Air Canada refuses re-entry into Canada (Foriegn Passport + Citizenship Certif)

[admontreal]

Agreed. The citizenship certificate can be easily forged. All it contains is a number that needs to be checked against a new database that was created in 2012 for that matter. That's why you need to wait 2 business days after your oath to apply for any citizenship-exclusive service (such as passport), they need to make sure it's updated.

In Australia and NZ, it is possible to endorse your foreign passport with the citizenship mention. While Australia does it electronically (their Immigration online system is outstanding), NZ simply stamps your foreign passport with a special mention, and gave the instruction to all the airlines to accept that stamp as a citizenship proof.

But again, the best way to avoid all the problems is to request a Canadian passport, which has been ranked 2nd in the world as the most trusted passport

 

[anya]

They CLEARLY tell you during the oath ceremony (a friend recently attended it) and also on their website http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof.asp that citizenship certificate is a legal document but not a travel document.

Expedited passport option is available for early travel.

 

[Msafiri]

For some reason some new citizens expect a pass on some things which even their home citizenship country doesn't pass - any Egyptians out there able to confirm if an Egyptian citizen can board a flight on Egypt Air to Egypt with a foreign passport requiring an Egyptian visa (and not able to get one on arrival either) but holding an Egyptian citizenship certificate? Or will Egypt Air just bounce you? For Egypt replace India, Pakistan, China etc as the case maybe. I expect the answer to be a No Chance so why should Canada be any different? If you have a visitor visa exempt passport then its a different situation.

 

[CIC1973]

Agreed

I don't understand why this Egyptian family is making a big deal out of it. They had no idea what they were doing so they paid the price. They had other options. They could have not attended the citizenship ceremony and thus they would have kept their PR cards. or change their flight instead of returning to a Canadian airport, fly instead to buffalo and then cross the border by land... Air Canada Travel agents were correct in denying them entry.

For some reason some new citizens expect a pass on some things which even their home citizenship country doesn't pass - any Egyptians out there able to confirm if an Egyptian citizen can board a flight on Egypt Air to Egypt with a foreign passport requiring an Egyptian visa (and not able to get one on arrival either) but holding an Egyptian citizenship certificate? Or will Egypt Air just bounce you? For Egypt replace India, Pakistan, China etc as the case maybe. I expect the answer to be a No Chance so why should Canada be any different? If you have a visitor visa exempt passport then its a different situation.

 

[fasnoon]

They are certainly allowed back to Canada by CBSA. Had they shown up at the Canadian border, they would have been welcomed in with no problems.

However you can't expect CBSA to advise on individual airline policies or the airline industry in general. That is up to the traveler and the airline... NOT CBSA.

... During their explanation CBSA should have said that...

"YES, we will let you enter Canada with the citizenship certificate once you show up at the border, HOWEVER... there is no guarantee that an airline (any airline) will let you board the flight as the certificate itself is NOT a valid travel document."

That's it... The family did the best thing which was to call the authorities and find out what to do in this situation! Its CBSA's job to let travelers know in a detailed way, not just to provide a generic answer.

 

[Intel]

For some reason some new citizens expect a pass on some things which even their home citizenship country doesn't pass - any Egyptians out there able to confirm if an Egyptian citizen can board a flight on Egypt Air to Egypt with a foreign passport requiring an Egyptian visa (and not able to get one on arrival either) but holding an Egyptian citizenship certificate? Or will Egypt Air just bounce you? For Egypt replace India, Pakistan, China etc as the case maybe. I expect the answer to be a No Chance so why should Canada be any different? If you have a visitor visa exempt passport then its a different situation.

It is a common practice with Canadians-Egyptians to use the Canadian passport to travel to Egypt and enter with the National ID or the birth certificate. I think the family thought that it can also work the other way around.

 

[Rob_TO]

... During their explanation CBSA should have said that...

"YES, we will let you enter Canada with the citizenship certificate once you show up at the border, HOWEVER... there is no guarantee that an airline (any airline) will let you board the flight as the certificate itself is NOT a valid travel document."

