Proof of Citizenship for Minor..bit of a problem..

[Going through]

After tearing my house apart...I came across an old "Certified Extract From Birth Registration" (I guess this is how they used to say "short form" back then?) showing on secure paper with the raised seal my name, birthplace, birthdate, and registration number matching my birth certificate card....would this suffice? It doesn't list my parents names---who were naturalized Canadians back in 1968 but I suppose they don't need that info. Thank God, for whatever reason way back when, my parents had ordered this for something...

My daughter's US certificate will be the long form one--just sent away for a certified copy of it.

(*insert small rant about how they refuse to return original documents here*) Seriously though----why not return originals???

 

[alphazip]

After tearing my house apart...I came across an old "Certified Extract From Birth Registration" (I guess this is how they used to say "short form" back then?) showing on secure paper with the raised seal my name, birthplace, birthdate, and registration number matching my birth certificate card....would this suffice? It doesn't list my parents names---who were naturalized Canadians back in 1968 but I suppose they don't need that info. Thank God, for whatever reason way back when, my parents had ordered this for something...

My daughter's US certificate will be the long form one--just sent away for a certified copy of it.

(*insert small rant about how they refuse to return original documents here*) Seriously though----why not return originals???

Yes, that will work, but, as you say, you won't get it back. If you send that and your daughter's birth certificate (the one you just sent away for), you won't have to deal with having anything certified...unless you still want to have your daughter's ID certified, that is.

 

[Going through]

Thanks so much for your help with my questions.

I know I won't get it back, but saves me the time (at least a month) and cost of ordering another one from outside Canada. Not to mention the whole guarantor issue.

I suppose I'm a bit jealous of those in other countries who apply directly at their embassy for this, and just have to show the originals and immediately get them back...wish US had that option was all

 

[nyguy2]

Thanks so much for your help with my questions.

I know I won't get it back, but saves me the time (at least a month) and cost of ordering another one from outside Canada. Not to mention the whole guarantor issue.

I suppose I'm a bit jealous of those in other countries who apply directly at their embassy for this, and just have to show the originals and immediately get them back...wish US had that option was all

If possible and not an undue burden I would try to get a certified true copy of your birth certificate. If you have a situation like a lost passport/expired for more than one year for some reason, then you might need an acceptable copy of your birth certificate... and USPS/Canada Post lose quite a bit of mail in my experience. Even UPS/Fedex aren't perfect. As far as whether or not it's considered acceptable, I can't really say. Ordering the birth certificate doesn't take that long to process, at least for the province of British Columbia. They mail it out pretty quick, you get it in 2-3 weeks.

For passport purposes, they stopped considering the non-polymer certificates secure, and when my father's passport expired a few years back (2010 I think) he let it sit for over a year, and when he went to renew they didn't consider the non-polymer birth certificate secure enough for the passport application, so he just never bothered to renew (he naturalized in the US and had a US passport by 2013). That's what he told me anyways on why he did not renew his Canadian passport (short answer: he tried, birth certificate was an issue). Knowing that CIC/IRCC rejected him on the passport, I had him order the birth certificate. Type in the basic demographic info on yourself and parents, credit card, and you're all set, very easy if you were born in BC.

What are you talking about with the guarantor issue? Does the province of your birth require you to have a guarantor to order a new birth extract?

 

[Going through]

If possible and not an undue burden I would try to get a certified true copy of your birth certificate. If you have a situation like a lost passport/expired for more than one year for some reason, then you might need an acceptable copy of your birth certificate... and USPS/Canada Post lose quite a bit of mail in my experience. Even UPS/Fedex aren't perfect. As far as whether or not it's considered acceptable, I can't really say. Ordering the birth certificate doesn't take that long to process, at least for the province of British Columbia. They mail it out pretty quick, you get it in 2-3 weeks.

For passport purposes, they stopped considering the non-polymer certificates secure, and when my father's passport expired a few years back (2010 I think) he let it sit for over a year, and when he went to renew they didn't consider the non-polymer birth certificate secure enough for the passport application, so he just never bothered to renew (he naturalized in the US and had a US passport by 2013). That's what he told me anyways on why he did not renew his Canadian passport (short answer: he tried, birth certificate was an issue). Knowing that CIC/IRCC rejected him on the passport, I had him order the birth certificate. Type in the basic demographic info on yourself and parents, credit card, and you're all set, very easy if you were born in BC.

