Applying for my daughter’s Canadian Certificate.( Canadian Certificate for Adults & Minors)

[Dave1984]

Hi my daughter was just born on January 27th,2020 in Dominican Republic,and the application guide is asking for photo i.d’s for my daughter,but the issue is,she was just born and I’m only here in Dominican Republic until March 7th, so I don’t know if I will have enough time to get i.d’s for my daughter.
The application does say,that if you can’t provide i.d’s for any reason,to write a letter explaining why. In my case I could say my daughter was just born and is really young and I have limited time here in DR.
I need to take all these documents for my daughter with my application to Santo Domingo the capital before March 7th.
I am also applying for my wifes PR application and she has a deadline at February 21st to provide her Biometrics.
Can someone guide me on how to do this?

 

[armoured]

Could you clarify, is your wife's application already in process? Are you a Canadian citizen, or PR?

If she has one in process, I believe the usual way is to add her to your wife's ongoing application. You will find other threads here referring to that and how to do it.

If you must do a separate one, I suppose it would be possible to submit the application with her birth certificate and an explanation, and then submit the photo ids (passport) later (i.e. electronically). There is some risk that would not be accepted, I don't know.

It MAY be better and safer to wait and have the documents (copies, with translations, etc) couriered to you separately. The difference in time required to process with submitting photo IDs separately may not be better than just waiting and sending when complete.

Check your country-specific requirements carefully. If they do not require certified copies and translations (only photocopies), which is usually the case for passport pages, you could have them sent electronically to you.

 

[Dave1984]

Could you clarify, is your wife's application already in process? Are you a Canadian citizen, or PR?

If she has one in process, I believe the usual way is to add her to your wife's ongoing application. You will find other threads here referring to that and how to do it.

If you must do a separate one, I suppose it would be possible to submit the application with her birth certificate and an explanation, and then submit the photo ids (passport) later (i.e. electronically). There is some risk that would not be accepted, I don't know.

It MAY be better and safer to wait and have the documents (copies, with translations, etc) couriered to you separately. The difference in time required to process with submitting photo IDs separately may not be better than just waiting and sending when complete.

Check your country-specific requirements carefully. If they do not require certified copies and translations (only photocopies), which is usually the case for passport pages, you could have them sent electronically to you.

Yes I’m a Canadian citizen,I live in Canada.
My wife’s permanent resident application is in process. They just asked her for her Biometrics and photos before Feb 21st.
I will travel to the capital Santo Domingo hopefully next week to take care of that.

The immigration lawyer in Canada that I am dealing with now told me that the application for Canadian citizenship certificate for my daughter is seperate,but she never mentioned I could add it to my wife’s Permanent resident application.

Could I just get a Dominican passport for my daughter here in Dominican Republic and use that as I.d ?

 

[armoured]

Yes I’m a Canadian citizen,I live in Canada.
My wife’s permanent resident application is in process. They just asked her for her Biometrics and photos before Feb 21st.
I will travel to the capital Santo Domingo hopefully next week to take care of that.

The immigration lawyer in Canada that I am dealing with now told me that the application for Canadian citizenship certificate for my daughter is seperate,but she never mentioned I could add it to my wife’s Permanent resident application.

Could I just get a Dominican passport for my daughter here in Dominican Republic and use that as I.d ?

Wait, ignore quite a bit of what I said, I was sort of assuming you were a PR.

You're right she should be a canadian citizen, you can't add to your wife's PR app. You'll need to apply for her canadian citizenship. I do not know what one does for infants that do not yet have photo ids - I beleive just apply with explanation. (The application does include info for people that would be old enough to have photo IDs, i.e. they're not assuming all applying are infants).

You'll need to clarify what you're trying to do - get her to come to Canada as soon as possible? At any rate, you should apply for her canadian citizenship asap.

If she gets a DR passport, yes, you can likely submit that as photo ID for your daughter.

If she cannot get a Canadian passport right away, you'll have to look into what others have done to bring infant-presumed Canadian citizens to the country. But you'll need to get the citizenship app in first regardless.

