Seeking Dual citizenship info for our Grandson

[Jim Praechtl]

My wife is Canadian I am a US citizen. My wife established our children's Canadian citizenship years ago. My son who holds both his US and Canadian citizenship is married to a US citizen and they live in the US. They recently had a child also born in the US. My son wants to establish our grandson's dual citizenship and for any future children as well. My understanding is that his citizenship can be transferred up one generation. Does this make sense and sound correct?

Anyone that can shed some light on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scylla]

Yes - citizenship can be transferred to the first generation born abroad. Was your son born in Canada or the US? It sounds like he was born in the US. If so, he is the first generation born abroad and is entitled to Canadian citizenship. His children are second generation born abroad and therefore not entitled to Canadian citizenship by descent.

 

[alphazip]

I agree. If your grandson was indeed born "recently," meaning after 2009, then he did not inherit Canadian citizenship from his U.S.-born father, even though his father was/is a Canadian citizen. As of April 17, 2009, a limit of one generation born outside of Canada was placed on citizenship by descent.

 

[Jim Praechtl]

Thank you both for your replies they are very helpful. You are both correct, our son was born in the US and our grandson was just born in 2016 so it appears this is not an option. If my son decided at some pont to move to Canada with his family is there a mechanism for his children and perhaps his wife to be granted Canadian citizenship wuthout giving up their US citizenship? Would any new child born to them while in Canada be considered a Canadian citizen as long as they had established residency and would that child be eligible for dual citizenship as well?

Thank you again for your help. My son is serving in the military and isn't in a position to be researching this for himself at the moment. I am just trying to give him some idea of what to think about as it has been of interest to him lately.

 

[scylla]

He would have to sponsor his wife and children for permanent residency (there's no direct path to citizenship for them). PR is similar to a green card. To be successful, he'll have to demonstrate that he does in fact plan to move to Canada once their PR status is approved. Once they are in Canada, his wife will need to live in Canada for several years before she will qualify to apply for citizenship. Depending on their age, he may be able to apply for his children's citizenship as soon as they move to Canada.

Note that his children have to be minors at the time the application is submitted for permanent residency. At this time, this is defined as under 19 years old.

 

[Jim Praechtl]

Thank you. It's a lot to consider. You have been very helpful, it's very much appreciated.

 

[alphazip]

If my son decided at some pont to move to Canada with his family is there a mechanism for his children and perhaps his wife to be granted Canadian citizenship wuthout giving up their US citizenship? Would any new child born to them while in Canada be considered a Canadian citizen as long as they had established residency and would that child be eligible for dual citizenship as well?

Any child born in Canada would be a Canadian citizen, and any child born in Canada to a U.S. citizen would also be a U.S. citizen (subject to certain U.S. residency requirements, which your son and/or daughter-in-law have no doubt met: https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents). Both countries permit dual citizenship, so becoming a Canadian citizen would not lead to loss of U.S. citizenship.

 

[Jim Praechtl]

Thank you both again. Your information has been very helpful.