The federal government has set up a new system to restore citizenship quickly to people who have discovered they are no longer Canadians because of a little-known section in the law.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada on Friday added a new option to its hotline, 1-888-242-2100, specifically for people who wish to regain their Canadian citizenship in a hurry.

Hundreds of people, hoping to obtain passports last week so that they could fly to the U.S. under new travel requirements, found out that their Canadian citizenship had expired years ago.

"We have shifted resources to deal with the issues that have arisen," Lisa Borsu, spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, told CBC News Online from Ottawa.

"It's to help people regain their citizenship."

If people call the hotline, then press option six, they will be able to talk to an agent who will take their information and verify that they need direct help to regain Canadian citizenship.

Within 24 hours, Borsu said, another agent from the federal department will phone back to process their application to restore citizenship.

Borsu said Citizenship Canada is working with Passport Canada to ensure the applications are handled quickly.

As of Jan. 23, 2007, Canadians need a passport to fly to the U.S.

The citizenship problem surfaced last week when some passport applicants were informed that their chance to remain Canadian expired years ago.

According to Citizenship Canada, some Canadians born abroad are expected to take action before their 28th birthday to confirm their Canadian citizenship. If they fail to do so, under section 8 of the Citizenship Act, they are no longer considered to be Canadians.

The law applies to people who are part of second and subsequent generations born outside of Canada, not to all Canadians born abroad.

Health care, old age security not affected: minister

Citizenship Minister Diane Finley said in a Jan. 24 statement that the government will make certain that the provision will not affect health care or old age security coverage.

"I will use the powers available to me as minister under the Citizenship Act to resolve these cases as quickly as possible. I have directed my department to deploy the resources necessary to do so," she said.

"While these cases are being reviewed, these individuals can rest assured that they can remain in Canada."

Borsu said the special line at the call centre has received 1,788 calls since it was set up last Friday but only 178 were about lost citizenship.

"In the vast majority of cases, we were able to reassure our callers that they had not lost their citizenship," she said.

Only a handful of calls needed to be referred to the department for further review, she said.