I believe others here have mentioned bringing infants in on the basis of foreign passports and showing that the child has a citizenship app pending. But if I recall those were coming from eg usa, no visa needed. Will be different if flying.

You can also ask at the embassy. They may be able to help. It is possible for them to (for example) issue emergency travel passports, but I have no idea whether they can in such cases. They may be able to expedite the passport request.

 

[Dave1984]

Wait, ignore quite a bit of what I said, I was sort of assuming you were a PR.

You're right she should be a canadian citizen, you can't add to your wife's PR app. You'll need to apply for her canadian citizenship. I do not know what one does for infants that do not yet have photo ids - I beleive just apply with explanation. (The application does include info for people that would be old enough to have photo IDs, i.e. they're not assuming all applying are infants).

You'll need to clarify what you're trying to do - get her to come to Canada as soon as possible? At any rate, you should apply for her canadian citizenship asap.

If she gets a DR passport, yes, you can likely submit that as photo ID for your daughter.

If she cannot get a passport right away, you'll have to look into what others have done to bring infant-presumed Canadian citizens to the country. But you'll need to get the citizenship app in first regardless.

Thanks for the response. Yes,the lawyer told me I should apply for her Canadian citizenship certificate before she turns 2 years old. At this point I just want her to have the citizenship,so that when my wife’s PR application gets accepted(hopefully),she can come along with my wife to Canada.

The guide I have been following says that if I can’t provide i.d. for my newborn, that I need to write an explanation why.
I am assuming it’s much safer to just get her a passport,but if I can’t because of time limitations,then I will need to write an explanation.

These are the things the Canadian citizenship certificate for minors and adults is asking for:

Application for a citizenship cetificate (CIT 0001) completed,signed and dated. (Original)



Citizenship Photographs (x2) (Originals)



2 Pieces of I.D. (Color copy)(If you can’t get I.D. write an explanation why)



Proof of Payment (Reciept) (Original)



Fathers(me) Candadian citinzenship (color copy)



long form birth certificate displaying parents name (Color copy)

Application CheckList

,so I am going by this list.

 

[slough]

I applied for citizenship certificates for my three children -- all 4 and under -- last November, while we prepared the application for PR for my wife. For my youngest, who had just turned 1, I sent a copy of his birth certificate, vaccination record from the hospital and a letter stating that I did not yet have a passport or other photo identification for him. My middle child was 3 so I had a school ID with her picture (which isn't actually compliant with their ID requirements) and a letter stating that she didn't yet have a passport or other ID. My eldest did have a passport. I applied with an urgent processing request (reason: we are moving here and they need to be able to register for school and get health insurance) with the online application and it took about 5 weeks to receive their citizenship certificates.

My recommendation is that you apply with what you have, including a letter of explanation for the ID, and also apply locally for a passport for your child. If you receive the passport prior to the citizenship certificate coming then you can submit it to IRCC.

 

[armoured]

Thanks for the response. Yes,the lawyer told me I should apply for her Canadian citizenship certificate before she turns 2 years old. At this point I just want her to have the citizenship,so that when my wife’s PR application gets accepted(hopefully),she can come along with my wife to Canada.

The guide I have been following says that if I can’t provide i.d. for my newborn, that I need to write an explanation why.
I am assuming it’s much safer to just get her a passport,but if I can’t because of time limitations,then I will need to write an explanation.

These are the things the Canadian citizenship certificate for minors and adults is asking for:
...
2 Pieces of I.D. (Color copy)(If you can’t get I.D. write an explanation why)

Ah, then no need to worry, you seem to have the time.

I would ask in the citizenship forums, and also call embassy/consulate or ask around for those who have done this. It's a common enough case that I'm sure it is relatively straightforward, ie. the answer to why no photo ID is 'infant.'

Of course may be easier if you can also get a local photo ID. This depends on country though and may take longer than you wish to wait to apply.

At any rate, this case is not at all rare.

