Indian Status

[bob_schaf]

If you are a US Citizen with Indian status, do you need a work permit in Canada or are you considered a dual citizen? I understand from what I am reading that a work permit is not necessary but does anyone have any experiences to share while crossing? What do the border agents ask? Do they ask for funds availability? Passport or just the certificate/card proving Indian status is good?
Thanks guys!

 

[PMM]

Hi

If you are a US Citizen with Indian status, do you need a work permit in Canada or are you considered a dual citizen? I understand from what I am reading that a work permit is not necessary but does anyone have any experiences to share while crossing? What do the border agents ask? Do they ask for funds availability? Passport or just the certificate/card proving Indian status is good?
Thanks guys!

1. You have to be registered as an Indian under the Indian Act in Canada.

 

[Copingwithlife]

I may be wrong , but Jay Treaty rights apply to Native Indians born in Canada . These individuals have border free access going TO the USA to work and live . Native Indians from the USA do not have reciprocal access, since the USA signed this agreement, Canada did not
If you found some information to the contrary please post a link

 

[PMM]

Hi

I may be wrong , but Jay Treaty rights apply to Native Indians born in Canada . These individuals have border free access going TO the USA to work and live . Native Indians from the USA do not have reciprocal access, since the USA signed this agreement, Canada did not
If you found some information to the contrary please post a link

1. You are correct, (Signed in 1795 when there was no Canada by the US) Jay Treaty was abrogated by the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States. Second, the Treaty has not been implemented or sanctioned by legislation in Canada.

 

[bob_schaf]

Thanks everyone for replying. My parents are both American citizen while my grandparents on both sides were canadian citizens. I have proof of their Indian status but not of my parents. Half of my family lives in Alberta and half in Montana and I did some schooling in Alberta back in 2005 before moving to the states. I did some further research and found out that I might already be a canadian citizen since my mother was born in Canada. I now have an opportunity to work in Canada for 2 years and I am trying to find the fastest way to get there and start working as my employer wants me to move to Canada asap. If I apply for citizenship status verification, it appears to be a very long wait. We looked up ICT which is an option but if I could prove my Indian status descending from my ancestors in Canada, I won't have to go through any of this. I am super confused now on how to go about this.

 

[bob_schaf]

Any more thoughts?

 

[scylla]

Thanks everyone for replying. My parents are both American citizen while my grandparents on both sides were canadian citizens. I have proof of their Indian status but not of my parents. Half of my family lives in Alberta and half in Montana and I did some schooling in Alberta back in 2005 before moving to the states. I did some further research and found out that I might already be a canadian citizen since my mother was born in Canada. I now have an opportunity to work in Canada for 2 years and I am trying to find the fastest way to get there and start working as my employer wants me to move to Canada asap. If I apply for citizenship status verification, it appears to be a very long wait. We looked up ICT which is an option but if I could prove my Indian status descending from my ancestors in Canada, I won't have to go through any of this. I am super confused now on how to go about this.

If your mother was born in Canada then you should certainly be Canadian as well. Yes - citizenship status verification can take a number of months to complete. Recommend you apply as soon as possible.

ICT only works if you are already working for that employer in the US and that employer is looking to transfer you to their operations in Canada. Additionally you must either be management level or have specialized capabilities (your employer will have to prove this in order for the ICT to be approved).

ICT is likely fastest at this point if you qualify.

I can't help you with the Indian status.

 

[bob_schaf]

If your mother was born in Canada then you should certainly be Canadian as well. Yes - citizenship status verification can take a number of months to complete. Recommend you apply as soon as possible.

ICT only works if you are already working for that employer in the US and that employer is looking to transfer you to their operations in Canada. Additionally you must either be management level or have specialized capabilities (your employer will have to prove this in order for the ICT to be approved).

ICT is likely fastest at this point if you qualify.

I can't help you with the Indian status.

Thank you for replying. I finally got a chance to speak with the lawyer my company uses in Canada and the confusion has only gotten worse. He says, if it turns out that I am a canadian citizen, I may not be eligible for any kind of visa. Also, does anybody know how long it takes for Alberta to issue birth certificates? My mom has lost her birth certificate and I believe we will need it to apply for my verification of status. All it says on AB govt. website is 2-3 days after registry accepts an application:
https://www.alberta.ca/order-birth-certificate.aspx#toc-5
Any help is greatly appreciated folks!

 

[Copingwithlife]

If you are already a Canadian citizen by descent, then no, you would not be eligible for a visa to work in Canada, since you would already be eligible. My brother was born in Alberta, and he had requested his birth certificate from the Government, and he received his in about 2 weeks. Pretty straight forward. I was born in Saskatchewan, and I received mine in about a week.
Just ensure you are going thru the official government web site, there are various private companies online that offer the service in obtaining the birth certificate, for a big fee, but in the end, they just go thru to the government as well, but it just adds time to the process

 

[bob_schaf]

If you are already a Canadian citizen by descent, then no, you would not be eligible for a visa to work in Canada, since you would already be eligible. My brother was born in Alberta, and he had requested his birth certificate from the Government, and he received his in about 2 weeks. Pretty straight forward. I was born in Saskatchewan, and I received mine in about a week.
Just ensure you are going thru the official government web site, there are various private companies online that offer the service in obtaining the birth certificate, for a big fee, but in the end, they just go thru to the government as well, but it just adds time to the process

Thanks for replying. This is really tricky, so do you think they have record of every child born outside Canada to a Canadian citizen? If so, how about I try crossing in to Canada claiming citizenship by descent with my mom? She does not have a Canadian passport and we are just applying for her birth certificate from AB but she has a very old looking SIN card which I wonder will serve as a proof?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for replying. This is really tricky, so do you think they have record of every child born outside Canada to a Canadian citizen? If so, how about I try crossing in to Canada claiming citizenship by descent with my mom? She does not have a Canadian passport and we are just applying for her birth certificate from AB but she has a very old looking SIN card which I wonder will serve as a proof?

No, they don't have a record of Canadian children born abroad unless the parent registered the birth at the time.

You can't claim citizenship at the border. A SIN is not proof of citizenship.

 

[bob_schaf]

No, they don't have a record of Canadian children born abroad unless the parent registered the birth at the time.

You can't claim citizenship at the border. A SIN is not proof of citizenship.

Thanks for replying. Is there any way I can come to Canada as a worker instead of waiting 6 months for verification of status? It's clearly established from my family tree that I should be a citizen of canada and should also have Indian status but proving it needs a lot of time and my employer definitely won't wait 6 months for me to sort this out.Also, if they have no proof of my birth abroad, how will they establish that I don't qualify for a work permit?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for replying. Is there any way I can come to Canada as a worker instead of waiting 6 months for verification of status? It's clearly established from my family tree that I should be a citizen of canada and should also have Indian status but proving it needs a lot of time and my employer definitely won't wait 6 months for me to sort this out.Also, if they have no proof of my birth abroad, how will they establish that I don't qualify for a work permit?

They likely will not know you are a citizen. Up to you if you want to lie.

 

[bob_schaf]

They likely will not know you are a citizen. Up to you if you want to lie.

What do you think would be the consequence?

 

[Apachewolf]

You might already have your answer, but if you are a U.S. citizen with an Canadian Indian Status card you can live and work in Canada and cross the border into Canada, you don't have to be a Canadian citizen.

I was born in the U.S. my father is First Nations and a Canadian citizen. I recently went through the process of getting a Certificate of Citizenship through the Proof of Citizenship application and process, then from there I got my Canadian passport so now I am a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Canada