Canadian Citizenship?...Really?...Oh My

[Wyfarer]

Ha! Ironically, I just got my acknowledgement via email this morning; a letter of the same in the form of a PDF. So a little over two weeks processing time. Now I suppose the real "wait" will start.

 

[Wyfarer]

Well, pretty much spot on for processing of my Proof a Citizenship Certificate from time of my mailing to Canada: five months total. I checked every so often online about my processing status and today, got this:

We sent your citizenship certificate on January 10, 2019 to: *#@+ O#* K^@$*# Dr , *&%#!$, California, United States of America, +^$#?*. If your certificate was sent to a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate, you will be contacted when it arrives. Mailing times will vary by region and could take up to four months. If we have sent your certificate to the wrong address, please contact us.

So although not in hand, the certificate is on its way (up to four months, really?); about eight days out now.

A big shout out to Hawk who gave some steady, relevant information short-cutting (as opposed to me trying to search all over the internet) and giving direction to my situation as it pertained to what I needed to provide in my application.

So now on to my Canadian passport application; might as well get it going now while waiting for the certificate to be delivered. Pretty straightforward except:

References: not a biggie, have a childhood friend and uni friend to be those.

Guarantor: I don't really know anyone in Canada proper for this. I have a Canadian friend living in New Zealand (he also has the latter citizenship) 24 years my senior who picked me up hitchhiking in New Zealand back in 1984 where we met. We have always remained in contact and see each other every few years, but longer gaps have happened over time. He's in New Zealand and I would be mailing the application to him, he then back to me. Time is not a big factor, but the hassle of going back and forth could be.

I see I can also submit with a PPTC 132, Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor, but am gathering I would have to use the services of someone in Canada? And I would have to be in Canada to do this?

Section 3 -- Previous Canadian Travel Document: This is a stickler. I don't have anything like that. Within the application there is a "bubble" to check for "No." Do I just check that and be done with it? Or fill out another form, PPTC 203, Declaration concerning lost, stolen, inaccessible, damaged or found Canadian travel document, the "inaccessible" being that I don't have one?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Hope I didn't jump the gun, but ordered my Canadian flag on Amazon today!

 

[Wyfarer]

Bump up for clbremer...

 

[canuck78]

Curious about why you are so enthusiastic about reestablishing your Canadian roots and documents? You must be in your 60s and have lived your whole life in the US and your US passport doesn't have a ton of limitations.

 

[Wyfarer]

Curious about why you are so enthusiastic about reestablishing your Canadian roots and documents? You must be in your 60s and have lived your whole life in the US and your US passport doesn't have a ton of limitations.

Good question (except the ageist part--would it matter if I was male or female?). First off, I'm in my late 50's, and at the time I originally made an inquiry was 15 or more years ago, so that would have been in my early 40's. Also, it was at a border crossing last summer that one of the immigration officers piqued my interest again in the possibilities stating that he would get an additional passport if he could, and that information I might have had 15 years ago is different now.

Further, my mom passed a few years ago; as with any death of someone that is close to you/one, you/one often become retrospective about things that were (same with my brother's untimely passing--suicide). I remember her describing trips back to Canada during the summers with her mom (I don't think granddad often went) and two brothers (born in the US). It was part of my mom's (grandfather's) life, heritage (and mine). I would imagine this "heritage" thing has a lot to do with why Irish (German, et al)-Americans (or Canadians) get available, additional citizenship/passports where/if they can.

Further, further, the loss of citizenship to my mom and granddad was a legislative wrong. In some small way I am honoring the correction, legislatively, of that wrong. I never had a conversation specifically with my mom about Canadian citizenship et al; I don't know how she would feel about the latest avenues I've taken.

Also, my wife is Australian (holds a US passport now), and although I haven't really researched it, I don't know that being a Commonwealth passport holder may help should we elect to move/retire to Australia; she is younger than I am, but suspect she will want to be close to her kids who both have been in the States now for 14 years.

