FATHER BORN IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA on August 1, 1855 - Am I Canadian Citizen?

[Frank Tedman]

I was born in Panama on June 16, 1924. My Father Frank Tedman, was born in Beverly Township, Ontario, Canada, on August 1, 1855. My Grandfather, Ambrose Tedman, had come to Ontario from England where he was born, and my Grandmother Virginia Carl was from Ontario and her family was from Ireland. My Grandparents married in Canada and had their children, including my father, in Ontario, Canada. My Grandparents both died in a place between Beverly Township and Toronto, Ontario, during a Cholera Epidemic around 1864. My father, Frank Tedman, was hired from Canada by International Durango to work for the Mexican Railway in 1882. In 1884 he was contracted from Canada to work as Dredge Captain for the construction of the French Canal in the Isthmus of Panama. When the French Canal trough Panama failed, my father went briefly to Nicaragua; then he went back to Canada, and afterwards returned to Panama. In 1895 he went to Boquete, Panama to make a coffee farm, where he later married my mother of German descent, Juanita Landau. My father´s plan was for all of us to move back to Canada so my two sisters and I could study in Canada. My father died in Panama in 1939 when I was 14 years old and after that we did not have the opportunity to move to Canada as planned. I married in 1947 to a young lady, Cecilia MacIntyre, whose father was also from Canada. My wife did fix all her documents and my children´s documents and they are all Canadian Citizens born abroad: My wife and 5 of my 6 children are all Canadian citizens. Some of my children and grandchildren live in Canada and some live abroad. I am 85 now, and I believe that I am entitled to Canadian Citizenship, but none of the legal advise and forums here addresses my case. I would be most grateful if someone can help me to understand under which laws I can apply for Canadian Citizenship as was my Canadian father´s desire and my own dream.

 

[Swede]

I was born in Panama on June 16, 1924. My Father Frank Tedman, was born in Beverly Township, Ontario, Canada, on August 1, 1855. My Grandfather, Ambrose Tedman, had come to Ontario from England where he was born, and my Grandmother Virginia Carl was from Ontario and her family was from Ireland. My Grandparents married in Canada and had their children, including my father, in Ontario, Canada. My Grandparents both died in a place between Beverly Township and Toronto, Ontario, during a Cholera Epidemic around 1864. My father, Frank Tedman, was hired from Canada by International Durango to work for the Mexican Railway in 1882. In 1884 he was contracted from Canada to work as Dredge Captain for the construction of the French Canal in the Isthmus of Panama. When the French Canal trough Panama failed, my father went briefly to Nicaragua; then he went back to Canada, and afterwards returned to Panama. In 1895 he went to Boquete, Panama to make a coffee farm, where he later married my mother of German descent, Juanita Landau. My father´s plan was for all of us to move back to Canada so my two sisters and I could study in Canada. My father died in Panama in 1939 when I was 14 years old and after that we did not have the opportunity to move to Canada as planned. I married in 1947 to a young lady, Cecilia MacIntyre, whose father was also from Canada. My wife did fix all her documents and my children´s documents and they are all Canadian Citizens born abroad: My wife and 5 of my 6 children are all Canadian citizens. Some of my children and grandchildren live in Canada and some live abroad. I am 85 now, and I believe that I am entitled to Canadian Citizenship, but none of the legal advise and forums here addresses my case. I would be most grateful if someone can help me to understand under which laws I can apply for Canadian Citizenship as was my Canadian father´s desire and my own dream.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has a test that can help you determine if you might be a citizen, so you can give that a whirl and see what it tells you.

I have a feeling that CIC would like proof of your father's place of birth, but I doubt that they issued traditional birth certificates in the 1850s. Do you have any documents to support your case?

Good luck!

 

[Frank Tedman]

My father had a Passport from Canada, but it was lost. I wonder if there are any records in Canada of Passports issued in those dates 1880s, or any Census or births information or Baptismal records. Also, I did the tests; but none of the tests available fit my situation as my father was born in 1855 in Ontario, Canada, and I was born in Panama in 1924 and then my father died in Panama in 1939. Those dates do not apply to the tests. Thank you for your ideas.

