From Being a Refugee to Becoming a Dual Citizen – University Student Facing Troubles with Travelling (upcoming internship please help)

[garbimba]

I'm surprised they gave you a hard time as a Canadian Citizen. Maybe if you had travel as a PR, but even then, you went to Cuba, not to Hungary, so why do they care about your status before you became citizen? Sounds like shitty border agents to me who just wanted to annoy you.

With that being said, I'm in a similar boat to yours, and all I do when traveling back to my home country is just use my passport from there to enter as I have not renounced that citizenship and I am legally required to do so. When I come back to Canada, they don't care where I've been and I use my Canadian Passport. I would recommend going to the Hungary embassy/consulate and get that passport as well, since it looks that it will probably make your life easier when going to the EU, as you won't need to apply for an ETIAS when they start asking for them. However, if you're not going back to Hungary, it's not necessary.

 

[armoured]

... use my passport from there to enter as I have not renounced that citizenship and I am legally required to do so.

Who is legally requiring you to do so?

 

[garbimba]

Who is legally requiring you to do so?

By law, to enter my country of origin I have to use that passport. I can't enter as Canadian unfortunately, and if I do, I get fined and they may not allow me to leave. But the border officers in Canada have never given me any trouble since becoming a citizen. They used to be very annoying when I was a permanent resident though.

 

[MrChazz]

Good evening,
I am a third-year university student in Toronto.

When I was twelve, my parents brought me to Canada from Hungary. We are a part of a minority group and faced discrimination, therefore my parents and I entered the country as refugees. In 2022 November, I officially became a Canadian citizen and in December, I got my Canadian passport. This means that as of today, I am both a Hungarian and Canadian citizen, holding valid passports for both countries.

Since I am now an adult, I decided to celebrate my victory of finally becoming a citizen; I went to Cuba for a week. I returned from my vacation three days ago, and upon my arrival to Canada, I was stopped at security and was asked to talk to several immigration officers. One officer sent me to another until I finally reached someone who actually gave me some information. She began by saying that she can see I entered Canada as a refugee and that I was supposed to claim something regarding this when I bought the plane tickets. She couldn't tell me what it was exactly, and I still cannot figure out what she meant.
She also mentioned that since I am a dual citizen, starting from November 2023, travelling to the EU might be difficult for me. She said since I am an EU citizen, I do not need to participate in the new visa program the EU is implementing and I might not even be able to even with a Canadian passport (due to me also holding Hungarian citizenship). For this reason, I will most likely have to travel to the EU with my Hungarian passport and return to Canada with my Canadian one.

This all sounds lovely, however, to my knowledge, I shouldn't be using my Hungarian passport, let alone renewing it in the future since I was a refugee. However, due to this new visa program, I might not have a choice. She also mentioned that since I came to Canada as a child and technically did not "consent" to being a refugee, there might be different laws that apply to me.

I am the first one in my family to become a Canadian citizen and I do not have the funds to speak to a lawyer one-on-one. I have upcoming internships in London and Brussels, and I would like to avoid facing issues, especially after what happened a couple of days ago.

I have called the IRCC multiple times but the automated phone system didn't even allow me to speak to an agent. I have called the Hungarian embassy and they pretty much said "ask Canada". I also tried getting free consultations from immigration consultants and they said completely different things, including that I could return to my country of origin since I was a kid when I came to Canada.

I am so beyond confused now. I am going to London on February 17, and to Brussels in April. I do not want to mess anything up, but I have no idea what laws and regulations apply to me, especially after the visa program will be implemented in Europe.

Why would they stop me at the airport? Should I expect this type of "welcome" every single time I leave the country? What should I know about my situation and what kind of things should I be avoiding?

Any help and knowledge regarding this topic will be much appreciated!

It sounds like there was some sort of "flag" on you before you became a citizen, but CSBA does not have updated records, and the immigration officers picked up on your old status but were clueless about what to do about it. They seem to be quite confused but not ready to admit it.

Legally, you are now a Canadian citizen and should be able to enter Canada on your Canadian passport without any questions. Whether or not you use your Hungarian passport to travel within Europe need not concern anyone other than the countries you visit in Europe. Also, the claim that being a dual citizen complicating your travel seems nonsensical as long as you use your Hungarian passport when traveling in Europe. I have multiple passports. When I enter Canada I use the Canadian one; and when I travel elsewhere I use whichever is convenient.

Your former refugee status should not matter, since you are no longer under refugee status.

Talking to a lawyer might give some ease of mind, if you are prepared to pay for it. But I think they will tell you the obvious: use your Canadian passport to enter Canada, and use your Hungarian passport to enter Europe.

 

[armoured]

By law, to enter my country of origin I have to use that passport. I can't enter as Canadian unfortunately, and if I do, I get fined and they may not allow me to leave. But the border officers in Canada have never given me any trouble since becoming a citizen. They used to be very annoying when I was a permanent resident though.

Ah sorry, I thought you meant you were legally required to renounce citizenship, I misread what you wrote.

Yes, in most countries you have to use the passport of the country you are entering if you are a citizen. (or at least declare you are a citizen).

Canada seems a bit more relaxed about this but many other countries are not.