I won't get political in the thread, but having the option of 2 ea passports may be prudent given the world's political climate. Even traveling in Vietnam in '91 (of which we got our visas through an Vietnam diplomatic organization--don't remember it being the embassy/consulate--in Canada) was a bit of an eye-opener. My travelmate and I were waiting on paperwork to travel north from Saigon. We met two Canadians who were passing through the same after travels in SEA. We agreed to share a car and driver to see some sites and get out of the city for the day. Well, long story short, we committed a "crime" and were hauled down to the provincial police to be shaken down for a few bucks. Police Chief Tran and we were sitting down around a table; he exclaims, Americans USD$100 ea, Canadians USD$50 ea. Well, four or five hours later we settled on USD$20 ea. I leaned over to the kind, gentle doctor they dragged in to interpret and under my breath said, would they have taken USD$10 ea? He nodded yes...dang!

Believe me, I won't be trying out for any Canadian Olympic Teams or evading the US taxman!

 

[trumprefugee]

I just stumbled upon this thread. Glad to read your story, @Wyfarer , and congrats on the Canadian citizenship!

There actually is a push for free movement (living and working) among the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
https://www.canzukinternational.com/about
If this happens, your Canadian passport could come in very useful if you decide to move to Australia.

p.s. - I am a US citizen who immigrated to Canada for political and lifestyle reasons, and so far, I love living in Canada!

 

[canuck78]

I just stumbled upon this thread. Glad to read your story, @Wyfarer , and congrats on the Canadian citizenship!

There actually is a push for free movement (living and working) among the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
https://www.canzukinternational.com/about
If this happens, your Canadian passport could come in very useful if you decide to move to Australia.

p.s. - I am a US citizen who immigrated to Canada for political and lifestyle reasons, and so far, I love living in Canada!

Noticed lots of recent immigration from especially the UK to Canada due to Brexit. After 2008 tons of Irish immigrants especially in the building trades although most were probably not part of Northern Ireland. Canada is a relatively easy to immigrate to if you are young, skilled or able to pay for an education. Many US citizens may be under the impression that Canada is less expensive to live in and it isn't that simple. Many costs are higher in Canada. The US media likes to publicize that we have medicare but it is really partial medicare and there are definitely strains on the system. I have seen people on tis forum expecting the government to pay for daily care in their home which they paid for in their own countries. Most of the time family will be responsible for care. In one particular case the child didn't even have severe impairments and the applicant was expecting a few hours of nursing care daily after school for their child so both parents could work. They wouldn't have qualified for any help. Expectations of "free healthcare" usually doesn't fit with reality.

 

[trumprefugee]

Noticed lots of recent immigration from especially the UK to Canada due to Brexit. After 2008 tons of Irish immigrants especially in the building trades although most were probably not part of Northern Ireland. Canada is a relatively easy to immigrate to if you are young, skilled or able to pay for an education. Many US citizens may be under the impression that Canada is less expensive to live in and it isn't that simple. Many costs are higher in Canada. The US media likes to publicize that we have medicare but it is really partial medicare and there are definitely strains on the system. I have seen people on tis forum expecting the government to pay for daily care in their home which they paid for in their own countries. Most of the time family will be responsible for care. In one particular case the child didn't even have severe impairments and the applicant was expecting a few hours of nursing care daily after school for their child so both parents could work. They wouldn't have qualified for any help. Expectations of "free healthcare" usually doesn't fit with reality.

1) It's true that some costs are higher in Canada, especially those related to cars and transportation. But some big expenses, such as housing, are cheaper. Before people point out the high costs in Toronto and Vancouver, note that those are the two most expensive parts of Canada and should be compared to New York and San Francisco, the two most expensive parts of the US which are significantly more expensive. Those comparing the cost of living in Toronto versus a small US town are comparing apples to oranges.

Also, many US citizens take into consideration the exchange rate, which these days and historically has been favorable for those converting US dollars into Canadian dollars. This helps a lot for those of us who moved to Canada after working in the US for a while, but of course not for those who have been in Canada since the beginning of their working lives.


2) Healthcare - yes, there are definitely gaps and strains in Canada's healthcare system, but it is far better than that of the US. At least everyone in Canada has access to basic healthcare, even if we have to wait. In the US, affordable healthcare is available only for those who work long and often stressful hours for the fewer and fewer employers who happen to provide great health insurance, or who are elderly (Medicare) or extremely poor (Medicaid). Unpaid medical bills is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. I think some western European countries have more comprehensive healthcare for everyone, but they have far higher tax rates.


