Child born abroad to parent born abroad

[juskiesfan]

This is a scenario that isn't clearly explained anywhere on the CIC website and even confused them when I called in.

A child is born to Canadian parents who are temporarily in the US on student visas. A few months later, the family returns permanently to Canada, where that child gets a certificate of citizenship a couple years later. The child grows up and spends all their life in Canada until her 20s. She then goes abroad and gets married (to an American) and has a child. Is this child Canadian?

At first it seems obvious that this child would be Canadian and that is the answer I initially got. But, then someone brought up the change in 2009 which seems to exclude the child as it may be considered a second generation born abroad.

However, the logic of this makes absolutely no sense. For instance, If you take the exact same scenario and dates, but just make the grandparents Americans, who had birthed the mother in the US, then the family moved to Canada and then gotten citizenship for the mother; would the grandchild born abroad be Canadian? Absolutely. So why then would it not be so if the grandparents were Canadians?!?

 

[alphazip]

The first child is a Canadian citizen by descent. The second child, if born abroad after April 17, 2009, is barred from Canadian citizenship by the 2009 changes to the Citizenship Act. The mother (the one who moved abroad and married an American) does have the option of applying for permanent resident status for her child, and upon returning to Canada, applying for Canadian citizenship for the child immediately...no waiting period.

 

[juskiesfan]

Thanks for the responses. But I am still completely mystified by this. If in the scenario the grandparents were Americans and the mother was born in the US and the family then emigrated to Canada where they then became Canadians... what would the ruling be on the grandchild born outside of Canada? In other words, why should the grandchild in this case have a claim to Canadian citizenship compared to when the grandparents are both Canadians?

 

[hawk39]

Thanks for the responses. But I am still completely mystified by this. If in the scenario the grandparents were Americans and the mother was born in the US and the family then emigrated to Canada where they then became Canadians... what would the ruling be on the grandchild born outside of Canada? In other words, why should the grandchild in this case have a claim to Canadian citizenship compared to when the grandparents are both Canadians?

In this case, I believe the grandchild would be considered the first generation born abroad and gain citizenship by descent because the mother was naturalized in Canada.

 

[alphazip]

In this case, I believe the grandchild would be considered the first generation born abroad and gain citizenship by descent because the mother was naturalized in Canada.

Yes, in one case the child is two generations removed from the person born in Canada. In the other case, the naturalization is considered the equivalent of being born in Canada, so the child is only one generation removed.

 

[picklee]

Thanks for the responses. But I am still completely mystified by this. If in the scenario the grandparents were Americans and the mother was born in the US and the family then emigrated to Canada where they then became Canadians... what would the ruling be on the grandchild born outside of Canada? In other words, why should the grandchild in this case have a claim to Canadian citizenship compared to when the grandparents are both Canadians?

Am curious if this is the situation of your grandchild?