Which passport/citizenship to opt for Canadian born baby to Indian Parents - work permit

[Mukesh Chaudhari]

HI All-

Me and my wife are Indian citizens (hold Indian passports) currently staying in Canada both having a valid Canadian work permit. Due to some commitments back in India, we want settle in India permanently and do not plan to come back to Canada. We will travel back to India within next 2-3 years. We are expecting a child to be born in November this year in Canada and would like to confirm on few points regarding citizenship of baby and its consequences. We are mainly worried about Education cost (school/higher education) of our child back in India as NRI?

1. Should we get Indian or Canadian passport for the baby? What are the pros and Cons of both these options?
2. If we choose Indian passport, will my child be able to reclaim the Canadian citizenship when he/she reaches 18 years of age?
3. If we choose to take Canadian passport, will he/she be able to claim Indian citizenship ever after based on parents having Indian citizenship?

I saw many related threads but could not get exact answers to all my queries.
Please help us on these queries. Thanks in advance.

 

[novascotia27]

HI All-

Me and my wife are Indian citizens (hold Indian passports) currently staying in Canada both having a valid Canadian work permit. Due to some commitments back in India, we want settle in India permanently and do not plan to come back to Canada. We will travel back to India within next 2-3 years. We are expecting a child to be born in November this year in Canada and would like to confirm on few points regarding citizenship of baby and its consequences. We are mainly worried about Education cost (school/higher education) of our child back in India as NRI?

1. Should we get Indian or Canadian passport for the baby? What are the pros and Cons of both these options?
2. If we choose Indian passport, will my child be able to reclaim the Canadian citizenship when he/she reaches 18 years of age?
3. If we choose to take Canadian passport, will he/she be able to claim Indian citizenship ever after based on parents having Indian citizenship?

I saw many related threads but could not get exact answers to all my queries.
Please help us on these queries. Thanks in advance.

You can’t “choose” whether your child is a Canadian Citizen or not. If s/he is born in Canadian soil, then s/he gets Canadian Citizenship by right.

Whether you choose or not to give Indian Citinzeship to you child is up to you and you should do research on this.

 

[hawk39]

My interpretation is based on what I've read from these sources:
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/UserGuide/Citizenship_Act_1955_16042019.pdf
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Home2.aspx?formcode=09
https://ociservices.gov.in/

The main question you should be asking is if you want your child to have full Indian citizenship. Even though Canada allows multiple citizenships, India does not except for children born abroad to Indian citizens; however the child will have to decide if he/she wants to keep Indian citizenship when he/she turns 18.

You will need to register your child's birth with an Indian embassy, consulate, or mission within the first year of birth; however you will need to declare that the child does not hold another passport. So if your child were to get a Canadian passport, this would seemingly disqualify him/her from Indian citizenship by descent under section 4. If, on the other hand, your child only acquires an Indian passport, because Canada requires its citizens to use a Canadian passport to enter Canada, then your child may not be able to return to Canada once he/she leaves; if he/she does try to return, India may automatically revoke his/her Indian citizenship.

An alternative to Indian citizenship is OCI, which grants the same privileges of Indian citizens including the same tuition fees of NRIs, except for owning farm land and holding government office. If you're determined to make your child Canadian, this would seem to be the best alternative to full Indian citizenship. If your child decides later on that he/she wants to be an Indian citizen, he/she can apply for naturalization with a shorter residency requirement for OCI holders than those applying for regular naturalization; however this means that he/she will be required to renounce his/her Canadian citizenship.

If full Indian citizenship is the goal, I think the best thing to do would be to give birth in India, then sponsor the child to Canada for PR to complete your work permits before going back to India.

 

[Mukesh Chaudhari]

My interpretation is based on what I've read from these sources:
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/UserGuide/Citizenship_Act_1955_16042019.pdf
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Home2.aspx?formcode=09
https://ociservices.gov.in/

The main question you should be asking is if you want your child to have full Indian citizenship. Even though Canada allows multiple citizenships, India does not except for children born abroad to Indian citizens; however the child will have to decide if he/she wants to keep Indian citizenship when he/she turns 18.

You will need to register your child's birth with an Indian embassy, consulate, or mission within the first year of birth; however you will need to declare that the child does not hold another passport. So if your child were to get a Canadian passport, this would seemingly disqualify him/her from Indian citizenship by descent under section 4. If, on the other hand, your child only acquires an Indian passport, because Canada requires its citizens to use a Canadian passport to enter Canada, then your child may not be able to return to Canada once he/she leaves; if he/she does try to return, India may automatically revoke his/her Indian citizenship.

An alternative to Indian citizenship is OCI, which grants the same privileges of Indian citizens including the same tuition fees of NRIs, except for owning farm land and holding government office. If you're determined to make your child Canadian, this would seem to be the best alternative to full Indian citizenship. If your child decides later on that he/she wants to be an Indian citizen, he/she can apply for naturalization with a shorter residency requirement for OCI holders than those applying for regular naturalization; however this means that he/she will be required to renounce his/her Canadian citizenship.

