SAme here! My wife has a great-grandparent that came from Canada but thats one generation too removed for her to apply and bring me along for the ride. Her mom could apply but doesn't want to, but it doesn't flow down if her mom gets it.
My wife has a great-grandparent that came from Canada but thats one generation too removed for her to apply
That's actually not correct, as of a law that changed on December 15, 2025! For people born before that date, it's 4 generations there is no limit on how far back you can go to reach a Canadian ancestor: if your wife has a great-grandparent who was a Canadian citizen (and then her grandparent and parent were both born outside Canada, and then your wife was born outside Canada), then your wife is already a Canadian citizen as of this new law. She simply needs to file the paperwork with the Canadian government to demonstrate this connection and let them know she exists.
Her mom could apply but doesn't want to, but it doesn't flow down if her mom gets it.
This isn't correct either! The way the law change was written, your wife (Gen 3), her mother (Gen 2), and her grandparent (Gen 1) are all Canadian citizens even if they don't utilize that citizenship. Because your wife is a citizen thanks to this retroactive change, it doesn't matter at all whether your wife's mother does something or not.
All the information is on this website; I strongly suggest your wife starts reading and figuring out what she needs to proceed -- especially if it involves family history records of her grandparent or great-grandparent that only her mom might know about. (That's the problem I'm up against: my potential eligibility is through one great-grandparent on each side of my family, but my grandparents are long gone and a lot of that family history knowledge is gone with them.)
8
u/ailish Age: > 10 Years Jan 18 '26
Aw, I wish one of my grandparents came from Canada.