Urgent Processing of Certificate of Citizenship for newborn infant

[mahtax]

I have an infant born outside of Canada with which I will be repatriating myself with her in 4 months. She requires proof of Canadian citizenship to acquire a Canadian passport (required to enter Canada) and to enroll in provincial healthcare once we are home. Since I am a Canadian-born citizen, she is automatically a citizen by birth, but to prove it I have to apply for her certificate of citizenship.

Since the CIC indicates that certificates of citizenship currently take 5 months processing, she will require urgent processing for the required paperwork to make it in time.

As far as I can tell, qualifying for healthcare counts as one of the CIC's valid reasons for urgent processing.

Here are my questions. I would greatly appreciate if someone has experience applying or coming up with those documents:

1) The CIC requires proofs to qualify for urgent processing. Usually these things like proof of travel, job letters, etc... In this case, infants don't have their own air tickets before they're 2 years old. I can show my job offer letter in Canada, but I'm at a loss as to what else to provide.

2) Similarly, what do I provide for proof of identity? The CIC requires 2 proofs of identity, of which one has her picture on it. Obviously those don't exist yet. We need her proof of citizenship to apply for her passport. We have a private health insurance card, I guess, but all it has is her name and a policy number. What should I do?

3) In the past it seemed like, for newborns, you could apply for proof of citizenship and passport concurrently. I can no longer find any information related to this except in the websites of individual embassies (the one in Italy, the one in India). Was this quietly dropped in the past year or something?

 

[J2018]

I have an infant born outside of Canada with which I will be repatriating myself with her in 4 months. She requires proof of Canadian citizenship to acquire a Canadian passport (required to enter Canada) and to enroll in provincial healthcare once we are home. Since I am a Canadian-born citizen, she is automatically a citizen by birth, but to prove it I have to apply for her certificate of citizenship.

Since the CIC indicates that certificates of citizenship currently take 5 months processing, she will require urgent processing for the required paperwork to make it in time.

As far as I can tell, qualifying for healthcare counts as one of the CIC's valid reasons for urgent processing.

Here are my questions. I would greatly appreciate if someone has experience applying or coming up with those documents:

1) The CIC requires proofs to qualify for urgent processing. Usually these things like proof of travel, job letters, etc... In this case, infants don't have their own air tickets before they're 2 years old. I can show my job offer letter in Canada, but I'm at a loss as to what else to provide.

2) Similarly, what do I provide for proof of identity? The CIC requires 2 proofs of identity, of which one has her picture on it. Obviously those don't exist yet. We need her proof of citizenship to apply for her passport. We have a private health insurance card, I guess, but all it has is her name and a policy number. What should I do?

3) In the past it seemed like, for newborns, you could apply for proof of citizenship and passport concurrently. I can no longer find any information related to this except in the websites of individual embassies (the one in Italy, the one in India). Was this quietly dropped in the past year or something?

I'm on the same boat as yours. If someone could help us please

 

[scylla]

I have an infant born outside of Canada with which I will be repatriating myself with her in 4 months. She requires proof of Canadian citizenship to acquire a Canadian passport (required to enter Canada) and to enroll in provincial healthcare once we are home. Since I am a Canadian-born citizen, she is automatically a citizen by birth, but to prove it I have to apply for her certificate of citizenship.

Since the CIC indicates that certificates of citizenship currently take 5 months processing, she will require urgent processing for the required paperwork to make it in time.

As far as I can tell, qualifying for healthcare counts as one of the CIC's valid reasons for urgent processing.

Here are my questions. I would greatly appreciate if someone has experience applying or coming up with those documents:

1) The CIC requires proofs to qualify for urgent processing. Usually these things like proof of travel, job letters, etc... In this case, infants don't have their own air tickets before they're 2 years old. I can show my job offer letter in Canada, but I'm at a loss as to what else to provide.

2) Similarly, what do I provide for proof of identity? The CIC requires 2 proofs of identity, of which one has her picture on it. Obviously those don't exist yet. We need her proof of citizenship to apply for her passport. We have a private health insurance card, I guess, but all it has is her name and a policy number. What should I do?

3) In the past it seemed like, for newborns, you could apply for proof of citizenship and passport concurrently. I can no longer find any information related to this except in the websites of individual embassies (the one in Italy, the one in India). Was this quietly dropped in the past year or something?

