ANY ADVICE PLEASE - HAVE HEAD IN HANDS

[LeelaD]

Ok, I'll try to cut to the point as succintly as I can...
Have been living in Quebec for almost two years legally via visa extensions and return trips with my son(father deceased and 4 years old) as British citizens with my fiancee(Canadian citizen).
We have been preparing for our sponsorship for all this time, gathering documents and everything we need, extending my stay so that we could complete our one year common law, we decided to apply for Inbound sponsorship so I can also apply for the OPW as the period I have stayed here without work has used up my savings and we do not want the stress of having to leave the country with my little one and returning(cost of flights etc.)
Last week he mentioned to me when I asked that his passport was not valid, ok, I assumed he had his documents in order, he has nothing. Zero.
His Carte Maladie card is out of date and needs renewed which apparently he needs a passport to renew or birth certificate, he also needs a birth certificate to apply for a new passport, he cannot renew it as it is so out of date, he has no drivers license and now for the piece de resistance, he tells me he has no birth certificate, well he has one somewhere but it's not a Canadian birth certificate as he was born in America and brought to Canada at one month old(mother American father Canadian). He has no certificate of naturalization, I am completely confused and a little bit lost as to where to go, it is now looking like after all that my son and I might have to leave and return after all because apparently it will take five months to get the certificate he needs to apply for a new passport.
I know it sounds ridiculous to be in such a situation and that all of this should have been the very first things that we organised but I assumed that he would have at least one I.D or birth certificate :-X given the process we were undertaking...does anyone have any advice at all of how to go about getting something to prove he is a citizen that we could get quickly, it has caused a big argument today. :'(

 

[BonManush]

I'm sorry that I'm not able to help directly. I do wanna ask why you can't just keep extending your visit visa? Or, can you not just flagpole?

 

[scylla]

Ok, I'll try to cut to the point as succintly as I can...
Have been living in Quebec for almost two years legally via visa extensions and return trips with my son(father deceased and 4 years old) as British citizens with my fiancee(Canadian citizen).
We have been preparing for our sponsorship for all this time, gathering documents and everything we need, extending my stay so that we could complete our one year common law, we decided to apply for Inbound sponsorship so I can also apply for the OPW as the period I have stayed here without work has used up my savings and we do not want the stress of having to leave the country with my little one and returning(cost of flights etc.)
Last week he mentioned to me when I asked that his passport was not valid, ok, I assumed he had his documents in order, he has nothing. Zero.
His Carte Maladie card is out of date and needs renewed which apparently he needs a passport to renew or birth certificate, he also needs a birth certificate to apply for a new passport, he cannot renew it as it is so out of date, he has no drivers license and now for the piece de resistance, he tells me he has no birth certificate, well he has one somewhere but it's not a Canadian birth certificate as he was born in America and brought to Canada at one month old(mother American father Canadian). He has no certificate of naturalization, I am completely confused and a little bit lost as to where to go, it is now looking like after all that my son and I might have to leave and return after all because apparently it will take five months to get the certificate he needs to apply for a new passport.
I know it sounds ridiculous to be in such a situation and that all of this should have been the very first things that we organised but I assumed that he would have at least one I.D or birth certificate :-X given the process we were undertaking...does anyone have any advice at all of how to go about getting something to prove he is a citizen that we could get quickly, it has caused a big argument today. :'(

He needs to be able to demonstrate he's Canadian in order to sponsor you. If he was born outside of Canada to a father who is a Canadian citizen - then he is a Canadian citizen by descent (he would not have been naturalized if he was a citizen by descent and wouldn't have a naturalization certificate or anything like that). If he has never applied to confirm his citizenship - he'll need to start there (be aware this process could take six months). He'll need to provide evidence that his father was born in Canada and should follow the application process here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp

Saying this out of concern - you sure this is the guy for you? Doesn't sound like he's very responsible or reliable.

 

[LeelaD]

HI BonManush, yes we could renew (and hope for) our visitors visa but after two years now of living like this, it feels like urgh...I just really feel that we need to make progress with the submission of the application, I have been unable to work for the entire time now, my son is due to start school in eight months, he is now speaking French(as we are in Quebec) and I find it extremely stressful waiting for the extension reply each time.

 

[scylla]

Hold on - you say he has an old Canadian passport - can he use that to obtain a new passport without going through the process of confirming his citizenship first?

 

[scylla]

Hold on - you say he has an old Canadian passport - can he use that to obtain a new passport without going through the process of confirming his citizenship first?

Forget it - just realized that his passport cannot be expired for more than a year in order to qualify to use the simplified application process. So unfortunately that won't work...

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hold on - you say he has an old Canadian passport - can he use that to obtain a new passport without going through the process of confirming his citizenship first?

Does the sponsor's Canadian passport actually need to be valid? If he has an expired one, I would think he should be able to just submit that.

 

[LeelaD]

@scylla his passport is twenty ears out of date, and I appreciate the concern. Thankyou.

 

[LeelaD]

@canuck in uk - I dont know I ca't seem to find any information on that, I would presume that I.D should or would need to be valid but I guess I could maybe call them and ask?

 

[profiler]

HI BonManush, yes we could renew (and hope for) our visitors visa but after two years now of living like this, it feels like urgh...I just really feel that we need to make progress with the submission of the application, I have been unable to work for the entire time now, my son is due to start school in eight months, he is now speaking French(as we are in Quebec) and I find it extremely stressful waiting for the extension reply each time.

So, ok, I think his passport being 20 years old is not going to work.

I have a question: how has he lived anywhere in Canada for 20 years and not required ID?

I quoted this post because you stated you'd been going through this for 2 years. The inland app can take that amount of time, and you can't get an OWP for ~4 months.

 

[LeelaD]

Yes, I know it would take 26months for inbound application and four months for work permit, he had a drivers license which was revoked about five years ago and he has his Carte Maladie but it's expired also. :
I know we'll figure it out, I guess I'm just feeling the stress and emotions right now and am on a kind of spur to try and find some crack we could proceed down in order to just finally get this application over and done with sooner rather than later.

 

[LeelaD]

He just told me he had a certificate of birth aborad which was lost when his mother died, could this be replaced? I can't find any information on the CIC as of yet about it...

 

[profiler]

He just told me he had a certificate of birth aborad which was lost when his mother died, could this be replaced? I can't find any information on the CIC as of yet about it...

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/birth-abroad that one?

 

[LeelaD]

Not sure, apparently it was some sort of plastic card with his name on it but I'm guessing actually that it maybe is not something that can be replaced and that it is how @scylla explained, he will need to apply for a proof of citizenship and we'll have to wait another six months ...

 

[profiler]

Not sure, apparently it was some sort of plastic card with his name on it but I'm guessing actually that it maybe is not something that can be replaced and that it is how @scylla explained, he will need to apply for a proof of citizenship and we'll have to wait another six months ...

You can try the call centre, but I think scylla is right.