CBC Article - Edmonton parents battle to bring toddler home to Canada

[jaycrew]

Hi guys,

Just read this article and wondering if this is just an error by CIC or if the parents could have exercised better judgement in where their child was to be born.

From what I have read, the father was born in Canada.. wouldn't that automatically qualify his child for Canadian citizenship wherever she was born?

Thanks for your input:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-parents-battle-to-bring-toddler-home-to-canada-1.3139285

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi guys,

Just read this article and wondering if this is just an error by CIC or if the parents could have exercised better judgement in where their child was to be born.

From what I have read, the father was born in Canada.. wouldn't that automatically qualify his child for Canadian citizenship wherever she was born?

Thanks for your input:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-parents-battle-to-bring-toddler-home-to-canada-1.3139285

The father was not born in Canada, he was born overseas but got immediate citizenship from his father who was Canadian. Since he was not born in Canada nor was he naturalized, he can't pass on his citizenship as you can only do this for 1 generation (the new child here would be 2nd generation born abroad).

Article also doesn't state if they applied for a TRV (though I assume they did and it was denied).

It also doesn't state the mom could have stayed in Jordan with the child, even if PR card expired. As long as she didn't stay out of Canada over 3 years, she could have easily applied for a Travel Document to return back to Canada later. Father could have applied for childs sponsorship from Canada.

 

[screech339]

Article also doesn't state if they applied for a TRV (though I assume they did and it was denied).

The article does say that they applied for TRV and were denied.

“Back in Canada, they applied for sponsorship and waited. And waited. Asaad fired off desperate emails to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. No response. He filled out visitor visa applications - all rejected.”

It also doesn't state the mom could have stayed in Jordan with the child, even if PR card expired. As long as she didn't stay out of Canada over 3 years, she could have easily applied for a Travel Document to return back to Canada later. Father could have applied for child's sponsorship from Canada.

The article said that the mother left Canada in June 2013 (Article mentioned child was 7 months old when mother left) and flew back to Canada in Jan 2014. Plenty of time for the mother to stay in Jordan until child gets PR (According to CIC timeline for Jordan approx. is 26 months in total). That means the mother could have stayed another 29 months with 19 months left to go for PR application.

I noticed in article this: “Back in Canada, they applied for sponsorship and waited. And waited. " was written after the paragraph of mother returning to Canada. Does this means they didn't submit their PR application until the mother came back to Canada? The article left out a critical part of information on when they actually applied for PR. Did they apply shortly after child was born or applied when mother returned to Canada.

Did the parents assume the child will have automatic Canadian citizenship because of the father? Is this the part "When they went to the Canadian embassy to get Tuleen's paperwork in order, they were shocked to hear they had to do the unthinkable - leave their baby behind", when they were applying for Canadian citizenship for their child and discovered this mistaken assumption?

This article is basically means that the couple made some "not so good" decisions of their own and not being well informed of citizenship laws. That cause them a lot of grief in being separated from their child. There is no fault on CIC's part in any way. The situation that the parents ended up with is entirely the parents' doing.

The only error, I see, on Embassy's part is telling them that the dependent sponsorship must be made from Canada. Not sure why they told them that. Perhaps they assumed the couple are both PR since the mother is PR herself. Since the father is Canadian, he can easily apply from within Canada or while in Jordan.

 

[Majromax]

This line is also confusing:

[quote author=CBC]The Daouds have gone over their options again and again but trips to Jordan are not affordable and will only further delay Fatima's immigration process.[/quote]

... since Fatima is already a PR, there is no "immigration process." She would not accumulate time towards naturalization, but that's a bit different.

She might be worried about the PR residency requirement, but time spent abroad with her Canadian citizen husband would still count towards that requirement. If her husband remained in Canada, then even under the misapprehension that sponsorship would have to occur in-Canada they still could have filed for that.

 

[Rob_TO]

... since Fatima is already a PR, there is no "immigration process." She would not accumulate time towards naturalization, but that's a bit different.

Probably a typo, should have had the child's name in there.

What I do agree with though from the article, is that if they applied for child's PR in Jan 2014 that means it's been in process for around 18+ months now. Way too long for a dependent child's application. With no security checks necessary or questions about who the parents are, children's apps should take just a few months tops.

 

[OhCanadiana]

Once the TRV was denied, the parents could have requested a TRP. Sadly, people are often unaware that this is an option (and that family reunification is a valid reason for an Officer to issue a TRP).

For future reference if someone runs across this thread: see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/permits.asp

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I would like to know the actual application submission date. The article says they applied after they returned to Canada in Jan 2014 but doesn't say if they applied right away or if it took some time.

The parents definitely made serious mistakes and didn't do their research, there is no blaming CIC for that. However, if they did apply in early 2014, then as Rob said above, that is too long for a child sponsorship app.

 

[screech339]

Probably a typo, should have had the child's name in there.

What I do agree with though from the article, is that if they applied for child's PR in Jan 2014 that means it's been in process for around 18+ months now. Way too long for a dependent child's application. With no security checks necessary or questions about who the parents are, children's apps should take just a few months tops.

It is long for a dependent PR to be waiting approx 18 months however the timeline schedule called for approx 26 months for Jordan office. 2 months for 1st stage (AIP) and 24 months for 2nd stage. While dependent PR timeline tends to be faster due to lack of security requirement, I suspect that the child PR application should soon come to an end around 18-20 months. I wish the best of luck to this couple and hope the child gets her PR soon.

 

[Mmll]

Interesting..

As a naturalized Canadian not born in Canada, is my child at risk of not qualifying for citizenship if he/she is born outside Canada?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Interesting..

As a naturalized Canadian not born in Canada, is my child at risk of not qualifying for citizenship if he/she is born outside Canada?

Those who were born in Canada or are naturalized Canadians can pass their citizenship on to children born outside of Canada.

Canadians by descent, those who were born outside of Canada to Canadian parents, cannot pass their citizenship on to children also born outside of Canada.

 

[Mapleson]

I think the tagline is a misrepresentation as "while visiting ailing relative" doesn't account for the travel restrictions on late term pregnancies.

I believe the part about "apply from Canada" means that the paperwork needs to be sent to CPC-M and not the local Jordan embassy.

If they'd started the paperwork (even just registering the birth) in June 2013, they'd probably already be done.