Canadian parents - Surrogacy in Africa (Nigeria); please help

[concrete]

Hi,

Here's my situation:

- Me: born in England, became a Canadian citizen In 2002

- Husband: born in Nigeria, became a Canadian citizen in 2015

- Undergoing gestational surrogacy, meaning the surrogate will have no genetic link to our baby.

- Will have legal documentation about surrogacy agreement

- Husband and I will be listed on birth certificate as parents. Not sure if it will say biological mother and father though

- We will get a DNA test done and have that documentation to show I'm biological mother and husband is biological father

- Baby will be born in Nigeria

Can someone confirm if our baby will be automatically granted Canadian citizenship? What documents will I need to apply for from Nigeria? How long can it take? Any options to expedite? I don't want to be stuck there with a newborn for months

I also want to be sure I'm not missing anything. Suggestions are welcomed

 

[scylla]

Hi,

Here's my situation:

- Me: born in England, became a Canadian citizen In 2002

- Husband: born in Nigeria, became a Canadian citizen in 2015

- Undergoing gestational surrogacy, meaning the surrogate will have no genetic link to our baby.

- Will have legal documentation about surrogacy agreement

- Husband and I will be listed on birth certificate as parents. Not sure if it will say biological mother and father though

- We will get a DNA test done and have that documentation to show I'm biological mother and husband is biological father

- Baby will be born in Nigeria

Can someone confirm if our baby will be automatically granted Canadian citizenship? What documents will I need to apply for from Nigeria? How long can it take? Any options to expedite? I don't want to be stuck there with a newborn for months

I also want to be sure I'm not missing anything. Suggestions are welcomed

Yes, the baby will be a citizen at birth.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/admininistration/identity/who-parent-purposes-where-assisted-human-reproduction-including-surrogacy-arrangements-involved.html

You'll want to apply for proof of citizenship as soon as the baby is born which will allow you to get a passport. However this process is taking a number of months right now (well over 8?). So you would at the same time apply for a temporary passport so that you can bring the child to Canada sooner. I don't know how long this takes in Nigeria.

 

[MJSPARV]

Yes, the baby will be a citizen at birth.


You'll want to apply for proof of citizenship as soon as the baby is born which will allow you to get a passport. However this process is taking a number of months right now (well over 8?).

More like 15 according to the IRCC website. (Our 22 month old still doesn't have her citizenship certificate.) Definitely look into that other option for getting a temporary passport

 

[concrete]

Yes, the baby will be a citizen at birth.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/admininistration/identity/who-parent-purposes-where-assisted-human-reproduction-including-surrogacy-arrangements-involved.html

You'll want to apply for proof of citizenship as soon as the baby is born which will allow you to get a passport. However this process is taking a number of months right now (well over 8?). So you would at the same time apply for a temporary passport so that you can bring the child to Canada sooner. I don't know how long this takes in Nigeria.

Thank you thank you! You've been so helpful.

 

[concrete]

More like 15 according to the IRCC website. (Our 22 month old still doesn't have her citizenship certificate.) Definitely look into that other option for getting a temporary passport

May I ask how you were able to travel

The IRCC call centre agent said apply for emergency document but I'm not sure what she means and she also seemed confused

 

[scylla]

More like 15 according to the IRCC website. (Our 22 month old still doesn't have her citizenship certificate.) Definitely look into that other option for getting a temporary passport

Wow. That's brutal. I didn't realize it had gotten so bad.

 

[scylla]

May I ask how you were able to travel

The IRCC call centre agent said apply for emergency document but I'm not sure what she means and she also seemed confused

You need to get the temporary passport I mentioned in my post. See here:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/temporary-passport.html

 

[concrete]

You need to get the temporary passport I mentioned in my post. See here:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/temporary-passport.html

Thanks for clarifying. Will do just that

 

[MJSPARV]

May I ask how you were able to travel

The IRCC call centre agent said apply for emergency document but I'm not sure what she means and she also seemed confused

Our daughter has a US passport. She entered Canada at a land border and had no issues.

 

[MJSPARV]

Wow. That's brutal. I didn't realize it had gotten so bad.

Yep. It's not ideal. Not really sure why it should take so long to verify that (a) our daughter is her father's daughter and (b) that he is a Canadian citizen by naturalization from before her birth. Seems like minor children born outside Canada to Canadian citizens should be very very fast to process (it's not like they need to do a background check on an infant/toddler...) but apparently not.

 

[armoured]

Our daughter has a US passport. She entered Canada at a land border and had no issues.

The OP in this thread is talking about a child who will (presumably) have a nigerian passport.

Your case really comes down to entering at a land border vs having to get on a plane. Show up at a border, and CBSA should (I think 'shall' is the language, as strong as it gets in legalese) let someone in who is believed to be a Canadian citizen.

