Canadian by descent baby born abroad seeking to travel to canada for a visit

[Vic6rose]

Hi all!

I am Canadian born and my fiancé is Australian born. We live permanently in Australia (I came to Australia on a skilled independent visa). We have just had a baby a few weeks ago in Australia; baby has Australian birth certificate and Australian passport.

We are concerned about these new laws re: dual citizenship and the eta required to fly into Canada -- yet because baby is Canadian by descent, does not qualify to get an eta.

We are planning on visiting my mom in July/august and thought we could do this using her Australian passport. To avoid complication, we are now planning on flying into US then crossing border by car using her Australian passport. Does anyone know if this will be allowed-- despite that she is 'Canadian by descent' yet has no Canadian certificate of birth or passport (given its about 9 months wait time to get their certificate!!).

Would the Canada Border Services Agency at the border refuse her entry to Canada on an Australian passport, because she's technically Canadian without Canadian paperwork?

Any help would be so appreciated. I can't call immigration Canada because we are abroad. Also, when I emailed Sydney Canadian consulate, they told me what I already know; which is that I need to first apply for the Canadian certificate of birth followed by passport to fly her into Canada and that I can apply for a limited passport if it's considered urgent travel (which it's not... just want the baby to meet her grandma). They didn't answer my question about the border crossing into Canada.


Thanks in advance for all of your help.


Vic

 

[Redfield]

The border agents will normally allow any canadian access to Canada, they cannot deny a citizen access to the country. However, since the baby cannot have a ETA, you might have to cross the border through the US because they will not let you on the plane to Canada with an Australian passport if you do not have an ETA. I would mention tho to the border agent that the child is canadian since you are Canadian as well, it's always a bit complicated tho crossing the border of Canada as a Canadian without any paperwork to prove so

 

[spyfy]

Hi all!

I am Canadian born and my fiancé is Australian born. We live permanently in Australia (I came to Australia on a skilled independent visa). We have just had a baby a few weeks ago in Australia; baby has Australian birth certificate and Australian passport.

We are concerned about these new laws re: dual citizenship and the eta required to fly into Canada -- yet because baby is Canadian by descent, does not qualify to get an eta.

We are planning on visiting my mom in July/august and thought we could do this using her Australian passport. To avoid complication, we are now planning on flying into US then crossing border by car using her Australian passport. Does anyone know if this will be allowed-- despite that she is 'Canadian by descent' yet has no Canadian certificate of birth or passport (given its about 9 months wait time to get their certificate!!).

Would the Canada Border Services Agency at the border refuse her entry to Canada on an Australian passport, because she's technically Canadian without Canadian paperwork?

Any help would be so appreciated. I can't call immigration Canada because we are abroad. Also, when I emailed Sydney Canadian consulate, they told me what I already know; which is that I need to first apply for the Canadian certificate of birth followed by passport to fly her into Canada and that I can apply for a limited passport if it's considered urgent travel (which it's not... just want the baby to meet her grandma). They didn't answer my question about the border crossing into Canada.


Thanks in advance for all of your help.


Vic

Broadly speaking, you have the following options:

1. Apply for an eTA for your child based on the Australian passport.
2. Fly to the states and cross with the Australian passport.
3. Get Canadian travel documents for the child before you travel.

Obviously, option 3 is the best option, if feasible. When talking to the consulate, did you clarify that you need to travel soon? Because normally, consulates have measures in place to quickly provide travel documents to newborns. If the people at the Sydney consulate can't help, call the actual embassy and ask. Possibly they know of some quicker way of getting travel documents.

Option 2, as stated above by another user, should work. Just be prepared to explain the situation at the Canadian border. In the end (unlike American border guards), Canadian border guards have a human side that will understand the background.

Option 1 would in fact work but I would not recommend it since you would have to lie in the application for the eTA. When applying for the eTA for your child you will have to state that he/she is not a Canadian citizen. You can confirm that in the form and the system will issue an eTA. This is due to the fact that Canada has no record of your child (yet) and therefore the eTA System would not refuse to issue an eTA (unlike for dual citizens who are already in the database, like people naturalized in Canada). You could then board the flight without problems. But, at the Canadian airport you would of course tell them that this is your kid and then they will ask "why don't you use a Canadian passport and how did you make it on the plane" at which point you basically would have to admit that you knowingly lied in the eTA application to get your kid on the plane. I don't think this will have any major consequences, but personally I wouldn't feel comfortable lying in immigration applications, no matter how much of a "white lie" it is.

 

[zardoz]

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/dual-canadian-citizens-visit-canada.html