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Lesson Plan: Would You Apply for a “Backup Passport”?

Ann S. Michaelsen

After Canada relaxed parts of its citizenship-by-descent rules in December 2025, many Americans began combing through their family trees to see if they could claim Canadian citizenship. For some, the news prompted a sudden thought: could a long-forgotten grandparent unlock a second passport? It’s a question increasingly being asked around the world.

When Emily Hill, a novelist from Everett, Washington, heard about the recent changes to Canada’s citizenship-by-descent rules, she immediately wondered whether a family connection might make her eligible.

“I felt like I’d been struck by lightning,” she says, explaining that her grandmother was born in Montreal. “This possibility was a 26-year dream come true.” BBC

Topic

Citizenship, identity, migration, global mobility, and argument writing

Learning goals

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Warm-up: “Which passport would you choose?”

Imagine you could instantly get citizenship in one additional country. Which country would you choose, and why?

Give students 2–3 minutes to think, then have them share with a partner. After that, take quick class responses.

To make it playful, tell students they must choose for one of these reasons:

Then ask:

This sets up the article’s main idea well, because the BBC piece frames passports not only as proof of nationality but increasingly as strategic tools that affect where people can live, work, and travel.

2. Pre-reading discussion

Ask students:

  1. What does citizenship mean to you?
  2. Why might someone want citizenship in more than one country?
  3. Do you think it is fair that some people can claim citizenship through family history while others cannot?
  4. Should citizenship be about ancestry, residence, loyalty, or contribution?

Let students briefly discuss in pairs, then gather a few whole-class ideas.

3. Vocabulary before reading

Pre-teach these words:

4. Reading task

Students read the article independently or in pairs. BBC: The rise of the “backup passport”

While reading, ask them to highlight or note:

Reading mission:
Find out why more people are treating citizenship like a “backup plan.”

The article’s reported examples include UK citizens looking for Irish citizenship after Brexit and Americans examining Canadian ancestry after Canada changed parts of its citizenship-by-descent rules in December 2025. The broader argument is that political polarization, pandemic-era border closures, geopolitical tensions, and shifting travel rules have changed how people think about nationality and mobility.

5. Check-for-understanding questions

1. What is meant by the phrase “backup passport” in the article?

A good answer should explain that it refers to a second passport or second citizenship that gives a person more options, security, or mobility in case conditions worsen in their home country.

2. According to the article, why are more people interested in second citizenship now than in the past?

Students should mention factors such as political instability, Brexit, pandemic border closures, changing visa rules, geopolitical tensions, and remote work.

3. What example does the article give about UK citizens after Brexit?

Students should note that some UK citizens searched for an Irish grandparent and applied for Irish citizenship to keep EU benefits.

4. What recent change in Canada is mentioned as an example in the article?

Students should identify that Canada relaxed parts of its citizenship-by-descent rules in December 2025, which led some Americans to explore whether family ancestry could help them claim Canadian citizenship.

5. How does the article suggest the meaning of a passport is changing?

Students should explain that passports are no longer viewed only as proof of origin or identity, but also as practical tools that affect where a person can live, work, and travel.

6. What kinds of people are described in the article as seeking second passports?

Students should note that the article includes both ordinary people using ancestry routes and wealthy individuals using investment-based routes.

7. What important debate does this article raise about fairness and citizenship?

Students should discuss whether citizenship should be easy to access through ancestry or money, and whether this creates unfair advantages for some people over others. This final question moves from comprehension into light interpretation.

6. Post-reading discussion

A strong classroom angle here is that students can see citizenship as both emotional and strategic. In my view, that tension is what makes this article so teachable: it pushes students to confront the difference between belonging to a nation and using nationality as a tool. That is a rich and modern question.

Citizenship application challenge

Choose a country other than your own. Imagine that country has opened a special pathway to citizenship and is willing to consider applications from international candidates.

Write a persuasive application explaining why you should be granted citizenship there.

Your application must:

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