 

[ivp]

Frank, your case could be debated at the moment and is known as "Lost Canadians".

Go to blog dot lostcanadian dot com and find What Are Lost Canadians to get an intro list of ways to lose citizenship.
(can't post links :\)

I guess you need to research these two factors further:

>>Twelve Ways To Lose Citizenship:
>>...
>>2) You were a foreign-born Canadian, and on your 24th birthday you weren't domiciled in Canada .
>>...
>>12)You took out citizenship in another country prior to 1977.

Good luck!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

My father had a Passport from Canada, but it was lost. I wonder if there are any records in Canada of Passports issued in those dates 1880s, or any Census or births information or Baptismal records. Also, I did the tests; but none of the tests available fit my situation as my father was born in 1855 in Ontario, Canada, and I was born in Panama in 1924 and then my father died in Panama in 1939. Those dates do not apply to the tests. Thank you for your ideas.

Hi Frank

You would need to actually submit an application for Proof of Citizenship for CIC to evaluate your case and determine whether you are a citizen.

The problem is that to do this, you have to be able to prove your father was Canadian, so you would need his provincial or territorial birth certificate, naturalization certificate or Canadian citizenship certificate. Given the time period, it's unlikely that any of those certificates could still be reissued. CIC requires the applicant to provide the actual document, they would not consider 130-155 year old census, baptismal or passport records. You could inquire as to whether or not his birth certificate could still be reissued but without that proof, you can do nothing in regards to obtaining citizenship through him.

Are you wanting to become a citizen to fulfill the dream or is it your intention to actually move to Canada? If it is the latter, there might be another option. Not to sound insensitive but I believe from your post that your wife is still alive? As she is a Canadian citizen, she can actually sponsor you for permanent residency, which will allow you to live in Canada.

 

[Swede]

Hi Frank

You would need to actually submit an application for Proof of Citizenship for CIC to evaluate your case and determine whether you are a citizen.

The problem is that to do this, you have to be able to prove your father was Canadian, so you would need his provincial or territorial birth certificate, naturalization certificate or Canadian citizenship certificate. Given the time period, it's unlikely that any of those certificates could still be reissued. CIC requires the applicant to provide the actual document, they would not consider 130-155 year old census, baptismal or passport records. You could inquire as to whether or not his birth certificate could still be reissued but without that proof, you can do nothing in regards to obtaining citizenship through him.

Are you wanting to become a citizen to fulfill the dream or is it your intention to actually move to Canada? If it is the latter, there might be another option. Not to sound insensitive but I believe from your post that your wife is still alive? As she is a Canadian citizen, she can actually sponsor you for permanent residency, which will allow you to live in Canada.

A child with citizenship can sponsor you as well.

 

[amikety]

A child with citizenship can sponsor you as well.

Parental sponsorship is paused at the moment. It was to re-open November 2013, but there are rumors it will be stalled until 2014.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I think the rumors of 2014 are correct, given that CIC hasn't worked through the backlog as fast as they had initially predicted.

 

[alphazip]

Frank, because you were a non-resident adult when the Canadian Citizenship Act took effect in 1947, you did not become a Canadian citizen under that act. If you had been a minor, provided your father had not become a citizen of Panama or another country, you would have inherited Canadian citizenship at that time.

However, when the 2009 law came in, Canadian citizenship was extended to any child of a Canadian-born parent, so I would say that you likely are a Canadian citizen. Proving your father was born in Canada, though, may be difficult, since birth certificates were not issued in Ontario until 1865.

Another aspect of this that you may not have considered is that you are likely also a British citizen. You were born to a British subject father, and did not become a Canadian in 1947. Therefore, under the British Nationality Act of 1948, you would have become a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies. Under later acts, and because you have a British-born grandparent, you would have become a British citizen. Again, however, finding birth certificates and such may be a problem.

For more information on the British angle, see the Wikipedia article on the "History of Canadian nationality law", the section called: "Canadians and British nationality".

 

[Suin]

Parental sponsorship is paused at the moment. It was to re-open November 2013, but there are rumors it will be stalled until 2014.

Parental sponsorship will be reopened in January 2014.