parker24 said:
Hello all!!
My husband will be applying for citizenship in March of 2015, I'm just concerned about dual citizenship with the USA. Many sources keep saying it's possible that be voluntarily applying for Canadian citizenship, a U.S. citizen can lose their homeland citizenship. And will not be able to find out until applying for a passport. Can anyone support or deny this claim? Very concerned as my husband wants dual citizenship to both counties as we have families in both.
Thank you!!
Ditto the other observations and assurances, once he becomes a Canadian citizen he will be a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada.
Some technical observations:
Generally:
Canada does not require new citizens to renounce any other citizenship. (Canada used to require new citizens renounce other citizenships; law regarding this changed in the 1970s). So, as far as Canada is concerned, becoming a Canadian citizen has no effect on a person's other citizenship(s).
The U.S. does not require its citizens to give up their U.S. citizenship in order to become the citizen of another country.
So, upon becoming a Canadian citizen, a U.S. citizen then has both U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
U.S. Passport after becoming a Canadian citizen:
The last I looked, the application for a U.S. passport requires the applicant to sign a declaration that he (or she) has not done a number of things, like engage in treason against the U.S. This declaration includes a statement that the applicant has not acquired citizenship in another country. For a U.S. citizen who has become a Canadian citizen, technically this statement in the application needs to be deleted (such as crossed out with a line drawn through it if using a paper application form), since the individual has become a citizen of another country. This is
NO big deal and does not affect the individual's entitlement to a new passport.
Practically speaking I suspect that many individuals who are dual U.S./Canadian citizens have not bothered to do this, without running into problems. Best to be accurate whenever signing official forms like this, however, so it is something to watch for the next time he applies for a U.S. passport after becoming a Canadian citizen.
The U.S. is actually reluctant to even allow U.S. citizens to give up their U.S. citizenship. The U.S. actually recently increased the fee to apply for renunciation of citizenship . . . a fee now in the thousands of dollars, and it comes with a very onerous tax consequence, in effect charging the individual an income tax on the value of the individual's estate, including all retirement funds and so on.
Reminder: the U.S. requires all U.S. citizens to file annual tax returns no matter how long they have been living abroad, and to file an annual report disclosing all accounts in foreign financial institutions in which the U.S. citizen has any interest. The U.S. does not want to give this up. (By the way, the fine for failing to file the declaration of foreign bank accounts is ten thousand plus, even if no taxes at all are owed to the U.S., so it is critical to properly submit this annual declaration.)
What "dual citizenship" means:
Neither Canada nor the U.S. recognize "dual citizenship" as a status. It is, instead, merely descriptive of someone who holds citizenship in two (or more) countries.
Both Canada and the U.S. recognize that some individuals have citizenship in more than one country. And, thus, for such individuals, it is recognized (by both the U.S. and Canada) the description "dual citizen" is appropriate.
But there are no legal consequences related to "dual citizenship." There is merely the effect of being a citizen of the respective country.
Note, for example, for entry into the U.S., and while in the U.S., and otherwise for purposes of U.S. law, a U.S. citizen is governed as as U.S. citizen, and any other citizenship is irrelevant. Thus, for example, while a Canadian citizen can legally travel to Cuba, a U.S. citizen is restricted relative to travel to Cuba and those restrictions, as prescribed by U.S. law, still apply to the U.S. citizen despite his being a citizen of Canada. (President Obama has initiated some steps toward eliminating most of these restrictions, but for now they still apply.)
Generally, a U.S. citizen should present a valid U.S. passport when entering the U.S., even if he holds a Canadian passport which for most Canadian citizens authorizes visa-exempt entry into the U.S.
Similarly, a Canadian citizen should present a valid Canadian passport when entering Canada, even if he has a valid U.S. passport which authorizes visa-exempt entry into Canada.
There appears to be some difference in how strictly this is enforced. Canada border officials apparently shrug it off if a Canadian citizen presents a U.S. passport at the border. U.S. officials, apparently, will not be overly difficult but will give the traveler an admonition that they need to use their U.S. documentation, and the admonition tends to become more stern the second or third time (I know of no one who pushed it past a third time).