3) regarding expecting the government to pay for childcare - the Canadian government does provide child tax benefits for those meeting certain income levels in the previous year, even during their first year in Canada, much to the surprise and delight of a number of recent immigrants I've talked to who weren't expecting this. However, these credits are available only for those of lower income, which is reasonable. I don't want to pay higher taxes to subsidize those who have the financial means to pay for their expenses. Those who expect the government to pay for daily care when they are not low income have an inaccurate view of Canada and should consider moving to certain countries in Europe that impose far higher taxes.

 

[canuck78]

1) It's true that some costs are higher in Canada, especially those related to cars and transportation. But some big expenses, such as housing, are cheaper. Before people point out the high costs in Toronto and Vancouver, note that those are the two most expensive parts of Canada and should be compared to New York and San Francisco, the two most expensive parts of the US which are significantly more expensive. Those comparing the cost of living in Toronto versus a small US town are comparing apples to oranges.

Also, many US citizens take into consideration the exchange rate, which these days and historically has been favorable for those converting US dollars into Canadian dollars. This helps a lot for those of us who moved to Canada after working in the US for a while, but of course not for those who have been in Canada since the beginning of their working lives.


2) Healthcare - yes, there are definitely gaps and strains in Canada's healthcare system, but it is far better than that of the US. At least everyone in Canada has access to basic healthcare, even if we have to wait. In the US, affordable healthcare is available only for those who work long and often stressful hours for the fewer and fewer employers who happen to provide great health insurance, or who are elderly (Medicare) or extremely poor (Medicaid). Unpaid medical bills is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. I think some western European countries have more comprehensive healthcare for everyone, but they have far higher tax rates.


3) regarding expecting the government to pay for childcare - the Canadian government does provide child tax benefits for those meeting certain income levels in the previous year, even during their first year in Canada, much to the surprise and delight of a number of recent immigrants I've talked to who weren't expecting this. However, these credits are available only for those of lower income, which is reasonable. I don't want to pay higher taxes to subsidize those who have the financial means to pay for their expenses. Those who expect the government to pay for daily care when they are not low income have an inaccurate view of Canada and should consider moving to certain countries in Europe that impose far higher taxes.

Never talked about childcare.

Don't think you can compare the cost of housing in the US and just look at SF and NYC. A large percentage are coming from other markets. Housing in most US mid sized cities is less expensive than mid-sized cities in Canada. In terms of healthcare if you have decent insurance and move to Canada people view this as a cost saving. The systems are very hard to compare but you don't get the same level of care. Many would find what Canadians put up with unacceptable. Very thankful and I know a lot about it but if you are an insured American resident you can't expect the same system.

 

[Wyfarer]

Thanks trumprefugee, I like your blog. I don't have a real "nut" out for Trump, but definitely a *yawn* and *rolls eyes.* Where Trump seems to appease, or is appealing to, the ultra-right politically, Reagan had the same with the religious-right which I think was much more manageable to engage with the right (pardon the pun) administration. Trump has little hope of doing this cuz his administration is in such disarray; he to a large extent creating that.

A few other comments:

--my wife didn't say she would move back to Australia if Trump were elected, but did say if he is re-elected, then she will consider it. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

--Re health coverage in Canada; it's not something that's on my mind, so I don't really know the score or what I might be entitled to as a Canadian citizen. I will say that when my wife and I were Downunder for her brother's wedding last summer (ours), we had an ER visit. They quickly determined on a computer, ah, you haven't been in Australia for a while? No, was the answer. Okay, well, you're not covered here as she wasn't paying into the system. So out came the credit card. So admittance, tests, a night in the hospital, and follow up was $800 - $900. Can't remember now if that was AU or US dollars; thought is was reasonable for "no" coverage.

So not sure how a similar situation would play out in Canada if it was me. I am covered under Kaiser (founder being Canadian) here in the States. I pay out of pocket (with tax benefits) for my coverage; I am self-employed. I just had hip replacement surgery four weeks ago. Once I met with a surgeon within the Kaiser system, it would have been about a 45-day wait to get in line (on the table), but opted to wait six months where recovery would be just after the first of the year when it is a slower business time of the year. Incidentally, I was out of pocket about $3000 for the surgery. I think my deductible is $2500 per year, so this is Jan for the surgery, but then there was office and test visits the year prior.

