Canada’s recent changes to citizenship by descent have reopened a pathway for people born abroad with Canadian ancestry, including those whose claim runs through a Canadian-born grandparent. The case of England-born footballer Alfie Jones shows how the shift can work in practice: his grandmother was born in Hillcrest, Alberta, and he became a Canadian citizen in 2025.
Jones, 28, is a Bristol-born defender who plays for Middlesbrough FC in England. For most of his career, his Canadian family connection was not treated as a citizenship claim. He knew his maternal grandmother had grown up in Alberta, but he did not grow up assuming he was eligible for Canadian citizenship.
That changed after a conversation with Canadian midfielder Liam Millar. Jones mentioned his grandmother’s Alberta connection, and Millar later told Canada men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch. The process to confirm Jones’s eligibility and pursue Canadian citizenship then began.
The federation retained legal counsel and helped him through the steps normally involved in a citizenship by descent claim, including:
- Gathering family documentation
- Submitting under the new legal framework
- Completing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada review stages
- Clearing RCMP fingerprint and criminal database checks
Jones became a Canadian citizen on November 17, 2025, one day before starting for Canada in a pre-World Cup friendly against Venezuela. In May 2026, Canada Soccer named him to Canada’s roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What changed in Canada’s citizenship by descent law
For about 16 years, having a Canadian grandparent was generally not enough to pass citizenship down the family line.
Canada’s first-generation limit, introduced in 2009, blocked citizenship from passing to many people born outside Canada if their Canadian parent was also born outside Canada. This meant a grandchild born abroad to parents also born abroad could be unable to claim Canadian citizenship, even if a grandparent was born in Canada.
In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the first-generation limit was unconstitutional. Canada then introduced interim discretionary-grant measures in March 2025 for people affected by the rule.
Jones qualified under these interim measures before Bill C-3 had passed Parliament. Bill C-3 later removed the first-generation limit permanently, and the law took effect on December 15, 2025.
The changes potentially make many people eligible to claim Canadian citizenship through a Canadian grandparent, great-grandparent, or earlier ancestor.
Who may already be Canadian
A person with a grandparent born in Canada may already be a Canadian citizen, even if:
- They were born outside Canada
- Their parents were also born outside Canada
- No one in the family has ever held a Canadian passport
The key distinction is that eligible people do not apply to become Canadian citizens. If they qualify, they are already citizens and apply for proof of that status.
The document that confirms this is a Canadian citizenship certificate. Once issued, it can be used to apply for a Canadian passport.
What applicants need to prove
A citizenship by descent claim depends on documentation. Applicants must show an unbroken paper trail connecting them to the Canadian ancestor.
This can include:
- The applicant’s birth certificate
- Parent birth certificates
- Grandparent proof of Canadian citizenship or Canadian birth
- Marriage records or other documents needed to connect surname changes across generations
These records must be submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with a proof of Canadian citizenship application.
For many applicants, the practical challenge is finding older vital records from provincial archives, especially where the Canadian ancestor left the country generations ago.
Main caveat
Having Canadian ancestry is not enough by itself. The claim must be documented clearly enough for IRCC to verify the connection across each generation.
Jones’s case shows the practical effect of Canada’s legal changes: a Canadian-born grandparent can now matter again for people previously blocked by the first-generation limit. For some, that may lead not only to eligibility on paper, but to a Canadian citizenship certificate and passport.
Source article: www.cicnews.com