This doesn't apply to getting on a plane (just as with PRs or indeed citizens abroad) - they either must get a visa (oops can't get one if you're a Canadian) OR an ETA (same oops applies).*

So they basically have to apply for temporary passport.

*(I'm making a wild guess that there are some - infrequent bordering on rare - circumstances where Canadian officials would somehow facilitate a visa or ETA in a foreign passport/travel document, or something - but very rare. They seem to prefer the emergency/temporary passport route in all but truly exceptional cases. So basically for most with kids born abroad - temporary or emergency passport. Oh, and I don't know for certain there is a difference between temporary and emergency passports in this case - I think they are considered completely different but a semantic difference that's irrelevant for parents who just want a travel doc to return to Canada).

 

[MJSPARV]

The OP in this thread is talking about a child who will (presumably) have a nigerian passport.

Your case really comes down to entering at a land border vs having to get on a plane. Show up at a border, and CBSA should (I think 'shall' is the language, as strong as it gets in legalese) let someone in who is believed to be a Canadian citizen.

This doesn't apply to getting on a plane (just as with PRs or indeed citizens abroad) - they either must get a visa (oops can't get one if you're a Canadian) OR an ETA (same oops applies).*

So they basically have to apply for temporary passport.

*(I'm making a wild guess that there are some - infrequent bordering on rare - circumstances where Canadian officials would somehow facilitate a visa or ETA in a foreign passport/travel document, or something - but very rare. They seem to prefer the emergency/temporary passport route in all but truly exceptional cases. So basically for most with kids born abroad - temporary or emergency passport. Oh, and I don't know for certain there is a difference between temporary and emergency passports in this case - I think they are considered completely different but a semantic difference that's irrelevant for parents who just want a travel doc to return to Canada).

Yes I know. I wanted to reply to the question asked of how our daughter traveled. I didn't add the details because I know the situation is entirely different and my experience is irrelevant to the op. But I also didn't want to just ignore the direct question. Hence why I didn't say more than that she has a different passport than the op's child and where we entered. I figured more detail than that would confuse the issue.

 

[concrete]

The OP in this thread is talking about a child who will (presumably) have a nigerian passport.

Your case really comes down to entering at a land border vs having to get on a plane. Show up at a border, and CBSA should (I think 'shall' is the language, as strong as it gets in legalese) let someone in who is believed to be a Canadian citizen.

This doesn't apply to getting on a plane (just as with PRs or indeed citizens abroad) - they either must get a visa (oops can't get one if you're a Canadian) OR an ETA (same oops applies).*

So they basically have to apply for temporary passport.

*(I'm making a wild guess that there are some - infrequent bordering on rare - circumstances where Canadian officials would somehow facilitate a visa or ETA in a foreign passport/travel document, or something - but very rare. They seem to prefer the emergency/temporary passport route in all but truly exceptional cases. So basically for most with kids born abroad - temporary or emergency passport. Oh, and I don't know for certain there is a difference between temporary and emergency passports in this case - I think they are considered completely different but a semantic difference that's irrelevant for parents who just want a travel doc to return to Canada).

This is correct. My case differs. Another poster (scylla) is on agreement with you in that the rout I need to take is a temporary passport.

 

[armoured]

Yes I know. I wanted to reply to the question asked of how our daughter traveled. I didn't add the details because I know the situation is entirely different and my experience is irrelevant to the op. But I also didn't want to just ignore the direct question. Hence why I didn't say more than that she has a different passport than the op's child and where we entered. I figured more detail than that would confuse the issue.

Apologies, your handling of it was correct, I missed that part of the flow of the convresation. Anyway will at least be [even more ] clear to others who stumble upon this thread.

 

[canuck78]

Hi,

Here's my situation:

- Me: born in England, became a Canadian citizen In 2002

- Husband: born in Nigeria, became a Canadian citizen in 2015

- Undergoing gestational surrogacy, meaning the surrogate will have no genetic link to our baby.

- Will have legal documentation about surrogacy agreement

- Husband and I will be listed on birth certificate as parents. Not sure if it will say biological mother and father though

- We will get a DNA test done and have that documentation to show I'm biological mother and husband is biological father

- Baby will be born in Nigeria

Can someone confirm if our baby will be automatically granted Canadian citizenship? What documents will I need to apply for from Nigeria? How long can it take? Any options to expedite? I don't want to be stuck there with a newborn for months

I also want to be sure I'm not missing anything. Suggestions are welcomed

Other examples in the media where parents had assumed this would be a short process and they would be home in a few weeks. I would plan for months even if it is for temporary documents. Might be faster but for good reason there are concerns about foreigners leaving with babies and there are often wait times for documentation.