My grandfather was born in Toronto in 1883(of English immigrants to Canada) and subsequently immigrated to the US about 1903. As far as I can tell he never became naturalized. According to what I've read , my mother who was born in the US in 1917, would be a Canadian citizen. I was born in 1952 long before the law was changed. I understand I "may" be considered a Canadian citizen...does anyone know what the determining factors are?
Am I already a Canadian citizen?
- Thread starter dragonlady
- Start date
The Canadian government has an online interactive questionnaire for determining a person's right to Canadian citizenship. I cannot enter the link here, but if you do a search on "see if you may already be a citizen", you should be able to find it.
Basically, you did not become a Canadian citizen at birth, because at that time (1952), citizenship was passed through the father, not the mother (unless the mother had the child out of wedlock). This was later changed, and there was a window of time (1992-2004) when you may have been able to apply for a grant of citizenship. However, as of 2009, the law was changed again to limit citizenship to the first generation born outside Canada, and you are the second.
Basically, you did not become a Canadian citizen at birth, because at that time (1952), citizenship was passed through the father, not the mother (unless the mother had the child out of wedlock). This was later changed, and there was a window of time (1992-2004) when you may have been able to apply for a grant of citizenship. However, as of 2009, the law was changed again to limit citizenship to the first generation born outside Canada, and you are the second.
You can find the self-assessment test here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules/index.asp
There have been all kind of rules changes through the years. One point is that before 1946, Canadian citizens were actually not Canadians, they were British subjects.
If you want to find out if you are a citizen, the only sure way is to go ahead and apply for a citizenship certificate with your data and see what happens.
There have been all kind of rules changes through the years. One point is that before 1946, Canadian citizens were actually not Canadians, they were British subjects.
If you want to find out if you are a citizen, the only sure way is to go ahead and apply for a citizenship certificate with your data and see what happens.