but a Canadian passport.

And you may just be eligible for one.

On Dec. 15, 2025, the new Canadian citizenship law (Bill C-3) came into effect.

Prior to the new citizenship law, the passing on of citizenship was limited to the first generation of people born or adopted abroad.

Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said “this meant that a Canadian citizen could only pass on citizenship to or access a direct grant of citizenship for a child born or adopted outside Canada if the parent was either born or naturalized in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.”

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Easier, expanded pathway to citizenship

IRCC’s backgrounder on the new law lists the following categories of individuals who may immediately benefit and travel to Canada without a visa:

– People adopted abroad before Dec. 15, 2025, by a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad;

– People born or adopted abroad on or after Dec. 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent also born or adopted abroad. However, the applicant must also demonstrate that their Canadian parent has spent three years in Canada when applying for proof of Canadian citizenship or applying for Canadian citizenship for an adopted child.

Filipinos in and outside Canada

In 2021, almost 80 percent of the 925,490 Filipino permanent residents were concentrated in only three provinces: Ontario (355,680), Alberta (203,960) and British Columbia (172,915).

Since then, another 110,615 Filipinos (up to the first quarter of 2026) were admitted as permanent residents in Canada, pushing the total number of Filipino permanent residents to more than a million.

Filipinos in Canada exhibit high citizenship uptake rates, with 74 percent to 82 percent of Filipino immigrants becoming citizens within 10 years of admission.

Permanent residents qualify for Canadian citizenship after 3 years (1,095 days) of residence within a 5-year period.

Two factors may likely hasten the application of Filipino PRs to pursue Canadian citizenship:

1. The aggressive and restrictive policies of the Trump administration in the US on visas, immigration, deportation and of late, denaturalization program. Canadian PRs still need visas when entering the US. With the erratic and off-the-cuff inspection, detention and removal to a third country, a Filipino PR may be sent to a third country other than the Philippines.

2. The new Canadian Citizenship Act (Bill C3) passed in December 2025, expanding the eligibility to obtain citizenship by descent not just from parents but grandparents as well. Under the latest Canadian citizenship law, people with Canadian ancestry can automatically become eligible for Canadian citizenship. Citizenship by descent applies equally to children by birth and to children by adoption.

Filipinos, however, may have to move fast.

Millions of citizens of the United States are now eligible to claim dual citizenship with Canada and can thereby obtain Canadian passports.

The new law applies to Americans all over the US with Canadian ancestry — “an estimated 3 million Americans living in New England are eligible and would easily obtain evidence of Canadian ancestry owing to mass migration of Canadians from the years 1870 to 1930,” according to an April 17 CIC News report.

The new Canadian citizenship law would also be beneficial to:

– Filipinos born to mothers of Canadian descent married to a US citizen. The US citizen parent sponsored the child as a permanent resident to the United States.

– Filipinos recently admitted into Canada as adopted children of Canadian parent/s.

– Filipino children with ongoing adoption proceedings by Canadian parent/s.

Americans who obtain dual citizenship with Canada can benefit from the rights and privileges of citizenship of both countries, including the right to enter Canada and to settle in Canada permanently now or later. Having a Canadian passport facilitates moving to Canada should the US-Iran war and the Trump administration’s threat to Canada by way of annexation or continued tariff threats continue.

As of the time of writing, the processing time for proof of citizenship applications is 11 months.

The Canadian press reported that “US citizens accounted for the largest share of citizenship by descent applications by country in January 2026 — ten times the number of applications submitted by citizens of the United Kingdom, the second-highest country on the list.”

“The number of applications from US citizens in January 2026 outnumbered the sum of those filed by all other top nine source countries: the UK, France, China, Hong Kong, India, Australia, the Philippines, the UAE and Germany.”

Last year, “nearly 30 percent of the global total of citizenship by descent application were from US citizens.”

Getting and having Canadian citizenship is not taxing.

In addition to the easy and faster way of having Canadian citizenship is the privilege of not filing tax returns, unlike in the US where citizens are required to file personal income taxes wherever they live in the world. Canadian personal income taxes apply on the basis of residency.

An American Canadian who decides to settle in Canada permanently later can take advantage of the US-Canada tax treaty, “which provides relief from double taxation, enabling taxpayers with both Canadian and US tax obligations to offset certain taxes owed to one country on the basis of taxes paid to the other.”

Additional IRCC tips for those born outside Canada on or after Dec. 15, 2025:

– If you were born to a Canadian parent, you’re likely a Canadian citizen if your parent was also a Canadian citizen when you were born.

– If you were born to a Canadian parent (also born outside of Canada), you’re likely a Canadian citizen if your Canadian parent was also a Canadian citizen when you were born, and he/she spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before you were born.

Lost and found

The new citizenship law also applies to “Lost Canadians” — people who lost or never obtained citizenship because of certain outdated rules in earlier citizenship laws.

“Bill C-3 extends access to citizenship to these remaining ‘Lost Canadians,’ their descendants and those born abroad to or adopted abroad by a Canadian parent in the second or later generation before the new law came into effect.”

You may just have found your way to be the newest addition to the million-plus Filipino Canadians.

Bienvenue au Canada.