--Incidentally, trumprefugee's synopsis on the healthcare thing above in the States is pretty accurate. I don't know about lucky, but glad I can afford to pay my own healthcare coverage.

--I'm not really "looking" for anything with my new Canadian citizenship cert. Just feeling the surf, baby paddles. canuck78 makes note of my age currently; actually, my effective day on my Certificate is 1960--so close to 60 years ago.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks trumprefugee, I like your blog. I don't have a real "nut" out for Trump, but definitely a *yawn* and *rolls eyes.* Where Trump seems to appease, or is appealing to, the ultra-right politically, Reagan had the same with the religious-right which I think was much more manageable to engage with the right (pardon the pun) administration. Trump has little hope of doing this cuz his administration is in such disarray; he to a large extent creating that.

A few other comments:

--my wife didn't say she would move back to Australia if Trump were elected, but did say if he is re-elected, then she will consider it. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

--Re health coverage in Canada; it's not something that's on my mind, so I don't really know the score or what I might be entitled to as a Canadian citizen. I will say that when my wife and I were Downunder for her brother's wedding last summer (ours), we had an ER visit. They quickly determined on a computer, ah, you haven't been in Australia for a while? No, was the answer. Okay, well, you're not covered here as she wasn't paying into the system. So out came the credit card. So admittance, tests, a night in the hospital, and follow up was $800 - $900. Can't remember now if that was AU or US dollars; thought is was reasonable for "no" coverage.

So not sure how a similar situation would play out in Canada if it was me. I am covered under Kaiser (founder being Canadian) here in the States. I pay out of pocket (with tax benefits) for my coverage; I am self-employed. I just had hip replacement surgery four weeks ago. Once I met with a surgeon within the Kaiser system, it would have been about a 45-day wait to get in line (on the table), but opted to wait six months where recovery would be just after the first of the year when it is a slower business time of the year. Incidentally, I was out of pocket about $3000 for the surgery. I think my deductible is $2500 per year, so this is Jan for the surgery, but then there was office and test visits the year prior.

--Incidentally, trumprefugee's synopsis on the healthcare thing above in the States is pretty accurate. I don't know about lucky, but glad I can afford to pay my own healthcare coverage.

--I'm not really "looking" for anything with my new Canadian citizenship cert. Just feeling the surf, baby paddles. canuck78 makes note of my age currently; actually, my effective day on my Certificate is 1960--so close to 60 years ago.

Canadians are very lucky like Australians in that a quick trip to an ER will not end up being as expensive as buying a used car. Think many Canadians get defensive when longtime citizens or new citizen consider Canada as their retirement plan. The US media like to claim that healthcare is free in Canada but we actually have partial medicare and most European countries cover many items that are not covered in Canada. Many people move to Canada expecting everything to be covered and that is definitely not the case. I have seen that some provinces have limited access to publicly funded longterm care if patients haven't been residents in that province for the last 10 years. I can see those types of limitations becoming more common due to an aging population and a world where people easily move all over the world. Depending on where you come from in the US Canada may seem like a bargain or very expensive. If you live in parts of the US and move to California, the NW or parts NE you will be pretty shocked at the differences in cost of living.

 

[Wyfarer]

Done!

Passport arrived today; just about seven months all toll (told) after applying for my Proof of Canadian Citizenship Cert and then Passport Application.

Slight snag as I was applying for the passport; got my app all filled out, other paperwork, photos, Proof of Citizenship Cert (hard copy), et al. Sent the same to Canada (from the US) via USPS. A couple days later I get my Proof of Canadian Citizenship Cert back via USPS, not mailed, just delivered by the postman in a handwritten addressed USPS mail pouch.

Duh! In all the commotion of getting this thing right and mailed, I inadvertently left my Cert on the counter (maybe the Cert was similar in color to the counter) for some reason! Another customer returned it to the sales counter and they got it to me. So now what to do? I immediately sent a cover letter, the original Cert returned to me, and a copy of my application back to the same processing center where I thought I sent my completed passport app the first time.

I'm thinking, how is the going to gel? So I call the Passport Center in Canada, outline the situation, the woman helping me takes down my two USPS tracking numbers, gets them entered into the computer system to put two and two together. Lo and behold, everything synched (was expecting 2 ea correspondences returned) and was monitoring my credit card usage. Ping, they ran my passport app fee; I knew it was good then. Kuddos to the "system." No, really!

