citizenship of foreign born child

[zehr_gut]

hello

i am  a foreign born canadian citizen and my husband is a US green card holder and not a canadian citizen. i am not working but my husband is. i live with my husband in us for 4 years. I gave birth to a son in US this year. what is the process to make my son become a canadian citizen ? plzhelp, thanks.

[Leon]

Since you are Canadian, your son is already Canadian.  What you need for him is a citizenship certificate, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp and after you get that, you can apply for a Canadian passport for him.

[PMM]

Hi

Since you are Canadian, your son is already Canadian.  What you need for him is a citizenship certificate, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp and after you get that, you can apply for a Canadian passport for him.

Better hurry as of 17/04/09 children born aboard of Canadian born abroad will no longer be able to get citizenship (2nd generation) So those children will have to be sponsored.

PMM

[Leon]

Yes, there is a new law coming into effect in April, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules-citizenship.asp but from what it says on there, it only applies to children born after the new law takes effect.

Also it will only apply when the parent has inherited citizenship, not if they were naturalized.  OP doesn't say which she is.  In any case, her son will get citizenship since he's already born before the new law. 

[zehr_gut]

Thank you all for the information.I'll get right into it and start his process.

[haneen]

Hello Leon and PMM.
You touched on a subject i was meaning to inquire about.

My case is as follows:

My father is a non born Canadian, he gave me the citizenship the minute I was born . I was not born in Canada.
I live in the middle East, got married and is currently pregnant. I deliver in September this year.
Starting April this year I cannot give my child citizenship unless I give birth in Canada right? Are there any exceptions for this new law? I mean if I was able to get a proof that I cannot leave my country and deliver in Canada for medical reasons.

Another question, If I do not deliver in Canada, what are my options for giving my child the Canadian citizenship . What do I have to do to sponsor him? Baring in mind that I do not intend to live in Canada at the moment. I can go visit whenever if the sponsorship requires so.

I would really appreciate your feedback.
Regards.

[Leon]

You could sponsor your child for PR of Canada as well as your spouse but only if you sufficiently prove to immigration that you are planning to move to Canada once they get their PR.  They could get citizenship once they are living in Canada.  If you are not planning on living in Canada, you can wait until your child is grown as long as they are under age 22, if they want to live in Canada at that point, you can go there with them and sponsor them for PR, they can then live in Canada for 3 years and apply for citizenship.  This law is basically being put into effect to prevent generations of people from having Canadian citizenship without having lived in Canada or being interested in living in Canada.