Does she qualify for a Certificate of Citizenship

[clementpeg]

Hello. I hope to get some positive answers; cannot find my situation anywhere on Canada's official citizenship/visa websites.

I am 57. My mother is 85, and a lifelong Canadian citizen, although living in the US since she married my American father in 1950. She gave birth to me in the US. But I found out in 2003 that I was eligible for citizenship, so I applied, got the Certificate of Citizenship, and ultimately my Canadian passport. I am now a dual citizen, US/Canada. Both my brothers are the same story -- born in the US of a Canadian mother and American father, in the 1950s, and now Canadian citizens.

Here's the question. In 1991, I gave birth to my daughter with an American father, in the state of Maine (US). (I did not marry and the father is out of the picture since birth.) She is now 18. I would like to know if she is a Canadian, since I was certainly one at the time of her birth (though had not yet applied for my Certificate of Citizenship).

Please help me determine my daughter's eligibility here. It seems clearcut to me, but I would like an expert opinion on how to proceed. Thank you kindly. From Vermont.

 

[Leon]

I do believe that she is a Canadian citizen. Since you were born outside Canada yourself and inherited your citizenship from your mother, you can not pass on citizenship under the new law that came into effect in April last year but because your daughter was born before that, I think she would fall under the old law where 2nd generation born abroad would have to fulfil certain requirements to keep their citizenship such as living in Canada for one year before the age of 28. However, with the new law last year, these requirements were actually lifted in regard to the people who had not turned 28 yet so I believe she would get her citizenship with no strings attached except that she will not be able to pass it on to her children.

You should turn to the Canadian embassy in the US to enquire about applying for her citizenship certificate.

 

[Ned]

Based on the dates and the fact that you were a Canadian citizen when your daughter was born, it seems to me that it's likely that she too is a Canadian citizen. Only one way to find out - have your daughter apply for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate.