Help! Baby of Canadian father and American mother!

[Chau302]

Need some help...I am an American and my husband is Canadian. We have already sent in the necessary paperwork for a spousal sponsorship about 2 months ago. I am 8 months pregnant and the plan is to deliver in New York where I am covered. I am staying in Ontario with my husband while the paperwork is being processed. My issue is when we need to bring the baby to Canada after leaving the hospital. I know she is automatically entitled to dual citizenship due to the fact that one parent is American and one Canadian. I have heard that it can take around 6 weeks to get her birth certificate though and am concerned about crossing the border. I obviously don't want to wait around in New York for it to come..is there anything else I can do??? Also, what type of paperwork do I need to fill out in order for her to get her canadian citizenship papers and OHIP so that she can get coverage and how long do these generally take??? Thanks!!

 

[Iay]

If you can apply for the baby's passport right away, she can enter with you back to Canada as a "tourist".

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Need some help...I am an American and my husband is Canadian. We have already sent in the necessary paperwork for a spousal sponsorship about 2 months ago. I am 8 months pregnant and the plan is to deliver in New York where I am covered. I am staying in Ontario with my husband while the paperwork is being processed. My issue is when we need to bring the baby to Canada after leaving the hospital. I know she is automatically entitled to dual citizenship due to the fact that one parent is American and one Canadian. I have heard that it can take around 6 weeks to get her birth certificate though and am concerned about crossing the border. I obviously don't want to wait around in New York for it to come..is there anything else I can do??? Also, what type of paperwork do I need to fill out in order for her to get her canadian citizenship papers and OHIP so that she can get coverage and how long do these generally take??? Thanks!!

You need the birth certificate before you can do anything, including bring the child to Canada.

You can enter Canada with the child by land or sea using just the US birth certificate. If you are flying into Canada, you will need a passport for the child.

Once you have the birth certificate, you are able to submit the Certificate of Citizenship app, see here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp

With proof that you have submitted that app, you can then apply for a temporary Canadian passport for the child.

Check the OHIP website to see how to get health coverage.

 

[truesmile]

Hopefully it won't take 6 weeks for birth certificate in New York. Ours took 10 days in Ontario, and temporary Health Card was issued at the hospital (same day as birth). But I agree you'll need birth certificate at a minimum to drive across the border and it's true you need a passport to enter by air.

Once in Ontario, you'll be subject to a 3-month waiting period before you get your Health Card.

 

[Avadava]

You didn't mention where your application is being processed. If you filed the sponsorship application online, you cannot leave Canada during the process. But if you filed an outland application and are living in Canada as a tourist, you can go and have the baby in the US.

Like others have said, you have the option to bring the baby as a tourist (if you want to go back to Canada right after the birth) and once in Canada, apply for Proof of Citizenship. Here is the processing time from Canada or US: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/certif-processing.asp

 

[screech339]

Hopefully it won't take 6 weeks for birth certificate in New York. Ours took 10 days in Ontario, and temporary Health Card was issued at the hospital (same day as birth). But I agree you'll need birth certificate at a minimum to drive across the border and it's true you need a passport to enter by air.

Once in Ontario, you'll be subject to a 3-month waiting period before you get your Health Card.

Depending on how old the baby is, the baby can get OHIP right away. I believe if the baby is 6 months old or younger at time of OHIP application, the baby will get OHIP coverage right away. I applied for my youngest baby, she was 5 months old and they gave her OHIP coverage right away. No 3 month wait qualification period. I asked about why she didn't require 3 months wait. They told me 6 months and younger babies get exception to the 3 month wait. However my older daughter 23 months at the time, had to wait 3 months before getting coverage.

