Re: How to sponsor my (American) adopted children
PA-2-BC-SingleAdoptedDad said:
I've read through pages on the CIC website. And I've spent hours reading post after post here - and I'm more confused and disoriented than when I started! LOL.
I'm a Canadian-born citizen, I'm not married, and never was. I moved to the USA in 2006 and received US Permanent Residence in 2008. I've lived here ever since. A couple of years ago I adopted two boys from foster care who are US citizens. (I was a foster parent for several years here in the USA, my two sons were not able to return to their birth families, so I adopted them as my own). Both boys (aged 11 and 13 now) have US passports and we have traveled twice to Canada with me for vacations, since their adoptions, to visit and get to know my family who all live in British Columbia, where I grew up. I am finishing my doctoral degree in clinical psychology that I started in 2009, and plan to move back to Canada, with my two adopted children, when i graduate in August 2016.
I have no idea where to start in the process of making arrangements for my two children to move permanently back to Canada with me. Help - I need some advice getting started, where to start, and if anyone knows that process I'm up against. I couldn't find any stories similar to mine in the posts and threads I've been reading here or elsewhere.
Can anyone help me? DO I need a lawyer?
PA-2-BC
You can find a list of help centre questions and answers here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/results-by-topic.asp?t=2
It seems that as a born Canadian, you have a choice of either sponsoring your children for PR or applying for their citizenship right away. Here is a page explaining the difference in process: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/adoption/differences.asp
You can find a citizenship application package for adoptees here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/cit-adoption.asp including instructions.
The sponsorship forms would be here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/family.asp
The main differences between the processes would be that with the citizenship application they would become citizens right away while with PR sponsorship, they first become PR's and then you would have to apply for their citizenship.
With citizenship right away, they would be granted citizenship based on yours. They would not be required to attend a citizenship test or oath. Gaining citizenship this way, they would however be unable to pass Canadian citizenship to their children in case their children are born abroad and the mother is not Canadian. Such children could however be brought to Canada by sponsoring them for PR.
By sponsoring them for PR, you are as a sponsor financially responsible for them for the next 10 years after they get PR and once you apply for their citizenship, if the older one is 14 already, he would have to take the citizenship exam and pass it.
I would advise going for citizenship right away in this case.
You do not need a lawyer to help you apply. The forms are pretty simple to fill out and if you have questions, you can always come back here.