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American adopted from a third country applying for Canadian citizenship

J

J. Pizzle

Member
Mar 1, 2015
15
0
I searched hard for this answer, but had no luck. My common law spouse was adopted from South Korea by American parents as a baby. She has an American "certificate of verification of citizenship" that has always worked as a birth certificate on her US forms. Now we're both Canadian PRs. We are applying for Canadian citizenship. Should she enter the name she was given at the orphanage before being adopted as her "name at birth"? It's listed on the US verification form in a field called "formerly known as." Are there any other things she needs to be careful about on her application?
 
J

J. Pizzle

Member
Mar 1, 2015
15
0
Yes, she's got all the normal documents American applicants have other than a birth certificate. The concern is around the "name at birth" thing. The name on her passport is clearly the name to put on the top of the application, but her name at birth was totally different. Her Korean name seems like the most correct "name at birth," but we can't figure out if that's really what we should enter there because that throws everything off and there's no place to explain anything on the application. So you think we should put her American name as her name at birth?
 
T

Tackica

Star Member
Feb 24, 2015
108
50
J. Pizzle said:
Yes, she's got all the normal documents American applicants have other than a birth certificate. The concern is around the "name at birth" thing. The name on her passport is clearly the name to put on the top of the application, but her name at birth was totally different. Her Korean name seems like the most correct "name at birth," but we can't figure out if that's really what we should enter there because that throws everything off and there's no place to explain anything on the application. So you think we should put her American name as her name at birth?
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Hi J. Pizzle,
Yes, under the "name at birth" I would write the name your wife was given at the orphanage.
There are many adoptees who have applied for Canadian citizenship, and I am absolutely sure that IRCC employees are familiar with this "issue".
Good luck!
 
G

Gemini020

Hero Member
Oct 11, 2015
343
71
I agree, put the her Korean name in as name of birth. You can attach a letter of explanation and her adoption papers to explain the situation.
 
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