Can I lose My Canadian Citizenship if I travel back home

[mrmaster]

Hi everyone!

I became Canadian citizen couple months ago. I am planning to travel back home to visit my family. Will I have any problems when I come back to Canada? I was Convention Refugee before. Why I am asking this question, because couple weeks ago I travelled to USA with my Canadian passport. When I came back to Canada from USA, I went to Automated Border Clearance (ABC) kiosk at the airport, scanned my passport and got already printed Declaration Card from kiosk. After I went to one of the booths to border services officer for the next checkpoint for verification printed kiosk receipt and travel documents. Officer marked something on my Printed declaration Card. I took my passport and Declaration Card and went to the officer, who was staying behind border services officer. I saw that a lot of people with Canadian passports went straight through officer to baggage claim area. But officer told me to go on the left. There were a lot of booths with another officers. As I understand I went again to Immigration, like I did before when I was permanent resident.

My question is: Why some Canadian citizens going straight to baggage area and some Canadians (like me) going again to Immigration if all of us are Canadians?

Thank you so much for the answer.

 

[Seym]

Go wherever you want. You're Canadian for life.

 

[thegentleman]

Hi everyone!

I became Canadian citizen couple months ago. I am planning to travel back home to visit my family. Will I have any problems when I come back to Canada?

Nope, you are Canadian and have the right to travel to and fro freely like any other Canadian with no restrictions under law. You can live in another country if you want to for however long you want to and when you come back you should not have an issues. It is your right.


The Constitution of Canada was amended in 1982 to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which begins with the words, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” This phrase underlines the importance of religious traditions to Canadian society and the dignity and worth of the human person:
- Mobility Rights — Canadians can live and work anywhere they choose in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.
- Aboriginal Peoples' Rights — The rights guaranteed in the Charter will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples.
- Official Language Rights and Minority Language Educational Rights — French and English have equal status in Parliament and throughout the government.
- Multiculturalism — A fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity. Canadians celebrate the gift of one another’s presence and work hard to respect pluralism and live in harmony.

 

[razerblade]

I guess someone didn't read Discover Canada - Rights and Responsibilities of a Citizen.

 

[btbt]

My question is: Why some Canadian citizens going straight to baggage area and some Canadians (like me) going again to Immigration if all of us are Canadians?

Customs and immigration will sometimes check some people more thoroughly, either at random or because the officer is suspicious of something in your declaration, documents, or behaviour. As we weren't there (and as we're not the officer(s) involved) it's hard to say why you were sent to the secondary screening.

(Secondary screening can be about bringing in more than your duty free allowance, or your travel document didn't scan properly, or there's a random check, or they want to make sure you're not bringing prohibited fruit/vegetables, or they fear there's smuggling going on, or ... -- there are many reasons why such a thing happens. That can happen to Canadians as well as visitors.)

 

[FloydCan]

The OP is worried some official will revisit the genuineness of his previous refugee status. In reality, it could happen.

 

[scorph]

I guess someone didn't read Discover Canada - Rights and Responsibilities of a Citizen.

Good answer lol

 

[mrmaster]

The OP is worried some official will revisit the genuineness of his previous refugee status. In reality, it could happen.

What do u mean? I didn't get you. Sorry.

 

[sns204]

Hi everyone!

I became Canadian citizen couple months ago. I am planning to travel back home to visit my family. Will I have any problems when I come back to Canada? I was Convention Refugee before. Why I am asking this question, because couple weeks ago I travelled to USA with my Canadian passport. When I came back to Canada from USA, I went to Automated Border Clearance (ABC) kiosk at the airport, scanned my passport and got already printed Declaration Card from kiosk. After I went to one of the booths to border services officer for the next checkpoint for verification printed kiosk receipt and travel documents. Officer marked something on my Printed declaration Card. I took my passport and Declaration Card and went to the officer, who was staying behind border services officer. I saw that a lot of people with Canadian passports went straight through officer to baggage claim area. But officer told me to go on the left. There were a lot of booths with another officers. As I understand I went again to Immigration, like I did before when I was permanent resident.

My question is: Why some Canadian citizens going straight to baggage area and some Canadians (like me) going again to Immigration if all of us are Canadians?

Thank you so much for the answer.

Upon reading this, "Automated Border Clearance kiosk" sounds like a NEXUS or GE kiosk. I thought maybe he went to the wrong customs line and that's why he was routed to a customs officer for a face-to-face entry.

 

[btbt]

The OP is worried some official will revisit the genuineness of his previous refugee status. In reality, it could happen.

Yeah, that was my reading of their question as well. I don't know enough about reavailment and that whole mess, so didn't comment on that part of their story.

@dpenabill, is reavailment a worry at all, once someone has acquired Canadian citizenship?