There is a temporary passport:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/temporary-passport.html

 

[mahtax]

There is a temporary passport:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/temporary-passport.html

Unfortunately that won't help us if the bottleneck seems to be the proof of citizenship. There is also precious little information on exactly how to prove "urgent, proven travel" - the prerequisite for the temporary passport. Particularly since we were going to cross by land.

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately that won't help us if the bottleneck seems to be the proof of citizenship. There is also precious little information on exactly how to prove "urgent, proven travel" - the prerequisite for the temporary passport. Particularly since we were going to cross by land.

You don't need proof of citizenship to apply for a limited validity passport for a child. You haven't said where you are located (unless I missed it) which makes it tough to help further. Instructions on limited validity passports issuance is available and no rules have "quietly" been changed in the last year. For example, see bold & underlined section below from the Australia web site:

My child is a newborn and does not have proof of Canadian citizenship yet. How can I get a passport for them to travel?

Proof of Canadian citizenship is required to support each passport application. If your child was born abroad and you have not yet applied for their Canadian citizenship certificate, you will need to do that before submitting a passport application. If possible, you should consider deferring all travel plans until the certificate is received from the processing centre in Canada. For citizenship cards, this can be a lengthy process so we urge you to submit the application as soon as possible after the birth of your child. The current processing time for proof of citizenship certificates is available from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – Check processing times.

If travel plans are imminent, a limited validity passport can be issued to a child on submission of a fully completed passport application and proof of citizenship application along with all original supporting documentation as well as your child's proof of travel. As your child does not have citizenship documents, you will need to submit the child’s original foreign birth certificate showing both parents’ names, original marriage certificate of the parents (optional), as well as the following documents from one of the parents: original proof of Canadian citizenship, current or most recent Canadian passport, and one other document to support the identity of the parent. Our passport officers will assess your case and determine the necessity of issuing a limited validity passport to meet your child’s travel needs.

https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/australia-australie/consular_services_consulaires/passports-passeports_children.aspx?lang=eng

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately that won't help us if the bottleneck seems to be the proof of citizenship. There is also precious little information on exactly how to prove "urgent, proven travel" - the prerequisite for the temporary passport. Particularly since we were going to cross by land.

Just noticed the last sentence of your post. Are you entering from the U.S.? Was your child born in the USA and is therefore American by birth? If so, you don't need a Canadian passport or proof of citizenship for the child. The child just has to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to enter Canada.

 

[mahtax]

no rules have "quietly" been changed in the last year.

I mean specifically the concurrent application for proof of citizenship & passports (See here from Italian embassy). A year ago, when the pregnancy started, I saw that option on the CIC website. I can't find it anymore, except in (probably outdated) references on the Italian & Indian embassy's websites. The Italian embassy links you to a broken link, supporting my suspicion that this was an option that was quietly removed this year.

Just noticed the last sentence of your post. Are you entering from the U.S.? Was your child born in the USA and is therefore American by birth? If so, you don't need a Canadian passport or proof of citizenship for the child. The child just has to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to enter Canada.

I've found this stated on a number of American websites, but not on Canadian ones. All Canadian-sourced websites I've been able to find says minors need passports to enter Canada. For American citizens, it seem a Nexus or FAST card can be substituted (quote follows). Without a Canadian source I must conclude that this is an outdated requirement.

This website describes procedures for minors entering Canada in generals, but as visitors - it says they require passports. No exception is noted for Americans

This website detailing requirements for returning Canadians citizens indicates a Canadian passport is required for minors.

This website details requirements for entering Canada in general. It has this to say about American citizens:

"Citizens of the U.S. who are members of the NEXUS program may present their membership card as proof of identification and as a document that denotes citizenship, when arriving by air (when coming from the U.S.), land, or marine modes.

Citizens of the U.S. who are members of the FAST program may use their cards as proof of identity when arriving by land and marine modes only."

For example, see bold & underlined section below from the Australia web site:

I've found contradictory verbiage in various embassies' websites around the world, which is sadly not replicated on the main CIC/Passport office website (see: the removal of concurrent citizenship+passport application which is still referred to elsewhere). I suspect the various embassies' websites are not maintained with up to date information, with a large degree of variability depending on the staffing level of the individual embassy.

Still, this is more hopeful than I've been able to find so far. Hopefully Australia's embassy is more in the loop than Italy's. I'll try and confirm with my local embassy.

 

[scylla]

I mean specifically the concurrent application for proof of citizenship & passports (See here from Italian embassy). A year ago, when the pregnancy started, I saw that option on the CIC website. I can't find it anymore, except in (probably outdated) references on the Italian & Indian embassy's websites. The Italian embassy links you to a broken link, supporting my suspicion that this was an option that was quietly removed this year.