 

[Dave1984]

Ah, then no need to worry, you seem to have the time.

I would ask in the citizenship forums, and also call embassy/consulate or ask around for those who have done this. It's a common enough case that I'm sure it is relatively straightforward, ie. the answer to why no photo ID is 'infant.'

Of course may be easier if you can also get a local photo ID. This depends on country though and may take longer than you wish to wait to apply.

At any rate, this case is not at all rare.

I just called the embassy and they told me since my daughter is an infant that they don’t need id from her. They just need 2 pieces of id from me and my wife.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I just called the embassy and they told me since my daughter is an infant that they don’t need id from her. They just need 2 pieces of id from me and my wife.

Your child will need a Canadian passport to travel to Canada. You can apply concurrently for the Certificate of Citizenship and a limited validity Canadian passport with proof of imminent travel.

 

[DavidK_NZ]

When are you anticipating your wife and baby will be joining you in Canada?

Canadians (even those who haven’t registered their citizenship) are required to enter Canada on their Canadian passports. Dual citizens cannot enter on any other passport.

We were caught out when this rule came in and had to scramble to get our 3 kids citizenship certificates and passports. Previously they had entered on their NZ or UK passport.

 

[armoured]

Canadians (even those who haven’t registered their citizenship) are required to enter Canada on their Canadian passports. Dual citizens cannot enter on any other passport.

I 100% support your overall point that Canadians generally have to and should use Canadian passports to enter Canada.

But: it's a tiny bit more complicated - because the question of entering Canada is distinct from being able to board a flight to Canada and whether you need a visa and if you don't need a visa (benefit from visa waiver), you still need an ETA, etc. And of course, not all border crossings are by airplane.

This page has some detail:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/dual-canadian-citizens-visit-canada.html

Short form: one must never, ever present to a border officer for entry using 'another' passport or citizenship if you also have Canadian citizenship. You MUST state and enter on the basis that you're a Canadian citizen (and nowadays, that basically means a Canadian citizenship document such as a passport).

But: to get on a flight to Canada, you have to show you have the right to enter Canada. For Canadian citizens, that USUALLY means a Canadian passport, and the airlines don't (I think) have to accept your other documents. You can show the airline your Canadian passport if you booked the ticket on your (say) North Korean passport.

And I'm not even going to attempt to explain how this works if you have a Canadian citizenship document of some kind but a visa waiver country passport and whether you can get an ETA etc (I don't know the details and don't want to - I don't think Canadians can get ETAs using a foreign passport). The key point for this is: whatever you say about your citizenship, the airline MAY (and quite probably will) refuse to let you board the airplane to Canada unless you show your valid Canadian passport.

If you actually GET to Pearson airport with your Canadian citizenship card, I don't believe they can refuse you entry. But that hypothetical won't matter to you when you're stuck in Ulaan Bator and refused boarding on your direct flight to Gander (leaving aside that this is a very infrequent flight).

End conclusion is the same as your above, except for proviso in the link about entering from the USA by land: don't risk trying to fly to (enter) Canada without a valid Canadian passport. Not because they'll turn you away at the Canadian airport, but because you may not get there from the foreign airport. (Again, there are some exceptions, but increasingly rare).

(If I've made any error of fact in here, would be happy to be corrected - but I know a lot of people like your UK/NZ case example that got surprised by changes in rules, not just Canada but elsewhere, and sometimes by airlines).

 

[slough]

Really good post armoured. The link you posted has a couple of exceptions that I'll include below just for posterity, even if they don't necessarily help the OP.

1) If you're flying in a few days from a visa-exempt country and you have Canadian citizenship you can apply online for an exemption to fly on a non-Canadian passport.
2) If you're an American-Canadian citizen you can fly to Canada on a U.S. passport (this is what we'll be doing with my children when we fly up next week).

 

[armoured]

The link you posted has a couple of exceptions that I'll include below just for posterity, even if they don't necessarily help the OP.

Man it's hard to keep track of all these exceptions and specifics ).