Renouncing Canadian Citizenship.

[sushmet]

Hi,

I am surprised to see that one can apply for the citizenship on behalf of child, BUT cannot renounce the citizenship of child and ONLY child can give up citizenship after he/she becomes 18. Can anyone tell me why is it so?

 

[hmuath]

Hi,

I am surprised to see that one can apply for the citizenship on behalf of child, BUT cannot renounce the citizenship of child and ONLY child can give up citizenship after he/she becomes 18. Can anyone tell me why is it so?

I don't know exactly why!
but this is the case in the U.S as well, when the child reaches 16 years I guess or 18, I'm not sure.
the rational may be that it's "unfair" to terminate the citizenship on his/her behalf, it should be their decision when they are adult!!

 

[polara69]

Hi,

I am surprised to see that one can apply for the citizenship on behalf of child, BUT cannot renounce the citizenship of child and ONLY child can give up citizenship after he/she becomes 18. Can anyone tell me why is it so?

Only a very selfish person would renounce the citizenship of his or her child..unless the citizenship endangers the child's welfare or health.

 

[screech339]

Well, I believe it's the age of 18 when the child is considered to be an adult and thus make the conscious decision of his/her own will. That way any issues that comes up due to renouncing / losing citizenship will be his/her own decision, not the parents' decision.

 

[arambi]

Hi,

I am surprised to see that one can apply for the citizenship on behalf of child, BUT cannot renounce the citizenship of child and ONLY child can give up citizenship after he/she becomes 18. Can anyone tell me why is it so?

Why do you want to renounce citizenship for the child? What are the goals and benefits of renouncing citizenship of a child?

 

[ashconnor]

Hi,

I am surprised to see that one can apply for the citizenship on behalf of child, BUT cannot renounce the citizenship of child and ONLY child can give up citizenship after he/she becomes 18. Can anyone tell me why is it so?

I'm not aware of any country that requires this.

Even Singapore allows dual citizenship until a child is 18.

 

[screech339]

I'm not aware of any country that requires this.

Even Singapore allows dual citizenship until a child is 18.

Some countries allow dual citizenship for children up to age of 18 at which point the child would have to choose one or the other. For example: Naturalized American Dual children. Once they reach age of 18, US forces them to choose one citizenship, America or Native Country (Citizenship of birth).

 

[alphazip]

Some countries allow dual citizenship for children up to age of 18 at which point the child would have to choose one or the other. For example: Naturalized American Dual children. Once they reach age of 18, US forces them to choose one citizenship, America or Native Country (Citizenship of birth).

If you're saying that the U.S. requires a child who has naturalized as a U.S. citizen to choose U.S. citizenship or his birth citizenship at age 18, that is not true. The U.S. has allowed multiple citizenships for some time now, beginning with the Afroyim v. Rusk decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk

"As a consequence of revised policies adopted in 1990 by the United States Department of State, it is now (in the words of one expert) 'virtually impossible to lose American citizenship without formally and expressly renouncing it.'"

 

[screech339]

If you're saying that the U.S. requires a child who has naturalized as a U.S. citizen to choose U.S. citizenship or his birth citizenship at age 18, that is not true. The U.S. has allowed multiple citizenships for some time now, beginning with the Afroyim v. Rusk decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk

"As a consequence of revised policies adopted in 1990 by the United States Department of State, it is now (in the words of one expert) 'virtually impossible to lose American citizenship without formally and expressly renouncing it.'"

It is interesting that when I flew to Albania, I spoke to an Albanian/American girl on the plane. She was an Albanian born, naturalized American as a child. she told me when she reached 18, she was given a choice of keeping American or Albanian. Can't keep both. That was in 2004 and she was in her early 20's. According to the new revised law as of 1990, she shouldn't have been given the choice. But she was.

 

[alphazip]

It is interesting that when I flew to Albania, I spoke to an Albanian/American girl on the plane. She was an Albanian born, naturalized American as a child. she told me when she reached 18, she was given a choice of keeping American or Albanian. Can't keep both. That was in 2004 and she was in her early 20's. According to the new revised law as of 1990, she shouldn't have been given the choice. But she was.

I have heard many of these stories from Canadians, such as "My mother was American, but when I was 21 I had to make a choice..." Well, yes, that used to be true in the 1950s. It's not true now in the U.S. or Canada and hasn't been true for some time. However, certainly there are countries in the world that do not allow multiple citizenships (though Albania is apparently not one of them). I would be somewhat skeptical about anecdotal evidence.

 

[screech339]

I have heard many of these stories from Canadians, such as "My mother was American, but when I was 21 I had to make a choice..." Well, yes, that used to be true in the 1950s. It's not true now in the U.S. or Canada and hasn't been true for some time. However, certainly there are countries in the world that do not allow multiple citizenships (though Albania is apparently not one of them). I would be somewhat skeptical about anecdotal evidence.

Why would she lie to me about being forced to choose one citizenship. I asked her if she has dual American / Albanian. She said did until she was forced to choose one or the other at 18. So naturally she choose American.

 

[alphazip]

Why would she lie to me about being forced to choose one citizenship. I asked her if she has dual American / Albanian. She said did until she was forced to choose one or the other at 18. So naturally she choose American.

I'm not saying she lied, just that she wasn't correct (or at least that there is more to the story). Just the other night I had a U.S. citizen (who became a Canadian citizen) tell me that when listing his absences from Canada, he went by where he slept. In other words, he said if he crossed into Canada (from Detroit) at 1 a.m., he just counted that as a same-day trip, because he slept in Canada. Should I just accept his idea of what constitutes a day as being accurate, or look it up for myself?