I've found this stated on a number of American websites, but not on Canadian ones. All Canadian-sourced websites I've been able to find says minors need passports to enter Canada. For American citizens, it seem a Nexus or FAST card can be substituted (quote follows). Without a Canadian source I must conclude that this is an outdated requirement.

This website describes procedures for minors entering Canada in generals, but as visitors - it says they require passports. No exception is noted for Americans

This website detailing requirements for returning Canadians citizens indicates a Canadian passport is required for minors.

This website details requirements for entering Canada in general. It has this to say about American citizens:

"Citizens of the U.S. who are members of the NEXUS program may present their membership card as proof of identification and as a document that denotes citizenship, when arriving by air (when coming from the U.S.), land, or marine modes.

Citizens of the U.S. who are members of the FAST program may use their cards as proof of identity when arriving by land and marine modes only."



I've found contradictory verbiage in various embassies' websites around the world, which is sadly not replicated on the main CIC/Passport office website (see: the removal of concurrent citizenship+passport application which is still referred to elsewhere). I suspect the various embassies' websites are not maintained with up to date information, with a large degree of variability depending on the staffing level of the individual embassy.

Still, this is more hopeful than I've been able to find so far. Hopefully Australia's embassy is more in the loop than Italy's. I'll try and confirm with my local embassy.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html

Entry into Canada: Canadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. A valid U.S. passport, passport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements for U.S. citizens.

Children under 16 need only present proof of U.S. citizenship.

 

[mahtax]

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html

Entry into Canada: Canadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. A valid U.S. passport, passport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements for U.S. citizens.

Children under 16 need only present proof of U.S. citizenship.

Yes, like I said, that's an American source that's not reiterated by a Canadian source.

It goes on to say that CBSA is the final arbiter of such decisions, links you to the CBSA website, which I quoted as not saying that American minors are exempted from passports.

 

[scylla]

Yes, like I said, that's an American source that's not reiterated by a Canadian source.

It goes on to say that CBSA is the final arbiter of such decisions, links you to the CBSA website, which I quoted as not saying that American minors are exempted from passports.

Have you called CBSA?

 

[mahtax]

Have you called CBSA?

I mean, it didn't occur to me that the US Department of State had more accurate information of CSBA requirements than the CSBA itself, no. I was going to operate on the notion that the CSBA publishes accurate guidelines on their own website. You think the answer will be different if I call?

 

[scylla]

I mean, it didn't occur to me that the US Department of State had more accurate information of CSBA requirements than the CSBA itself, no. I was going to operate on the notion that the CSBA publishes accurate guidelines on their own website. You think the answer will be different if I call?

I would call them.

 

[Gel2021]

I have an infant born outside of Canada with which I will be repatriating myself with her in 4 months. She requires proof of Canadian citizenship to acquire a Canadian passport (required to enter Canada) and to enroll in provincial healthcare once we are home. Since I am a Canadian-born citizen, she is automatically a citizen by birth, but to prove it I have to apply for her certificate of citizenship.

Since the CIC indicates that certificates of citizenship currently take 5 months processing, she will require urgent processing for the required paperwork to make it in time.

As far as I can tell, qualifying for healthcare counts as one of the CIC's valid reasons for urgent processing.

Here are my questions. I would greatly appreciate if someone has experience applying or coming up with those documents:

1) The CIC requires proofs to qualify for urgent processing. Usually these things like proof of travel, job letters, etc... In this case, infants don't have their own air tickets before they're 2 years old. I can show my job offer letter in Canada, but I'm at a loss as to what else to provide.

2) Similarly, what do I provide for proof of identity? The CIC requires 2 proofs of identity, of which one has her picture on it. Obviously those don't exist yet. We need her proof of citizenship to apply for her passport. We have a private health insurance card, I guess, but all it has is her name and a policy number. What should I do?

3) In the past it seemed like, for newborns, you could apply for proof of citizenship and passport concurrently. I can no longer find any information related to this except in the websites of individual embassies (the one in Italy, the one in India). Was this quietly dropped in the past year or something?

Hello! I'm in the same situation. How did it go? Are there any updates please?

 

[mahtax]

They did grant me urgent processing, I received it roughly 2 months after sending in my application. With that I can schedule a visit at the embassy for an emergency passport if need be.

I simply wrote a letter explaining why I need urgent processing, my anticipated start date, that my daughter needs to accompany me.