That's it... The family did the best thing which was to call the authorities and find out what to do in this situation! Its CBSA's job to let travelers know in a detailed way, not just to provide a generic answer.

It's not CBSA's job to babysit people and give info on behalf of the airlines. Each airline does things their own way, so there's no way CBSA will ever give info on their behalf for this very reason. CBSA should just be giving info on what happens once at the Canadian border.

If people are flying, then they need to contact the airline about ID and visa policies for travelling.

 

[Msafiri]

It is a common practice with Canadians-Egyptians to use the Canadian passport to travel to Egypt and enter with the National ID or the birth certificate. I think the family thought that it can also work the other way around.

I put the caveat in my post that the relevant passport be one requiring an Egyptian visa to board the aircraft. Canadian Citizens can get a visa at the relevant airport in Egypt upon arrival (which can be a pain if line ups are an issue) so the airline has no risk in carrying you. When you get to Egypt then the border officials can accept whatever document deemed acceptable by law or operational practice as proof of citizenship which is what CBSA do too.

 

[kapindo]

With most countries in the World which do accept Dual citizenship which I believe Egypt is one of them, when you become a Citizen of another country you automatically loose the citizenship of your country of origin and therefore after receiving Canadian citizenship then you are no longer a citizen of Egypt and therefore you are not a dual citizen and therefore cannot travel on your previous Passport not until you get dual Citizenship BUT you can become a dual citizen after you apply and re-acquire your Egyptian Citizenship which then qualifies you to be a dual citizenship. For most Countries if not all dual citizenship is not automatic, one has to acknowledge the Country of origin about their acquisition of another country's Citizenship and receive written consent from their country of origin confirming they are considered dual citizens from their countries of origin. Usual most countries will cancel the valid passports of such people and issue them with new ones which reflect their being dual citizens.
So if you ever get your Canadian Citizenship don't ever travel back to your country of origin with your old Passport, you will be held for illegal entry such as entering without a valid travel document. You are not a dual citizen back home not until you get registered as a Dual citizen. Many people make this mistake and they get held up at the boarder or airports. Then you having a Canadian Citizenship certificate while holding an Egyptian Passport while you have not applied for Dual citizenship in Egypt is true evidence that you are holding an invalid Passport. its the Law in most countries.
So if this said family had received their oath in ten days before their travel out of Canada then I doubt if they are Dual citizens and I think that's why they were refused to return on the Air Canada flight. It is as if they had no travel documents, its clear and I think that's why air Canada had to refuse them.

 

[swindsor2010]

For most Countries if not all dual citizenship is not automatic, one has to acknowledge the Country of origin about their acquisition of another country's Citizenship and receive written consent from their country of origin confirming they are considered dual citizens from their countries of origin. Usual most countries will cancel the valid passports of such people and issue them with new ones which reflect their being dual citizens.
So if you ever get your Canadian Citizenship don't ever travel back to your country of origin with your old Passport, you will be held for illegal entry such as entering without a valid travel document. You are not a dual citizen back home not until you get registered as a Dual citizen.

Not all countries work like that, at least in the West (Europe/America) I never heard of anything like that. Most countries allow a person to hold more than one citizenship and there's nothing special a person has do to. The only "thing" is that when you travel to a country you are a citizen of you must present yourself as a citizen of that country and that country will ONLY recognize you as their citizen. Example: A citizen of Canada AND Portugal travels to Portugal, he must present himself as Portuguese at the border. When in Portugal may or may not receive assistance of the Canadian Consulate since he/she is bound to laws of his own country.

Every country has different rules for everything, one most study what requirements there are for your specific countries. I for example have three citizenships after my newly acquired Canadian Citizenship ;D.

 

[kenyadian]

This is new to me and quite worryingsome for people in our situation. Basically Air Canada refused re-entry into Canada with a foriegn passport and a Canadian Citizenship Certificate, as supposedly only a PR Card is proof that you have status to stay in Canada... but when you get citizenship you have to return your PR card, and it looks like a Citizenship Certiifcate isn't proof that you have status in Canada ??? ... what do you do here to avoid this situation - get a Canadian passport immediately before travelling?

this article has conflicting statements in my opinion and an air of confusion of the various parties understanding the legislation and what is actually correct.

