Father Born in Canada became naturalized US Citizen before 1947

[KennethM]

My father was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1905.
Both of his parents were also born in Canada.
My father and his parents moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1910.
When he became an adult he became a naturalized US citizen. This would have been prior to 1947.
At that time, I don't think that he took any steps to formally renounce his Canadian citizenship, except what would have been required to become a naturalized US citizen.
He married an American-born woman in the United States in 1935. They had a marriage certificate.
I was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1950 as a product of this marriage.
I am a US citizen and live in the US in Port Huron, Michigan which is across the river from Sarnia, Ontario.
When I was a child, I spent time visiting with my father's sister in Ontario who was a Canadian citizen.
My Canadian-born father died in 1957 in Detroit, Michigan. He was a naturalized US citizen at the time of his death.
I am of the first generation born abroad to a father who was born in Canada.
If I applied for a certificate of citizenship with all of the proper documents, would I receive it?

 

[YorkFactory]

I think the answer is now yes. Prior to 1977, Canadians were not permitted to have another citizenship, so naturalizing in the U.S. would have meant your father lost his citizenship. However, it appears that the 2009 changes retroactively reinstated his Canadian citizenship, so he is now considered never to have lost his Canadian citizenship and therefore to have been Canadian when you were born (if you'd asked this question ten years ago, you would have gotten a different answer).

 

[KennethM]

Thanks for your reply. That is what I thought might be the case, but I didn't know if the changes to the law affected a Canadian-born man who was never a "Canadian citizen" since such a thing did not exist prior to 1947. Do you know if I might now also qualify as a "British subject" due to my father's birth in Canada in 1905? My older sisters were born in the US in 1935 and 1940 respectively from this same marriage. Since they were born before 1947, would they qualify for a Canadian certificate of citizenship, or would they only qualify perhaps for status as British subjects? Like me, neither of them has ever been a resident of Canada.

 

[Selda]

Hi KennethM,

Have you explored your case more? My husband's situation is very similar to your case. His father was born in Canada in 1923 and moved to the US in 1925 with is family. Then he became a a naturalized U.S. citizen. He passed away in 2006. My husband is born in the US, so he is first generation born abroad. So, my understanding from the changes in Canadian citizenship law for lost Canadians in 2009 and 2015, my husband is considered a Canadian citizen. Am I correct? Thank you!

 

[links18]

Hi KennethM,

Have you explored your case more? My husband's situation is very similar to your case. His father was born in Canada in 1923 and moved to the US in 1925 with is family. Then he became a a naturalized U.S. citizen. He passed away in 2006. My husband is born in the US, so he is first generation born abroad. So, my understanding from the changes in Canadian citizenship law for lost Canadians in 2009 and 2015, my husband is considered a Canadian citizen. Am I correct? Thank you!

Yes.

 

[alphazip]

Thanks for your reply. That is what I thought might be the case, but I didn't know if the changes to the law affected a Canadian-born man who was never a "Canadian citizen" since such a thing did not exist prior to 1947. Do you know if I might now also qualify as a "British subject" due to my father's birth in Canada in 1905? My older sisters were born in the US in 1935 and 1940 respectively from this same marriage. Since they were born before 1947, would they qualify for a Canadian certificate of citizenship, or would they only qualify perhaps for status as British subjects? Like me, neither of them has ever been a resident of Canada.

You and your siblings, as the children of a parent born in Canada, are now all Canadian citizens. However, since your father became a U.S. citizen before 1949 (that's the year the British Nationality Act took effect), he lost his British subject status at that time. So, you inherited no form of British citizenship status from your father. Some people, though...those born abroad to a Canadian-citizen father in 1947 or 1948, whose births were not registered (and thus not Canadian citizens at that time)...DID become Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies. And, if they had a British-born grandparent, would now be British citizens in addition to Canadian citizens. (Without a grandparent born in Britain, they would only be British Overseas citizens, which provides no "right of abode" in the UK.)

 

[Selda]

Thanks for the respond, I really appreciated! Actually I suddenly realized a few days ago that my husband and some other members of his family might have the right to be a Canadian citizen since their parents were born in Canada but moved to the U.S. when they were little kids before 1947. When I brought the issue up in the family and told them that they might qualify for Canadian citizenship, they got excited about it but since their parents are not alive any more, they were also skeptical. So, I have started digging the Canadian citizenship laws to explore more about my husband's and his family's case. As a result I came across 2009 and 2015 citizenship acts for the people called lost Canadians, which looked very promising. But I still wanted to make sure about what I understood from these laws.

So, I think my husband just should go ahead and apply for the Canadian citizenship certificate, right? Thanks again!

 

[links18]

Thanks for the respond, I really appreciated! Actually I suddenly realized a few days ago that my husband and some other members of his family might have the right to be a Canadian citizen since their parents were born in Canada but moved to the U.S. when they were little kids before 1947. When I brought the issue up in the family and told them that they might qualify for Canadian citizenship, they got excited about it but since their parents are not alive any more, they were also skeptical. So, I have started digging the Canadian citizenship laws to explore more about my husband's and his family's case. As a result I came across 2009 and 2015 citizenship acts for the people called lost Canadians, which looked very promising. But I still wanted to make sure about what I understood from these laws.

So, I think my husband just should go ahead and apply for the Canadian citizenship certificate, right? Thanks again!

Yes, and when he gets that he can apply for Canadian passport and then he can sponsor you to immigrate to Canada--so you can escape Trump. Good Luck!

 

[Selda]

Yes, and when he gets that he can apply for Canadian passport and then he can sponsor you to immigrate to Canada--so you can escape Trump. Good Luck!

Thank you!