If full Indian citizenship is the goal, I think the best thing to do would be to give birth in India, then sponsor the child to Canada for PR to complete your work permits before going back to India.

HI @[B]hawk39[/B] Thanks for the detailed explanation.

It was really helpful.

 

[Saranya24]

My interpretation is based on what I've read from these sources:
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/UserGuide/Citizenship_Act_1955_16042019.pdf
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Home2.aspx?formcode=09
https://ociservices.gov.in/

The main question you should be asking is if you want your child to have full Indian citizenship. Even though Canada allows multiple citizenships, India does not except for children born abroad to Indian citizens; however the child will have to decide if he/she wants to keep Indian citizenship when he/she turns 18.

You will need to register your child's birth with an Indian embassy, consulate, or mission within the first year of birth; however you will need to declare that the child does not hold another passport. So if your child were to get a Canadian passport, this would seemingly disqualify him/her from Indian citizenship by descent under section 4. If, on the other hand, your child only acquires an Indian passport, because Canada requires its citizens to use a Canadian passport to enter Canada, then your child may not be able to return to Canada once he/she leaves; if he/she does try to return, India may automatically revoke his/her Indian citizenship.

An alternative to Indian citizenship is OCI, which grants the same privileges of Indian citizens including the same tuition fees of NRIs, except for owning farm land and holding government office. If you're determined to make your child Canadian, this would seem to be the best alternative to full Indian citizenship. If your child decides later on that he/she wants to be an Indian citizen, he/she can apply for naturalization with a shorter residency requirement for OCI holders than those applying for regular naturalization; however this means that he/she will be required to renounce his/her Canadian citizenship.

If full Indian citizenship is the goal, I think the best thing to do would be to give birth in India, then sponsor the child to Canada for PR to complete your work permits before going back to India.

Hi, Thanks for the detailed account. My husband and me are planning for a family. We are work permit holders and planning to go back to India and not planning to come back to Canada. Based on your answer, if the kid is born in Canada and register to get an Indian passport, then can the kid become Indian citizen ? Travelling during the pandemic will be risky. Does this option allow the kid to be born in Canada and still be Indian citizen?

 

[steaky]

HI @[B]hawk39[/B] Thanks for the detailed explanation.

It was really helpful.

A follow-up comment of the above interpretation:

Suppose you register your child's birth with an Indian embassy, consulate, or mission within the first year of birth without applying the child's Canadian passport. Which means getting Indian passport to return to India with parents.

As for returning to Canada on or before the child turns 18 years of age, let the child decide for himself / herself. He/she can apply for Canadian passport at the local Canadian embassy, consulate using the birth certificate.

 

[hawk39]

Hi, Thanks for the detailed account. My husband and me are planning for a family. We are work permit holders and planning to go back to India and not planning to come back to Canada. Based on your answer, if the kid is born in Canada and register to get an Indian passport, then can the kid become Indian citizen ? Travelling during the pandemic will be risky. Does this option allow the kid to be born in Canada and still be Indian citizen?

Based on the information from those links, if the kid only acquires an Indian passport, yes, the kid will be an Indian citizen by descent, but will still also be a Canadian citizen by birth. Under clause 4(1A) of the Indian citizenship Act, when the kid turns 18, India will require him/her to formally renounce his/her Canadian citizenship in order to keep his/her Indian citizenship; failing to renounce the Canadian citizenship within six months will result in the automatic loss of his/her Indian citizenship. Canada does not allow parents to renounce the Canadian citizenship of their children, so the kid will have to renounce it him/herself when permitted under Canadian law, which is at age 18.

 

[Saranya24]

Based on the information from those links, if the kid only acquires an Indian passport, yes, the kid will be an Indian citizen by descent, but will still also be a Canadian citizen by birth. Under clause 4(1A) of the Indian citizenship Act, when the kid turns 18, India will require him/her to formally renounce his/her Canadian citizenship in order to keep his/her Indian citizenship; failing to renounce the Canadian citizenship within six months will result in the automatic loss of his/her Indian citizenship. Canada does not allow parents to renounce the Canadian citizenship of their children, so the kid will have to renounce it him/herself when permitted under Canadian law, which is at age 18.

Thank you so much for the accurate information. I have been searching for this procedure for a very long time.

 

[canuck78]

Hi, Thanks for the detailed account. My husband and me are planning for a family. We are work permit holders and planning to go back to India and not planning to come back to Canada. Based on your answer, if the kid is born in Canada and register to get an Indian passport, then can the kid become Indian citizen ? Travelling during the pandemic will be risky. Does this option allow the kid to be born in Canada and still be Indian citizen?

If you aren't pregnant yet you should be able to travel to India. The world is likely going to be very different in a year from now.

 

[Saranya24]

If you aren't pregnant yet you should be able to travel to India. The world is likely going to be very different in a year from now.

I am not pregnant yet and we were also thinking the same. I was a little worried regarding health factors which might affect pregnancy and was thinking of the option of kid being born in Canada.