Child born while parents waiting for citizenship

[toronto_dun]

I'm living through a bit of a citizenship nightmare right now, and I hope someone can suggest the best course of action. While my wife and I were waiting for our citizenship applications to be processed, we had a baby. The problem is that we were working in the USA at the time, temporarily, so she was born in the US. I called CIC and asked what to do when we come back to Canada. They told me just file for confirmation of citizenship and she will get her passport within weeks. We already had another child who was born while we were waiting, and she got her passport right away (born in Canada though), so we were not worried.

Then, 6 months after we returned, I check the status, and they told me to wait 2.5 more years before she can get her citizenship. And here is adding insult to an injury - if we are not careful to make sure she does not overstay and take her across border frequently enough, she can get deported back to US, while my wife and I no longer have a status in the USA. Which f-ing makes no sense because my wife and I are Canadian citizens and do not have and never had US citizenship. Also, the country from which we immigrated to Canada does not allow dual citizenship, so basically Canada is the only country we can live in. But our 1-yo baby cannot. I cannot beleive this is true. Feel like an Alice in wonderland. Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[screech339]

Since you were both PR's at the time of child's birth in US, the child is not Canadian at birth. Only American since you said your country does not allow dual citizenship. You would have to sponsor the child for PR first. Once the child lands as PR, you can apply for child's Canadian citizenship the day after one of you become Canadian.

As for suggestions, I don't think Canada is going to deport your child back to US alone since you both cannot enter US. So with that in mind, apply for PR dependent sponsorship for your child. Since outland sponsorship is the only option, the PR process will be very quick. Probably around 6-8 months time.

 

[Dave01]

Since you were both PR's at the time of child's birth in US, the child is not Canadian at birth. Only American since you said your country does not allow dual citizenship. You would have to sponsor the child for PR first. Once the child lands as PR, you can apply for child's Canadian citizenship the day after one of you become Canadian.

As for suggestions, I don't think Canada is going to deport your child back to US alone since you both cannot enter US. So with that in mind, apply for PR dependent sponsorship for your child. Since outland sponsorship is the only option, the PR process will be very quick. Probably around 6-8 months time.

Wrong advise Screech339.. I think since the child's parents are Canada citizen, the child is qualified to be Canadian not PR since under 18yrs.. If you already applied, you should get your child's citizenship soon else talk to a lawyer.

 

[mahasaha]

Please update us when you get something concrete .. a friend is in similar boat and she doesn't know what to do. In her case, she is single parent

 

[scylla]

Wrong advise Screech339.. I think since the child's parents are Canada citizen, the child is qualified to be Canadian not PR since under 18yrs.. If you already applied, you should get your child's citizenship soon else talk to a lawyer.

Nope. Screech339 is right. The child has to become a PR before she can qualify for citizenship (because the child was born before her parents became Canadian citizens). As of now the child just has visitor status in Canada. You cannot go from being a visitor to a citizen directly. You have to become a PR first.

See the info on the CIC web site for minor citizenship applications:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/grant/minors.asp

One of the requirements is: The minor must be a permanent resident of Canada, not have lost that status and have no unfulfilled conditions relating to that status.

In this case the minor is NOT a permanent resident of Canada. She needs to be sponsored for PR first.

 

[Cappuccino]

Wrong advise Screech339.. I think since the child's parents are Canada citizen, the child is qualified to be Canadian not PR since under 18yrs.. If you already applied, you should get your child's citizenship soon else talk to a lawyer.

The child's parents were NOT Canadian citizens at the time of the child's birth.

The child is therefore not a Canadian citizen either, since the child was not born in Canada AND the parents were not Canadian citizens at time of birth.

Screech339 is perfectly correct. The child must obtain PR, and when one or both of the parents become Canadian citizens, they can apply for the child's citizenship.

 

[toronto_dun]

Nope. Screech339 is right. The child has to become a PR before she can qualify for citizenship (because the child was born before her parents became Canadian citizens). As of now the child just has visitor status in Canada. You cannot go from being a visitor to a citizen directly. You have to become a PR first.

See the info on the CIC web site for minor citizenship applications:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/grant/minors.asp

One of the requirements is: The minor must be a permanent resident of Canada, not have lost that status and have no unfulfilled conditions relating to that status.

In this case the minor is NOT a permanent resident of Canada. She needs to be sponsored for PR first.

This is where it becomes extremely confusing. I tried to apply for her PR but, on three separate calls, CIC reps told me that sponsoring for PR does not apply in this case because children need to be sponsored for PR only when you sponsor a spouse who brings children with. The online questionnaire for sponsoring a dependent also always leads here, where all forms include dependents in addition to spouse: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp I could not find a form or instructions on how to sponsor a child alone without sponsoring a spouse. So CIC told me to file request for proof of citizenship without filing for PR first. I did that 6 months ago, and today they told me it will take another 2.5 years before it will get reviewed. I asked if I could just adopt her, which takes days to process, they told me no.

 

[screech339]

Wrong advise Screech339.. I think since the child's parents are Canada citizen, the child is qualified to be Canadian not PR since under 18yrs.. If you already applied, you should get your child's citizenship soon else talk to a lawyer.

Please re-read the OP's post.

While my wife and I were waiting for our citizenship applications to be processed, we had a baby. The problem is that we were working in the USA at the time, temporarily, so she was born in the US.