 

[Wyfarer]

Canadians are very lucky like Australians in that a quick trip to an ER will not end up being as expensive as buying a used car.

Canuck78, meant to follow up to part of your quote above. Went to my wife's (US/Australian Citizenship) brother's wedding in May of 2019 in Australia. On the wedding day (well, actually later in the night) my wife was having some vision issues, like she couldn't see for a spell (turns out it was surmised to be a vascular issue of some sort). It was concerning enough that it was suggested (the bride being an MD) we go to the ER (this was in Brisbane, QLD). My wife had been in the States for about 14 years by that time. We went to the ER where through my wife's Australian passport the one admitting my wife said something to the affect that since my wife had not been paying into the "system" these past 14 years, we would need to pay at the point of service; essentially, "give us a credit card."

She had a series of tests, was monitored overnight, so a night in the hospital, and I think some medication and other incidentals. The total was something like USD$750. I thought that was pretty reasonable and maybe not enough to buy a used car.

On another note, not my wife yet, but the same person was visiting the US with her kids around 2003. We were prepping the property for an end of the summer party which required a lot of weed removal and clean up around the pool deck area and surrounds. Allergens hit her hard (swollen face, almost closed eyes) from all the pollens et al. Do we go to emergency? I'm a Kaiser member, we called the on-call nurse, explained the situation that she was visiting from abroad and could we get an allergy medication? We were able to, just ran down to the pharmacy to pick it up. I suppose had she had more expense, she could have gotten reimbursed from her Aussie insurance; not sure how that works. Same with our $750 bill in Australia; we never did try to get a reimbursement from our insurance upon getting home.

 

[canuck78]

Canuck78, meant to follow up to part of your quote above. Went to my wife's (US/Australian Citizenship) brother's wedding in May of 2019 in Australia. On the wedding day (well, actually later in the night) my wife was having some vision issues, like she couldn't see for a spell (turns out it was surmised to be a vascular issue of some sort). It was concerning enough that it was suggested (the bride being an MD) we go to the ER (this was in Brisbane, QLD). My wife had been in the States for about 14 years by that time. We went to the ER where through my wife's Australian passport the one admitting my wife said something to the affect that since my wife had not been paying into the "system" these past 14 years, we would need to pay at the point of service; essentially, "give us a credit card."

She had a series of tests, was monitored overnight, so a night in the hospital, and I think some medication and other incidentals. The total was something like USD$750. I thought that was pretty reasonable and maybe not enough to buy a used car.

On another note, not my wife yet, but the same person was visiting the US with her kids around 2003. We were prepping the property for an end of the summer party which required a lot of weed removal and clean up around the pool deck area and surrounds. Allergens hit her hard (swollen face, almost closed eyes) from all the pollens et al. Do we go to emergency? I'm a Kaiser member, we called the on-call nurse, explained the situation that she was visiting from abroad and could we get an allergy medication? We were able to, just ran down to the pharmacy to pick it up. I suppose had she had more expense, she could have gotten reimbursed from her Aussie insurance; not sure how that works. Same with our $750 bill in Australia; we never did try to get a reimbursement from our insurance upon getting home.

Not really fair to compare an ER visit for an Australian who does not live in Australia and so would need to pay for care and a questionable nurse who called in a prescription in your name for your friend. Pretty sure your friend is not covered under your insurance plan. You could have also just gone and bought benadryl from a pharmacy.

 

[Wyfarer]

Not really fair to compare an ER visit for an Australian who does not live in Australia and so would need to pay for care and a questionable nurse who called in a prescription in your name for your friend. Pretty sure your friend is not covered under your insurance plan. You could have also just gone and bought benadryl from a pharmacy.

You made the comment about Australians being lucky; one such Australian was not so lucky.

I completely outlined that my friend was having an issue (as a Kaiser member I have access to an advice nurse for well...advice), not me, nor did I ask an advice nurse to make any prescription for my friend in my name. Perhaps you didn't read every word in my quote above, or just made assumptions. But, you did get that my friend is not covered under my insurance plan, but then never did I state that. Benadryl at a pharmacy? There ya go, I should have called you. *rolls eyes* I think what we were looking for was not to self-medicate and get something that was a little more...shall I write, robust?