What are you talking about with the guarantor issue? Does the province of your birth require you to have a guarantor to order a new birth extract?

In Ontario, when ordering copies of birth certificate, they require a guarantor who is employed as a doctor, lawyer, notary, judge, teacher, bank signing officer or police officer AND is also a Canadian citizen, AND has known the applicant for at least two years. Not easy to find someone who fits all three requirements especially if you've lived outside of Canada for 13 years, as I have.

I plan on ordering a long form of mine eventually down the road, as I agree it's good to have one for any future reason. For now, I'll submit the certified extract I did find.

 

[nyguy2]

In Ontario, when ordering copies of birth certificate, they require a guarantor who is employed as a doctor, lawyer, notary, judge, teacher, bank signing officer or police officer AND is also a Canadian citizen, AND has known the applicant for at least two years. Not easy to find someone who fits all three requirements especially if you've lived outside of Canada for 13 years, as I have.

I plan on ordering a long form of mine eventually down the road, as I agree it's good to have one for any future reason. For now, I'll submit the certified extract I did find.

Did you read the entire page though?

Out-of-country guarantor

If you are out of the country and cannot provide a Canadian guarantor, then a non-Canadian can be a guarantor. A non-Canadian guarantor must be currently serving as or be a practicing member in good standing of one of the qualified professions. They must provide a letter that includes:​

• • the guarantor’s
    • citizenship
    • occupation
    • name and contact information (i.e., work address and daytime phone number)
• the applicant’s name
• the number of years that they have known the applicant (minimum 2 years)
• a statement verifying that everything in the birth certificate application is true
• the guarantor’s signature and date of signing

You must also include a signed letter explaining why a Canadian guarantor could not be provided.

You can fax this information to ServiceOntario at 1-807-343-7459. Rush requests can be faxed to 1-807-343-7411, along with proof of urgency.​

And there are other occupations like professional accountant, professional engineer, a variety of types of doctor, etc. where if they have known you for two years they can be your guarantor. Surely one of these is easier to find in the US?

 

[Going through]

Yep---read that.

Not having a Canadian citizen guarantor can delay processing of my application for a copy of my birth certificate for several months too....which would then mean that her citizenship photos would most likely expire by the time I get it.

Like I said, I did find the certified short form of my birth certificate, so it's not an issue for me to have to get a long-form copy of mine right now. The short form is proof that I was born in Canada, which is all IRCC needs to see...they don't need my parent info.

 

[Going through]

My Canadian passport I never let expire, even if I haven't travelled in years. So thankfully I haven't had issues with that because the renewal process is more streamlined when you apply before expiration (knock on wood).

 

[robinspree]

Thanks so much for your response! And for the phone number, was just getting ready to google that

According to the website, for proof of citizenship they will only accept documents certified by a notary if applying from the United States, unfortunately, even though IRCC also acknowledges on their website that different States may not do this. I'm going to try to get around that by doing the whole "certifying my signature stating it's a true copy" thing that NY notaries seem to like to do here...if IRCC is aware that not every US notary will certify a copy, maybe they are used to seeing that type of notarization as well and allowing it..

Hello! What documents you end up sending? Did you send own certified copies and what did they say?

I have similar sitsuation.

 

[Going through]

Hello! What documents you end up sending? Did you send own certified copies and what did they say?

I have similar sitsuation.

I ended up not applying for my long form birth certificate because I found a certified short form and sent that in to IRCC.
I did go to a notary in NY and have them certify/notarize photocopies of my other identification though and they happily did that. As others have noted in this thread, its not something you HAVE to do for identification documents but I felt better to have them more "official" looking than just regular photocopies, especially since I am sending my application from outside Canada.

From my tracking info, my application hasn't reached IRCC yet, so I can't say either way if it is an issue, although considering IRCC accepts regular photocopies without any sort of notarization I can't see how going the extra step as I did would make it a negative thing

I plan on applying for my long form birth certificate later on down the road, but I'm going to wait until I'm actually in Canada to do that as I will have a better chance of finding a guarantor then, and the process is much faster by a few months when applying from inside Canada.