I was in a very similar situation but I managed to resolve it with CIC. Here is my story on this thread http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/may-2013-applications-citizenship-t157187.1200.html(check pages 81-83)

 

[Waterloo Settlement]

I think the problem is Air Canada has no way to verify that the citizenship certificates are real. The picture is not attached to the certificate and is just placed in the clear folder with the certificate. CBSA will be able to scan the barcodes on the back of the certificate to verify it is real, just like they do when you apply for a Canadian passport.

There could have been a miscommunication on behalf of the travellers or the person they spoke with when seeking the information.
Either way, I would have done online research so I could have a printed copy of the rules or would have requested an email confirmation from the person I spoke with.

When you get your Canadian Citizenship, at the end of the ceremony they tell you to get a Canadian passport because it is the easiest and best way to get back into Canada without any problems. In my opinion, the family should have just got their Canadian passports to be on the safe side and to avoid any issues.

 

[on-hold]

I know it's been said already, but I think the basic problem here is that the family thought they were dealing with a legal issue, where they were actually dealing with a commercial issue. Apparently CBSA would let them in with no issues with the citizenship document, perhaps supplemented by additional information (legal issue); but the airline doesn't have a policy of letting them board with that (commercial issue). It's probably the family's fault, but that doesn't mean they need to be blamed for it -- it's totally understandable that they thought they were checking in the right place. My wife and I did the same thing years ago when I got a job in an American territory that controlled its own immigration; they would have let her in with me and my job offer letter, but the plane didn't let her board.

 

[aspire]

With most countries in the World which do accept Dual citizenship which I believe Egypt is one of them, when you become a Citizen of another country you automatically loose the citizenship of your country of origin and therefore after receiving Canadian citizenship then you are no longer a citizen of Egypt and therefore you are not a dual citizen and therefore cannot travel on your previous Passport not until you get dual Citizenship BUT you can become a dual citizen after you apply and re-acquire your Egyptian Citizenship which then qualifies you to be a dual citizenship. For most Countries if not all dual citizenship is not automatic, one has to acknowledge the Country of origin about their acquisition of another country's Citizenship and receive written consent from their country of origin confirming they are considered dual citizens from their countries of origin. Usual most countries will cancel the valid passports of such people and issue them with new ones which reflect their being dual citizens.
So if you ever get your Canadian Citizenship don't ever travel back to your country of origin with your old Passport, you will be held for illegal entry such as entering without a valid travel document. You are not a dual citizen back home not until you get registered as a Dual citizen. Many people make this mistake and they get held up at the boarder or airports. Then you having a Canadian Citizenship certificate while holding an Egyptian Passport while you have not applied for Dual citizenship in Egypt is true evidence that you are holding an invalid Passport. its the Law in most countries.
So if this said family had received their oath in ten days before their travel out of Canada then I doubt if they are Dual citizens and I think that's why they were refused to return on the Air Canada flight. It is as if they had no travel documents, its clear and I think that's why air Canada had to refuse them.

Well said, I agree. The family is no longer Egyptian when they traveled but still used their Egyptian passport. The airline has all the reasons to deny boarding because the passenger is holding an invalid passport. It must be a lapse on the side of the CBSA telling the family that it was ok to go back to Canada using the citizenship certificate and an invalid passport.

 

[Leon]

The family should have checked with the airline as well. There are many situation where a person may be allowed to enter Canada if they manage to get to Canada but would not be allowed to board a flight because the airline is not ready to take the risk. Aside from people with a non-visa exempt passport and citizenship certificate, this would also include PR's with a non-visa exempt passport and an expired PR card or even no PR card, just landing documents.

The family had various options, they could have canceled their trip, they could have forked out the money to get their Canadian passports before leaving or they could have applied for passports normally and have a friend pick up the post at their house and mail or courier the passports to where they were staying.