You are right, I just checked the citizenship act, and in fact, yes immigrants to Canada who obtain citizenship by way of grant can give citizenship to their children if the latter are born abroad. The thing that complicates the matter is the fact that these children are considered 2nd generation. Thus they can't pass citizenship to their offspring because of the April 17, 2009 Amendement that I shared earlier. Offspring (aka your grand children if born abroad, unless they have a 1st generation Canadian parent) need to be born in Canada to acquire rights of citizenship by birth. Your son who will be born outside of Canada will be 2nd generation Canadian and therefore can't pass the citizenship to his children if his/her spouse is not first generation Canadian. here is what I found on the Gov of Canada website:Thank you for all the information provided!
My husband is actually going to Canada for work this summer to reach the 1095 days and then apply for citizenship. He couldn't delay the move date and still needs 30 more days that will get this summer in order to apply for citizenship.
The only thing that I believe you are wrong is that if I get citizenship before the future baby is born I can pass it to the baby. Citizens by naturalization are considered first generation even if born outside of Canada.
I hadn't considered that going through the PR route might not be possible because of the 1095 requirement even for newborns (given that we don't live in Canada so who knows when we'll be able to spend 3 years there).
We are aiming to have the baby in about a year so hopefully my citizenship application moves faster than that. And I cannot give birth in Canada because I don't have the money for the hospital bill and lost my right to healthcare when I moved.
Thank you again, I really appreciate your reply. You gave me a new point of view on my dilemma
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=365&top=5
I’m Canadian, but my child was born outside Canada. Are they Canadian?
Your child is likely a Canadian citizen if at least 1 parent (legal parent at birth [opens in a new tab] or biological parent)
- was born in Canada, or
- became a naturalized Canadian citizen before the child was born
Your child is not automatically a Canadian citizen if they’re an adopted child born outside Canada.
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Now, for my misunderstanding, and for some reason I thought that immigrants (naturalized citizens) were not considered 1st generation but you are right, if we acquire citizenship, then we are considered 1st generation citizens. I hope they don't change the definition in the future. Again it's best to double check with an immigration lawyer as the laws and legislations and definitions keep changing (it was the government of Harper who legislated this amendement to limit citizenship by descent). But for now, I believe you are right, based on what I read on the Citizenship act, if your child is born after you acquire your citizenship or after his dad acquires it (whichever comes first), child can get the citizenship:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-29/fulltext.html
PART IThe Right to Citizenship
persons who are citizens
- 3(1) Subject to this Act, a person is a citizen if
- (a) the person was born in Canada after February 14, 1977;
- (b) the person was born outside Canada after February 14, 1977 and at the time of his birth one of his parents, other than a parent who adopted him, was a citizen;
- (c) the person has been granted or acquired citizenship pursuant to section 5 or 11 and, in the case of a person who is fourteen years of age or over on the day that he is granted citizenship, he has taken the oath of citizenship;
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Classification of Generation Status: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=117200&CVD=117200&CLV=0&MLV=1&D=1
1 - First generation
This category includes persons who were born outside Canada. For the most part, these are people who are now, or once were, immigrants to Canada.
2 - Second generation
This category includes persons who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada. For the most part, these are the children of immigrants.
3 - Third generation or more
This category includes persons who were born in Canada with both parents born in Canada.
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