Can a Canadian citizen that was previously a refugee in Canada visit his country of birth?

[Inquirer50]

Hello everyone! Are there any laws or rules that prevent someone who was a refugee in Canada but since then has been naturalized as a Canadian citizen from traveling to his country of birth from where he fled? Would such travel be considered as reavailment?

Thank You!

 

[Yuki.03]

i believe once you have completed the citizenship process you can visit your home country. I know a handful who have, some did wait like a year or 2 after getting citizenship to go back to their country of birth

 

[adbcca]

My lawyer advised me to not travel to my country even if after I got citizenship, since my country in civilian war right now and this is one of the bases of my refugee claim unless the war stopped or the situation has changed and there is no danger anymore

so my advice is to ask a professional lawyer before you do that

 

[Yuki.03]

i guess it depends on your home country. cause what i've always been told unlike when you are a PR you are still a refugee and they can revoke your PR and refugee status if you go back to your home country or use your passport or any contact with the embassy or consulate. They cannot revoke Citizenship for those reasons or anything else unless you do something really bad like terrorist-type offenses national security threat, a threat to the Canadian public or you renounce it cause you are now a legal citizen of canada and no longer considered a protected person. cause I know a lot of people who go back to their home country yearly. no issues at all. but asking a lawyer doesn't hurt.

 

[Copingwithlife]

Hello everyone! Are there any laws or rules that prevent someone who was a refugee in Canada but since then has been naturalized as a Canadian citizen from traveling to his country of birth from where he fled? Would such travel be considered as reavailment?

Thank You!

Just seems a bit strange , that receiving a Canadian passport magically removes the danger and or persecution to cause you to claim asylum
If your country was such a threat to you , then putting yourself at risk by visiting....

 

[hawk39]

The OP should check whether his/her birth country still considers him/her on of their citizens. If the birth country does, then the "Master Nationality Rule" could potentially be applied against the OP. Even though the OP is a Canadian citizen, the OP could still be subjected to the home country's laws and may not be able to request consular services from the Canadian embassy in that country if he/she were detained.

 

[Yuki.03]

i guess it depends on your claim and your country there are different types of claim and different reasons people flee. not everybody flees from their country as a whole. they flee cause of sexuality, religion, political etc. afraid certain people or organization in your country might kill you or treat you unfairly and usually or and the police did little to nothing to help you. there are multiple different bases for a claim. it doesn't remove the threat but it does remove the title....

Just seems a bit strange , that receiving a Canadian passport magically removes the danger and or persecution to cause you to claim asylum
If your country was such a threat to you , then putting yourself at risk by visiting....

 

[Inquirer50]

My lawyer advised me to not travel to my country even if after I got citizenship, since my country in civilian war right now and this is one of the bases of my refugee claim unless the war stopped or the situation has changed and there is no danger anymore

so my advice is to ask a professional lawyer before you do that

Yes, I have heard a similar advice from a lawyer but another said it was ok. I don't think that there is consensus on the matter so far.

 

[Inquirer50]

Just seems a bit strange , that receiving a Canadian passport magically removes the danger and or persecution to cause you to claim asylum
If your country was such a threat to you , then putting yourself at risk by visiting....

The threat might be a person and not an entire country. There are so many causes that might endanger ones life and it is really a case by case situation. Wars end and situations change all the time.
A Canadian passport could remove risk for example a rebel government that seeks acceptance from the international community might think twice about a person since he is Canadian national. But the passport could also endanger someone if he is kidnapped by a milita or a gang in exchange for a ransom.

 

[Inquirer50]

The OP should check whether his/her birth country still considers him/her on of their citizens. If the birth country does, then the "Master Nationality Rule" could potentially be applied against the OP. Even though the OP is a Canadian citizen, the OP could still be subjected to the home country's laws and may not be able to request consular services from the Canadian embassy in that country if he/she were detained.

Exactly. i think this is an important point. A government might treat you as their national and could care less about your dual nationality.

 

[Inquirer50]

Thank you all for your comments and happy holidays!

 

[kelepirci]

This is a very hairy area.

Normally after you become Canadian citizen you are free to go back your country of origin. (The country you have fled)

But there is small chance that CBSA may open an investigation about your visit to your home country. The investigation may not do anything but it may also considered that you were never in danger in your home country. Finally that may cost your Canadian citizenship in grounds of misrepresentation. But that is a long shot and I think chance to lose Canadian citizenship is under 0.001%.

You should be more concerned about your home country attitude toward you. Because there are Canadian citizen who were detained in their home country.