When can I apply for Citizenship?

[hopetoland]

Hi there, when can I start preparing the application for citizenship? Does anybody know if I can keep my German passport? Wouldn't want to give up my German citizenship.

Bye

[Vercetti]

You can apply to be a Canadian Citizen if:

You are 18 or older
You have lived in Canada for 3 years
You are a Permanent Resident
You speak English and/or French
You are not a criminal
You must pass a Canada Knowledge test

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become-eligibility.asp

You will also need Dual Citizenship in order to be a Canadian and German citizen

[PMM]

Hi

Hi there, when can I start preparing the application for citizenship? Does anybody know if I can keep my German passport? Wouldn't want to give up my German citizenship.

Bye

If you apply for Canadian citizenship, you need a waiver from the German Gov't if you don't wish to lose your German citizenship.  You can apply for citizenship after 3 years residence in the 4 years prior to the date of the application.

[hopetoland]

Thank you guys,

 @ PMM, how do I get a waiver? Do I have to contact the ambassy, and tell them my reasons why I want to keep my German passport?

[Kazakhstan]

Hi there, when can I start preparing the application for citizenship?

You can start preparing it any day. The application package is very simple, they require photocopies of a few documents that you must have - COPR, passport, PR card, etc., app form, fee payment, and citizenship pics (taken withing the last 6 months).  Make sure you have all of the required docs (consult the official checklist). They also require to include Residency Calculator form - online or offline versions where you enter the dates when you entered Canada and your international trips, if any, and it gives out the total number of days till the date of your app...

But you have to sign, date the main app form(s) and mail the application package no earlier than the date when you meet the Canadian residency requirement, which is minimum 1095 days in the past 4 years. If you have lived in Canada with a temporary legal status (visitor, student etc) then only a half of that time counts... Children under 18 do not have to meet this requirement.

So what I've done, I prepared the whole package for the family a few months in advance, dated in the future, and even paid the app processing/grant of citizenship fees online and had the file waiting in the drawer in an addressed envelope until the day we could actually send it off...  All I had to do was to go to the post office and send it.

However, before sending it in, I made sure there were no changes in the forms (who knows!!!)

[Kazakhstan]

Section 25 of the Nationality Act of Germany (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz)

Any German citizen who applies for and acquires foreign citizenship, whether in Germany or abroad, automatically loses his or her German citizenship. This occurs automatically by law; you do not have to make a special declaration or notify the German authorities. And it makes no difference how you acquired German citizenship. To avoid losing your German citizenship in this way, you must apply for and be granted permission to retain your German citizenship before acquiring foreign citizenship. When issuing passports, registering births, processing the subsequent immigration of family members, etc., the authorities make sure the persons in question are still German citizens. Possessing a German passport or identity card does not in itself constitute proof of citizenship. In case of doubt, a test to determine nationality can be carried out.

http://www.google.ca/search?ix=hcb&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=retaining+german+citizenship+dual+citizenship

You will have to do it through the embassy or consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany to Canada.

[Kazakhstan]

Before obtaining Canadian citizenship, to retain your German citizenship, you have to apply for a Beibehaltungsgenehmigung (BBG) from the BVA (Bundesverwaltungsamt). To get the BBG approved you have to show

1. That you keep ties to Germany, e.g. speak the language, travel to Germany, have relatives in Germany, have bank accounts or claims for social security or pensions in Germany etc.

2. That you will experience hardships as the result of not obtaining Canadian citizenship, e.g. jobs in your occupation are restricted to Canadian citizens only, a job that require you to travel frequently outside Canada and which may cause you to loose your PR status if you stay outside Canada for too long etc. etc.

The application is sent to a German consulate (Toronto ON, Vancouver BC - consulates, Winnipeg MB - honorary consul) or embassy (Ottawa ON) and they will check the application for completeness and assess whether they think it has a chance of being accepted. If everything is okay, they will forward the application to the BVA in Köeln where they will make the final decision. The whole process takes about 3 months depending on how many applications they process at the time and assuming your application is complete and they do not have to contact you for more documentation.

It costs 255 Euro and if approved you have to pick up the BBG in person at a consulate/embassy or an Honorary Consul.

The BBG is not valid until you have picked it up, so you MUST have it in hand before you take part in the Canadian citizenship ceremony!

So if you obtain Canadian citizenship without getting a BBG first, you will automatically lose your German citizenship. To renew your German passport from within Canada, you have to show (or send in a notarized copy of) your PR card or some kind of temporary permit for Canada. This way you prove that although you are living outside Germany, you are not naturalized in Canada. Once you are a Canadian citizen, you will no longer have your PR card and so your German passport application will be denied...

BBG Application Forms and Guides (in Deutsch):

http://www.canada.diplo.de/Vertretung/kanada/de/02/staatsangehoerigkeit/beibehaltung.html

[hopetoland]

Thank you so much, helped me a lot. Now I don't know what to do. I'll probably call the embassy and try to figure what's the best to do.

Bye

[missmini]

Thank you so much, helped me a lot. Now I don't know what to do. I'll probably call the embassy and try to figure what's the best to do.

Bye

OMG u just landed and already ask abt the citizenship....hihihi....u really want to be on top of things (not really surprised of ur fast timeline )....hope u can get both and that u don't have to choose....being German (EU) citizen is very valuable too, and will be for ur children ...i had an old teacher once who lived in Canada for tens of years but he was still a PR....so there are people who don't apply for citizenship and renew their PR status and card every 5 years....but the problem is that each time u travel u need to be careful wth ur card and have it valid...also keep in mind that all these rules could change in 3 years time, u never know so don't think too much abt it now....see u around

[hopetoland]

I know I'm bad..., but love my new home, and somehow I feel already Canadian.


Bye

[missmini]

it's ok, hope u'll find a way to have both!! at least now u know what u have to do and what approach to take; but i wonder if u try to keep ties with Germany too, won't u need to pay taxes also there?!

[pearl75]

Germany does not allow dual citizenship. Hope it helps.

[AllisonVSC]

Germany does not allow dual citizenship. Hope it helps.

Pearl75, I suggest you read the responses to the original question posed in this thread before replying. PMM and Kazakhstan have already replied with relevant and insightful information that indicates dual Canadian German citizenship is possible.

[pearl75]

And your point is? I assume you are the police of this board who catches! people responding posts before they read previous comments? Who reads all the comments anyway...? I don't have the time to read all the previous comments unlike some! people. Why don't you go and get a real job you will be less stress and won't pick on people on here This is not a job for you.

[parker24]

And your point is? I assume you are the police of this board who catches! people responding posts before they read previous comments? Who reads all the comments anyway...? I don't have the time to read all the previous comments unlike some! people. Why don't you go and get a real job you will be less stress and won't pick on people on here This is not a job for you.

This would have been better as a private message. Instead of attacking someone publicly. And I read all the comments before replying, or at least the first few. So I'm not contradicting someone or repeating what was already said. And I have a job, several. Picking on people seems to be YOUR job...