Giving Birth outside Canada

[HarkiranKaur]

If I choose to give birth in India (my husband's home country) which I would like to do based on positive reception of choice to deliver by C-Section on patient request, as opposed to Canada where they are less receptive of planning a C Section in absence of medical reason. Point blank, I dont want to give birth normally. I don't think I can handle the pain, the embarrassment, the risk of long term damage from a normal birth. Planned C section has much less incident of long term damage. (emergency C section not so much) so I'd like to go to India to give birth by c section planned. Qeustion is, how do I bring the child back with me?? Will they be an Indian national or are they still considered Canadian being born to Canadian mother? Will I have any problem bringing them back to Canada with me? I am sure there are other medical tourism etc cases where people deliver outside Canada. So this can't be unheard of before...

 

[scylla]

Are you a Canadian citizen or PR? It's not clear from your post. What about your husband?

 

[HarkiranKaur]

I am born and raised Canadian... husband is Indian National that will have PR by the time we have a kid. (Im not even preggo yet just looking for future reference) I want a planned C section and I know Canadian docs don't like doing that. India however the private hospitals are very receptive to it. This would fall under the heading medical tourism I guess. But I'd be coming back with an extra person... just wondering how I go about bringing the baby back in that case

 

[scylla]

Are you aware of how citizenship by descent works? If your child is born outside of Canada he/she will be a citizen by descent by virtue of being born to a Canadian parent. However as a citizen by descent born outside of Canada, your child will not be able to pass on citizenship to his/her children if they are also born outside of Canada. Might be something worth considering for your child's (and their children's future).

To return to Canada with your child, you would have to apply to have your child recognized as a citizen while still in India.

 

[HarkiranKaur]

How long does the process take. Let's say I go to India the month prior to the birth, stay there long enough for the birth and recovery about another month... so about 2-3 months total. Will that be enough time to bring the baby back with me? I read something on here saying it takes 10 months?? What happens if a baby is an 'oops' born outside Canada on vacation or something? Do the parents then have to stay at the place of birth for 10 months or more (or leave their child behind??)

 

[scylla]

I'd recommend you post your processing time questions in the Citizenship section of the forum since this is what you'll be applying for for your child.

I wouldn't assume that 2-3 months will be sufficient to process the paperwork after the birth of the baby. I have certainly seen cases where it has taken 10 months. Ultimately it's going to be impossible to say how long it might take in your case. However you'll get more answers in the Citizenship section of the forum.

The child won't be able to travel to Canada until this process is complete. So the child certainly has to remain in the country - presumably you as the mother will want to remain with the child. Remember that the child doesn't qualify for a TRV or TRP since they are already a citizen. I believe there may be something called a facilitation visa that the child may qualify for. But I don't understand how that works or if it would apply to your case.

 

[Bryanna]

Just to add to Scylla's reply....
You may also want to check if the airline will let you to board the flight in advanced pregnancy + you will need a doctor's certificate allowing you to fly. You may have to travel much ahead of the delivery date.... which means you could be in India for longer than your planned 2-3 months (at the minimum)

 

[HarkiranKaur]

I wonder if its something you can apply for ahead of the birth? Like if I know and I am planning on medical tourism for the birth - then showing the planned c-section date etc can I apply somehow in advance of even going there?

I can't see someone being stuck outside Canada for 10 months in case of accidental births?? And I have definitely heard of accidental premature births happening outside of Canada on vacation etc.

 

[scylla]

I wonder if its something you can apply for ahead of the birth? Like if I know and I am planning on medical tourism for the birth - then showing the planned c-section date etc can I apply somehow in advance of even going there?

I can't see someone being stuck outside Canada for 10 months in case of accidental births?? And I have definitely heard of accidental premature births happening outside of Canada on vacation etc.

No - unfortunately you can't apply in advance. You must wait until the baby is born before you can submit anything.

As for your second question, this is why I recommended earlier that you post your question to the Citizenship section of the forum (right now you're in the wrong section). I believe there's something called a "facilitation visa" your child may qualify for.

 

[Leon]

You can not apply for anything before the baby is born. After the baby is born, the process would be to apply for the baby's citizenship certificate through the Canadian embassy (which can easily take 10 months) but at the same time you can apply for a temporary passport though the embassy as well, based on your urgent need to travel back which should be faster. How fast though, I can not tell you.

You can not apply for a temporary passport without applying for a citizenship certificate as well. A facilitation visa could be used if the child has a passport from another country which I don't suppose it will since India does not allow dual.

However, since you are not pregnant yet and have plenty of time, maybe you can use it to find a gyno in your province that would let you schedule a c-section in advance.