Provisional Travel Permit While Awaiting Citizen Certificate

[romado33]

Hi, I am a Canadian citizen, my Mexican wife is expecting a baby, which will be born in Mexico City in August.  I know that the baby is automatically a Canadian citizen upon birth, but that I must do the paperwork in order to obtain a "Canadian Citizenship Certificate".

The problem is that we are planning a trip to Canada in December, and obviously the Certificate will not have been processed by then.  How will this affect the baby's status in Canada.  Will it require a visa to go even though it is a Canadian citizen? (Mexicans now require visas).  Is there some kind of provisional permit that would let it travel to Canada while the Citizenship Certificate is being processed?

Thanks in advance.

[Leon]

As soon as the baby is born, you should contact the embassy about applying for a citizenship certificate.  If you have already bought your tickets by then, send proof of travel and ask for expedited processing.  If you do this, you may get the citizenship certificate in as little as a month or two instead of a year.  If you get it before you travel, you can get a Canadian passport for the baby and if you don't get it before you travel, just that you have applied is enough for the embassy to issue the baby a temporary passport.