Upon reading this, "Automated Border Clearance kiosk" sounds like a NEXUS or GE kiosk. I thought maybe he went to the wrong customs line and that's why he was routed to a customs officer for a face-to-face entry.

These are a separate though similar thing (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/abc-cfa-eng.html). That page, by the way, explicitly says "You may be directed to another BSO for further inspection." -- which is likely what happened.

 

[dpenabill]

is reavailment a worry at all, once someone has acquired Canadian citizenship?

Refugee law in general is way, way outside issues I follow.

I am familiar with and have addressed the reavailment issue in some depth because of its impact on citizenship applicants who acquired PR status as a refugee, and when I started that topic in 2015 there was very, very little information about the impact of the change in 2012 which added cessation of refugee status as an AUTOMATIC ground for terminating PR status.

Prior to December 2012, once a refugee obtained PR status, that status could be terminated only for the same grounds as all other PRs. Thus, the cessation of that individual's refugee status would have NO impact (unless the individual lost PR status for a reason like failure to comply with the PR Residency Obligation). I know of no instances, prior to the change, when CBSA or CIC took cessation action against a PR-refugee, even though technically it could. If such action had been taken, the individual would have lost refugee status but that had no effect on his or her PR status.

When a person becomes a Canadian citizen, that too automatically terminates the person's PR status. That also in effect could be construed to be grounds for cessation of refugee status, not because of "reavailment," but because the individual has availed himself or herself of the protection provided Canadian nationals. So it would have NO effect. As in, so-what? the individual is no longer a protected person under UNHCR guidelines, the individual is now a National of Canada with all the protections afforded Canadian citizens.

And as others have observed, all the rights of a Canadian citizen. Including Charter right to leave and return to Canada.

I am not sure whether Canada restricts travel to certain places in the world. It could if the government purpose outweighs the Charter mobility right. In any event, it is not necessarily the case that Canadian citizens can travel anywhere, but any such restrictions would apply to all Canadian citizens.


In the meantime: I have previously seen reports about being questioned, at a PoE, about travel to a home country by a person who came to Canada as a refugee, even though the person had in the meantime become a citizen. Seen a lot more of this on the American side of a PoE. On the Canadian side this was while Harper was still PM and the PoE officers seemed to be (or explained the question was) merely out of curiosity. That said, especially when Harper was PM, there was a concerted effort to expose fraud, including fraudulent refugee claims. So I suspect those questions were not about mere curiosity. But, rather, probing to see whether the individual's returns to the home country indicated that perhaps the original refugee claim was fraudulent. That would be grounds for, first, revoking citizenship, and then revoking refugee status leading to deportation.

That said, I highly DOUBT that is what was happening in the OP's situation. It is far, far more likely that, as others have suggested, there was some other reason triggering the more personal examination, ranging from random selection to some incidental criteria, some largely non-consequential reason. It could also be a security or criminality check, if there is some circumstance triggering that, but those can easily be overly broad so there is no reason to read much if anything into it. Assuming, of course, there is indeed no actual reason for Canada to have security or criminality concerns about the traveler.

While the typical border crossing event is routine for most Canadian citizens, a Secondary referral is also fairly common. Not usually anything to worry about. Be polite. Be calm. Be cooperative. Be patient. An inconvenient but not terribly lengthy delay is almost always the worst case outcome.

 

[mrmaster]

So as I understand I can freely go back home for visit and come back to Canada without any problem? Even I was refugee right?

 

[NewUser2018]

Trust me going back to country you claimed asylum doesn't look good and 99% they will question it, I have friends who were questioned after going back to Mexico and Sri Lanka after becoming canadian citizens, also in 2010-16 many people have who lost PR status after going back to countries they claimed asylum from and it's on news, If Harper was still PM he could have gone further after Citizens who were refugees and travel back being turned away. And won't be surprised if Conservatives come back and do it.

According to Geneva Convention Refugee Act a host country can take back their citizenship or PR if the former refugee ever go back country he fled from, Scandinavian countries use that article to strip citizenship and PR and turn them away at point of entry.

 

[Whocares]

I guess someone didn't read Discover Canada - Rights and Responsibilities of a Citizen.

As a refugee he would have a big time problem by visiting his home country which he fleed due to war or being targeted. This has nothing to do with mobility right. This might actually triggers questions about his refugee case. Of course it depends on individual cases. As you know citizenship can be revoked for lying about his refugee claim.

 

[razerblade]

As a refugee he would have a big time problem by visiting his home country which he fleed due to war or being targeted. This has nothing to do with mobility right. This might actually triggers questions about his refugee case. Of course it depends on individual cases. As you know citizenship can be revoked for lying about his refugee claim.

He's already a Canadian. He can come and go as he pleases. Why would visitng his country of birth cause problems with gaining entry into Canada ? If he gained citizenship under false pretenses, then sure it can be revoked. And serves him right.