Screech339

 

[Chau302]

So I went to immigration at the border today and asked about crossing with the baby and they said that she just had to be crossing with both of her parents and have the baby registry paperwork from the hospital stating who her parents were. Since she would technically be canadian due to her father, they cannot deny her entry. Once she is here, I would have to fill out the paperwork for her proof of citizenship and apply for OHIP once that goes through. Hope this clarifies any confusion....Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[truesmile]

@screech - that's great to hear there's an exception, I couldn't find anything on OHIP for babies which is why I didn't want to make any arbitrary comment on what would happen for the newborn;
@chau - that's also great to hear that you can cross using the hospital registration/paper-work;
@avadavat - even if her application is inland, so long as she is crossing there and back as quickly as she implies I don't think it's going to matter either way, many here have suggested to inland applicants that a 2-week vacation outside of Canada should be ok;

 

[Avadava]

@ screech - that's great to hear there's an exception, I couldn't find anything on OHIP for babies which is why I didn't want to make any arbitrary comment on what would happen for the newborn;
@ chau - that's also great to hear that you can cross using the hospital registration/paper-work;
@ avadavat - even if her application is inland, so long as she is crossing there and back as quickly as she implies I don't think it's going to matter either way, many here have suggested to inland applicants that a 2-week vacation outside of Canada should be ok;

All I'm saying is that there is a risk she won't be allowed back in Canada. They can deny her entry since she is just a tourist. And if she brings the papers showing her PR is in process, then that might cause problems since as an inland application she wasn't supposed to leave Canada.

Many others here might have left for 2 weeks and gotten away with it, all I'm saying is that there is always a risk.

 

[Alurra71]

If the OP has a visitor record in her passport, while not a guarantee, it does facilitate easier crossings since it would be marked there that she is indeed in the midst of a sponsorship application. Yes, there is ALWAYS a danger of leaving and not being allowed back in, but there are things that can help minimize that danger. A visitor record in a US passport is one of those things.

 

[Avadava]

If the OP has a visitor record in her passport, while not a guarantee, it does facilitate easier crossings since it would be marked there that she is indeed in the midst of a sponsorship application. Yes, there is ALWAYS a danger of leaving and not being allowed back in, but there are things that can help minimize that danger. A visitor record in a US passport is one of those things.

While I do agree with you in principle, according to the OP Manual for Sponsoring a Spouse in Canada class (IP08), paragraph 5.28 states:

"An applicant's departure from Canada after the application is stamped as received or after
assessment of eligibility for membership in the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class
may affect their ability to become a permanent resident.
...
Foreign nationals are not provided with any guarantees that they will be allowed to return to or re-enter Canada. If they are unable to do so, their application for permanent residence may be refused because they are not cohabiting with their spouse or common law partner at the time the case is finalized. [R72(1)(d) and R124(a)]."


Now here it does not say, "departure for longer than two weeks", it just says departure. So according to the manual, even crossing the border and returning after 30 minutes is considered departure.
It all depends on the CBSA agent at the border I think, or on the VO. If I, for one, had filed an inland application, I would not risk leaving the country. But everyone makes their own decisions based on their own facts. By stating to the OP that it is not allowed to leave Canada while the application is being processed inland, I was merely giving extra information that she/he can use to their advantage.

 

[Alurra71]

While I do agree with you in principle, according to the OP Manual for Sponsoring a Spouse in Canada class (IP08), paragraph 5.28 states:

"An applicant's departure from Canada after the application is stamped as received or after
assessment of eligibility for membership in the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class
may affect their ability to become a permanent resident.
...
Foreign nationals are not provided with any guarantees that they will be allowed to return to or re-enter Canada. If they are unable to do so, their application for permanent residence may be refused because they are not cohabiting with their spouse or common law partner at the time the case is finalized. [R72(1)(d) and R124(a)]."


Now here it does not say, "departure for longer than two weeks", it just says departure. So according to the manual, even crossing the border and returning after 30 minutes is considered departure.
It all depends on the CBSA agent at the border I think, or on the VO. If I, for one, had filed an inland application, I would not risk leaving the country. But everyone makes their own decisions based on their own facts. By stating to the OP that it is not allowed to leave Canada while the application is being processed inland, I was merely giving extra information that she/he can use to their advantage.

That would be EXACTLY why I specifically stated it will not guarantee re-entry, however it would help to facilitate and issues with CBSA. I am speaking from personal experiences since I was able to use my visitor record to cross back and forth on quite a few occasions to go see my grandson and such things without hassle. This was what the agents at CBSA informed me would help to facilitate crossing with much less hassle without actually promising me re-entry.