Do I qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent?

[TitanicWreck]

I posted a similar question on the general section and a nice person there suggested I post here. I suspect has been asked by others so I thus apologize if I'm being repetitious.
I'm an American interested in looking into Canadian citizenship by descent but am unclear if I qualify or am disqualified. It's confusing as information on who qualifies is vague and sometimes contradictory.
I was born in Boston in the US in 1968. My mother was born in Boston in 1937. Her mother was born in Halifax in 1909, and her family emigraged to Boston in 1910. Her father was born and raised in Halifax, her mother was from Ireland.

Some accounts suggest that Canadian citizenship by descent only works if ones parents are from Canada. They say there can be only one generation of separation.
For me, its a grandmother and great grandfather. Another account I read said only those born after 2009 are held to the one generation separation rule, meaning they can only go back to their parents generation to be able to claim citizenship by descent, and grandparents would be one generation too far. But I also read for those born before 2009( I was born in 1968), they can go further back than just the parents. How far back? My grandmother ( plus siblings) and her parents left Halifax for Boston in 1910. Can I use my grandmother and great grandfather's Halifax roots to try to claim citizenship by descent? Another account I read suggested it would only work if they were living in Canada after 1947. They moved to Boston in 1910.
Canadians prior to 1947 were regarded as British I believe- my great grandfathers 1918 US citizenship certificate lists Great Britain as his country of origin, though he was from Nova Scotia. Recent rule changes bestowed retroactively Canadian citizenship on all people born in Canada prior to 1947; who up until then were considered British subjects.

Reading all of the above, would I qualify for Canadian citizenship by decent? If not what disqualifies me?
Thank you for reading my post

 

[k.h.p.]

Do you know if your mother ever applied for, or was granted Canadian citizenship?

If she hadn't, then I'd say you're not a citizen. If she had been granted or recognized as a citizen, maybe you are?

Try this tool: https://na1se.voxco.com/SE/56/amicanadiansuisjecanadien/?lang=en&tui=auto

 

[TitanicWreck]

Do you know if your mother ever applied for, or was granted Canadian citizenship?

If she hadn't, then I'd say you're not a citizen. If she had been granted or recognized as a citizen, maybe you are?

Try this tool: https://na1se.voxco.com/SE/56/amicanadiansuisjecanadien/?lang=en&tui=auto

She did not. In fact for some odd reason it wasn't until my mother was an adult my grandmother admitted she ( my grandmother) was from Canada.

 

[TitanicWreck]

Do you know if your mother ever applied for, or was granted Canadian citizenship?

If she hadn't, then I'd say you're not a citizen. If she had been granted or recognized as a citizen, maybe you are?

Try this tool: https://na1se.voxco.com/SE/56/amicanadiansuisjecanadien/?lang=en&tui=auto

Thanks for the link!

 

[k.h.p.]

She did not. In fact for some odd reason it wasn't until my mother was an adult my grandmother admitted she ( my grandmother) was from Canada.

So unless your mother was caught in some kind of deemed granted situation, I'd say you're not Canadian. But since Parliament has made such a mess of this whole thing, the only way to find out for certain is to apply.

 

[TitanicWreck]

The main point of confusion for me is if my grandmother and great grandfather being Canadian would in of itself qualify me for citizenship, or are they too far removed by time and generation. My mother won't apply, she's in her 80s in a nursing home

 

[canuck78]

The main point of confusion for me is if my grandmother and great grandfather being Canadian would in of itself qualify me for citizenship, or are they too far removed by time and generation. My mother won't apply, she's in her 80s in a nursing home

Too far removed.

 

[TitanicWreck]

Too far removed.

I suspected as much, then the accounts I read suggesting those born before 2009 are not limited by the one generation seperation are inaccurate. The rules keep changing so its hard to keep up

 

[hawk39]

The main point of confusion for me is if my grandmother and great grandfather being Canadian would in of itself qualify me for citizenship, or are they too far removed by time and generation. My mother won't apply, she's in her 80s in a nursing home

Sorry, but you can not claim citizenship by descent from your grandparents, only your parent. Under the current citizenship law, you are considered the second generation and are ineligible.

When your great-grandfather became a US citizen in 1918, then under British nationality law regarding acquiring a foreign nationality, your grandmother also lost her British subject status and did not become a Canadian citizen with the commencement of Canadian citizenship in 1947. She would gain Canadian citizenship in 2015 as a "Lost Canadian", as well as your mother as she would be considered the first generation born abroad. Unfortunately, you are ineligible as the second generation.

In regards to the conflicting information you have researched, the first generation limit would not affect subsequent generations before 2009 if their parents were deemed to be Canadian citizens because it did not take away eligibility for citizenship, which is determined by under which Citizenship Act the applicant was born under.

 

[k.h.p.]

I suspected as much, then the accounts I read suggesting those born before 2009 are not limited by the one generation seperation are inaccurate. The rules keep changing so its hard to keep up

I saw one article from a questionably accurate website that states this, and a lot of other confusing ones, so I know why you're confused. But if you searched for "Canadian citizenship by descent" and went with a website from near the top of the list, I think their advice is wrong, since they seem to suggest that born-before-2009 people could go back "many generations" to claim citizenship, which isn't specifically true since it all depends.

 

[TitanicWreck]

Sorry, but you can not claim citizenship by descent from your grandparents, only your parent. Under the current citizenship law, you are considered the second generation and are ineligible.

In your other post, you said that your great-grandfather applied to become a US citizen in 1915. If this did happen and he became a US citizen, then under British nationality law regarding acquiring a foreign nationality, your grandmother also lost her British subject status and did not become a Canadian citizen with the commencement of Canadian citizenship in 1947. She would gain Canadian citizenship in 2015 as a "Lost Canadian", as well as your mother as she would be considered the first generation born abroad. Unfortunately, you are ineligible as the second generation.

In regards to the conflicting information you have researched, the first generation limit would not affect subsequent generations before 2009 if their parents were deemed to be Canadian citizens because it did not take away eligibility for citizenship. It really depends on under which Citizenship Act the applicant was born under.

Thanks very much for the detailed information!

 

[TitanicWreck]

I saw one article from a questionably accurate website that states this, and a lot of other confusing ones, so I know why you're confused. But if you searched for "Canadian citizenship by descent" and went with a website from near the top of the list, I think their advice is wrong, since they seem to suggest that born-before-2009 people could go back "many generations" to claim citizenship, which isn't specifically true since it all depends.

That was indeed the article that left me confused