Child(ren) citizenship

[newLifeSeattle]

I am a Canadian citizen, and my son was born out of Canada. SHould I apply for his Permanent resident or citizenship?

We are currently not living in Canada.

Thank you.

 

[RobsLuv]

You need to apply for a Citizenship Certificate for your son, if he qualifies. After you get the Citizenship Certificate, you apply for his Canadian passport. The information you need in on this page of the Immigration Canada website. The conditions for qualification are quoted below - and there is more info at the link CIC provides.

On April 17, 2009, the law changed for people born outside Canada. It limits Canadian citizenship to the first generation of children born outside Canada to Canadian citizens. This means:

* a child born outside Canada in the second or subsequent generation after the new law comes into effect will not become a Canadian citizen automatically at birth, and
* a person born in the second or subsequent generation outside Canada before the new law comes into effect and who is not already a citizen will not become a citizen under the new law.

Find out more about the new law and who is affected.

 

[michaelab]

A certificate of Canadian citizenship. Mine is in process of getting one. It will take months and months though (figures).

 

[newLifeSeattle]

Thanks a lot.

I was misled to the immigration application package. It was huge.

 

[iarblue]

You can still take your child to Canada with his/her birth certificate and also other details you have especially if he is traveling with the parents,so you dont need the cert to come.But you still need to apply for it.

 

[newLifeSeattle]

You can still take your child to Canada with his/her birth certificate and also other details you have especially if he is traveling with the parents,so you dont need the cert to come.But you still need to apply for it.

Thank you very much.

He can travel to Canada with his passport (not Canadian) right now. But I think we need to apply his citizenship certificate for his school in Canada.

PS, his other parent is not Canadian either. For now, we just want to get our son's paper first.

 

[iarblue]

Yes he can.

 

[newLifeSeattle]

Yes he can.

really great news, thanks a lot.

 

[minna]

one thing - you are a canadian citizen, but were you born in Canada?

because if not, then depending on when your child was born, he may not be a citizen. The rule for citizenship by descent recently changed. You might check that out, because that may be why you were directed towards the immigration application, as opposed to the citizenship certificate paperwork.

I'm a Canadian citizen, born to a Canadian parents who were living overseas at the time of my birth, although they returned to canada while I was an infant. If my child is born outside of canada, he or she will not be a citizen a birth, and will need to be sponsored as a permanent resident.

just FYI.

 

[newLifeSeattle]

one thing - you are a canadian citizen, but were you born in Canada?

because if not, then depending on when your child was born, he may not be a citizen. The rule for citizenship by descent recently changed. You might check that out, because that may be why you were directed towards the immigration application, as opposed to the citizenship certificate paperwork.

I'm a Canadian citizen, born to a Canadian parents who were living overseas at the time of my birth, although they returned to canada while I was an infant. If my child is born outside of canada, he or she will not be a citizen a birth, and will need to be sponsored as a permanent resident.

just FYI.

No I was not born in Canada.

I guess I need to double check again.

Thanks.

 

[minna]

yeah, it's really crummy. Feels like second-class citizenship - I spent from about 8 months old to 25 years old before I left Canada, and both of my parents are Canadian citizens. My grandparents are canadian citizens. And because I fell in love while I was out of the country for graduate school, my child does not get to be a canadian citizen at birth. I understand the reason for the change, but it doesn't seem fair!

 

[newLifeSeattle]

I don't even understand the reason why they changed it. Will military bases be an exception? Thanks, better get it clearified before I sent out the application.

So, what did you do to your kid? Apply for a PR and then let the kid to "land" in Canada to stay for three years and apply himself? This is a joke.

 

[minna]

well, I'm pregnant right now, and so I'm still trying to decide what to do. my partner and I want to raise the child in Canada, but I haven't decided yet whether to go back fairly soon, so I can be covered by BC's Medical Services Plan by the time the baby is due (in January), or to wait and then bring the baby as a permanent resident. Both have significant negatives -- if I stay, with my partner in the US, then it will be more difficult to get the paperwork filed, and we'll have to move with a newborn. If I leave now, then we have to be apart during my pregnancy, and figure out how to ensure we are together for the birth of the child and its infancy. Right now we are hoping to finish our application for my partner's sponsorship and get it submitted as quickly as possible, so that there is a chance that, whether I return to Canada early or not, we can both be in Canada legally and safely by the time the baby comes.

There may indeed be exceptions for birth of children abroad to Canadian citizens deployed in the canadian military, but I don't know about that.

 

[newLifeSeattle]

For your case, maybe you can ask a semester leave from your school, and just go back to Canada about three months before the baby's due date, and come back to US right after. It will be a hard and long trips for you, but avoid the citizenship hassle.

 

[minna]

Oh, I'm not in school anymore - I'm a dual citizen, so I stayed here to live with my partner after finishing school.

We're ready to move, just timing everything is difficult! I wish we had thought to start all of this before we got pregnant, because now there is a deadline of 3 months before the due date for everything - basically I need to make a decision to return or not, alone or not, in the next few weeks. Luckily my partner has his medical in 2 weeks, and then we will (hopefully) be able to send off the application, and make a decision, one way or the other.