[3][4] Their story partially inspired the 2013–2018 period spy drama television series The Americans.

[3][5] The question was whether the Citizenship Act barred Vavilov from being considered a citizen under it, which prevents children of a "diplomatic or consular officer or other representative or employee in Canada of a foreign government" from receiving Canadian citizenship.

[8] The Supreme Court, in a 343-paragraph judgment, agreed with Vavilov and quashed the Registrar's decision.

[4] The Court, in holding for Vavilov, established a new framework for determining the standard of review in Canadian administrative law.

It then outlined two kinds of exceptions to that general rule, under which the correctness standard would apply instead.

The court held that is the case when constitutional questions are at issue, when the administrative decision involves a "general question of law of central importance to the legal system as a whole," or when the decision under review pertains to the jurisdiction of two or more tribunals.