Applying for a newborns passport overseas living in a country with no embassy

[Genkisensai]

I'm in a bind and am wondering if anyone has information or experience to help me solve my problem. I'm living in Azerbaijan, with the nearest Canadian embassy in Turkey, and I'll need to apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate and passport for my baby that will be born in January. My wife is Peruvian, so the baby will not receive Azeri citizenship, and will need a passport to fly. I've spoken to an official with the national passport office, and he spoke to a supervisor because he didn't know, and then the manager said I had to find out the proper process from the nearest embassy that services Azerbaijan and that's Turkey. I emailed the embassy there, and they said that my wife, I, and our newborn will have to show up in person to apply for the passport, but how will my newborn fly to Turkey if he doesn't have a passport? On top of that, the Canadian Gov't website has stated that a guarantor will need to sign the application and passport photo, but all of your family will be back in Canada or Peru, and people that work with us in Azerbaijan will have only known us for a year and half when the baby is born, so how can we get around this? At this point I feel like my wife will have to leave the country and have the baby in Peru, but we don't want this, so we are looking for some help and answers.

On a side note, I need to apply for citizenship card before even applying for the passport, but the information on the gov't website is very confusing. I found some info that said a parent could apply for a minor under the age of 18, but nothing about newborns. Everything else talked about the process for adults who've been perm residents. If anyone has info or a link regarding newborns specifically, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks

 

[Lammawitch]

You are over-thinking this.

Apply for citizenship certificate. A newborn *is* a minor.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/certif.asp

Then apply for a passport.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/passport/child/apply-how.asp

(Note the remark about the "nearest" office abroad).

It's not that complicated, but it might be long....

The as yet unborn child might well be eligible for Peruvian citizenship too; if obtaining a passport rapidly is important, I'd have a look at that option too. It wouldn't prevent the child from holding Canadian citizenship/passport as well.

 

[Genkisensai]

Hello,

do you know how long the process for both would take? I'm trying to find some answers online, but it's not very clear. Some info suggests 10+ months just for the certificate. The baby will be born in January, and we want to leave by the end of June.

Thanks

 

[Lammawitch]

IMO, 10 months for the certificate is optimistic.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/certif-processing.asp

 

[Genkisensai]

So realistically, we'd need to apply for a limited Canadian passport as well so the baby could travel. The issue is, we don't know if we'll be going back to Azerbaijan the year after to work, so I'm not sure how we'd pick up the certificate in Turkey. Is it possible to apply for a limited passport without applying for the certificate so we could apply for the certificate someplace we often travel too?

 

[Lammawitch]

No, you can apply for a limited passport concurrently with the application for citizenship, if the case is urgent. NB: your definition of "urgent" may differ from that of CIC. You can't apply for the former without the latter.

Why do you think you would need to "pick up" the certificate in Turkey?

 

[Genkisensai]

Well there's no option to have it couriered to an address. I assume if we tell CIC that we are leaving Baku in June, that they wouldn't understand we cannot leave the baby there, and that would constitute a "urgent need." The problem is it takes 12-14 months to get the certificate, but we probably won't come back to Baku after June 2016. That means the certificate will take another 6-12 months. How would we get it?

Thanks

 

[Genkisensai]

Pardon my bad grammar, I'm tired.

Thanks

 

[Lammawitch]

Where are you planning to be after Baku?

Does your wife have PR in Canada?

I'm not in the least bit bothered by grammar !!

 

[Genkisensai]

Well we don't know 100% where we'll be if we leave Baku. My wife doesn't have PR as we haven't lived in Canada for the mandatory 2 years. We're both teachers, so where we will live will depend heavily on location of good jobs. We travel often to Canada, and Peru though, and that's why I'm trying to find info on whether we can courier the certificate to one of our home addresses.

 

[steaky]

Well we don't know 100% where we'll be if we leave Baku. My wife doesn't have PR as we haven't lived in Canada for the mandatory 2 years. We're both teachers, so where we will live will depend heavily on location of good jobs. We travel often to Canada, and Peru though, and that's why I'm trying to find info on whether we can courier the certificate to one of our home addresses.

Why don't you contact the Canadian consulate in Turkey what your options are - 1) pick up the certificate/passport at the embassy or 2) courier them to one of your addresses?

 

[Lammawitch]

Why don't you contact the Canadian consulate in Turkey what your options are - 1) pick up the certificate/passport at the embassy or 2) courier them to one of your addresses?

Steamy beat me to it

Contact the consulate in Turkey and ask about your specific circumstances; line up all your ducks as much as you can; as soon as child is born, apply for citizenship certificate & limited passport at the same time. Your child will likely be considered eligible for urgent processing given that without a pp/citizenship certificate, s/he will be without legal status in Azerbaijan.

 

[Genkisensai]

I've sent many emails to the Canadian embassy in Ankara, and have gotten a lot of run around. I am waiting for an answer on the courier to a different address. Picking up the certificate may not be an option if I'm not in Azerbaijan after next year. Exactly, Azerbaijan does not bestow automatic citizenship on expats children born there. At this point it's just a wait game wit the embassy.

Thanks

 

[Lammawitch]

Well, one or both of you are going to be in Azerbaijan until the baby gets a passport.

With respect, you *might* be complicating the issue. Why would the VO not send the cc/passport to Azerbaijan, if that's where you will be applying from?

Your best & possibly only option is apply for CDN citizenship certificate + limited passport. OR Peruvian passport.

Otherwise (going back to my question about your wife's PR), there is always the possibility of her leaving and giving birth in Peru or Canada.

 

[Genkisensai]

Well the option to leave and give birth in Peru or Canada is on the table, but that's the last resort because we want to be She works at the school as well and will be afforded mat leave, or at least we hope so. Sending the passport to Azerbaijan shouldn't be a problem as that option is listed on the embassy's webpage, and it only takes 15-20 business days to process. The cc takes 8-14 months, so we'd have to stay in Baku a 3rd year to collect it.

Unfortunately, there is no Peruvian embassy in Azerbaijan either, or we would go that route. Best hope is to get the limited passport and have them courier the cc to a different address; secondary options are to stay in Azerbaijan an extra year, or have her deliver the baby in Canada or Peru.

Thanks