The bold highlighted that they are still waiting for Canadian citizenship. They are not Canadians yet. Since they were not Canadians at the time of child’s birth in US, the child is not Canadian. It doesn’t matter when they become Canadians after the child’s birth, they still need to sponsor their child for PR first. There is no direct path to citizenship from visitor status. One must have valid PR status first before qualifying for Canadian citizenship.

 

[screech339]

This is where it becomes extremely confusing. I tried to apply for her PR but, on three separate calls, CIC reps told me that sponsoring for PR does not apply in this case because children need to be sponsored for PR only when you sponsor a spouse who brings children with. The online questionnaire for sponsoring a dependent also always leads here, where all forms include dependents in addition to spouse: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp I could not find a form or instructions on how to sponsor a child alone without sponsoring a spouse. So CIC told me to file request for proof of citizenship without filing for PR first. I did that 6 months ago, and today they told me it will take another 2.5 years before it will get reviewed. I asked if I could just adopt her, which takes days to process, they told me no.

You use the same application for spouse / child PR sponsorship in the link you provided. The only difference is now you put the child's name as applicant. The PR application is to be completed as if the child is filling it out (child's point of view). The child will have no dependents.

Since the child is American, the application will go to Ottawa for processing and it will go quite fast. 6-8 months approx.

 

[scylla]

You use the same application for spouse / child PR sponsorship in the link you provided. The only difference is now you put the child's name as applicant. The PR application is to be completed as if the child is filling it out (child's point of view). The child's will have no dependents.

Since the child is American, the application will go to Ottawa for processing and it will go quite fast. 6-8 months approx.

Agreed - the sponsorship process for your child should be extremely straight-forward. And to add - don't listen to what the CIC call centre says. Sadly they are frequently the source of wrong/bad advice.

 

[toronto_dun]

Please re-read the OP's post.

The bold highlighted that they are still waiting for Canadian citizenship. They are not Canadians yet.

Nono - we are both Canadian citizens and only Canadian citizens living in Canada full time, practically since the child was born. We were just a couple month away from the oath when she was born. I contacted a lawyer and will see what he says.

 

[scylla]

Nono - we are both Canadian citizens and only Canadian citizens living in Canada full time, practically since the child was born. We were just a couple month away from the oath when she was born. I contacted a lawyer and will see what he says.

You're misunderstanding. We are talking about your status at the time your child was born. That's all that matters.

You don't need a lawyer. Your case is extremely clear and easy. You became citizens (i.e. took the oath) AFTER the child was born. If you had instead become citizens BEFORE the child was born, the child would be a citizen automatically and would only require a confirmation of citizenship application. Since the child was born BEFORE you became Canadian citizens, the child is an American citizen only (and is not automatically entitled to either Canadian citizenship or PR). The child must be sponsored for permanent residency by you and officially become a PR first. Once the child is a PR, then citizenship can come next.

 

[screech339]

Nono - we are both Canadian citizens and only Canadian citizens living in Canada full time, practically since the child was born. We were just a couple month away from the oath when she was born. I contacted a lawyer and will see what he says.

Technically you were not Canadian citizens PRACTICALLY since the child was born. You were Canadians a couple of months AFTER the child was born.

It doesn't matter what the lawyer will tell you. He/she will tell you the same thing we are telling you. If he/she is telling you otherwise, he/she is an incompetent lawyer. You and your wife were not Canadians at the time of child's birth. One of the parents must be Canadian at the time of the child's birth in other for child to get Canadian by descent. That's the law. You could be Canadian the day after the child was born and the child will still not be Canadian It doesn't matter when you submitted citizenship paperwork, the status of the parent(s), whether they were Canadian or not, at time of child's birth is what matters. That's the KEY.

You will be wasting your time and money if you tried to apply for Canadian citizenship certificate (proof of Canadian citizenship) for your child. It will get rejected 100%. CIC will compare your date of Canadian citizenship to your child's birth date. Once they see that you didn't have citizenship at time of child's birth, they will reject the application.

You need to get on the ball and start completing the PR sponsorship for your child. The sooner you complete the application and submit it, the sooner the child will get PR and then Canadian citizenship.

Just so you know, the child will become dual citizen once the child get Canadian citizenship.

 

[Cappuccino]

You're misunderstanding. We are talking about your status at the time your child was born. That's all that matters.

You don't need a lawyer. Your case is extremely clear and easy. You became citizens (i.e. took the oath) AFTER the child was born. If you had instead become citizens BEFORE the child was born, the child would be a citizen automatically and would only require a confirmation of citizenship application. Since the child was born BEFORE you became Canadian citizens, the child is an American citizen only (and is not automatically entitled to either Canadian citizenship or PR). The child must be sponsored for permanent residency by you and officially become a PR first. Once the child is a PR, then citizenship can come next.

Yes a lawyer will not be able to help at all since a lawyer cannot re-write the Citizenship criteria. A lengthy process in the House of Commons would be needed to do that!

The child is explicitly NOT a Canadian citizen since the parents were not citizens at the time of the child's birth, and the child was not born in Canada.

"Couple of months" means nothing, it would not matter if the parents became citizens the day after the child was born, the child would still not be a citizen.

 

[keesio]

Nono - we are both Canadian citizens and only Canadian citizens living in Canada full time, practically since the child was born. We were just a couple month away from the oath when she was born. I contacted a lawyer and will see what he says.

If you and your wife took the oath AFTER your child's birth, your child is not Canadian.

All that counts is the date you and your wife took the oath and officially became Canadian (oath ceremony date). If that date is later than your child's birthday, then your child is not Canadian.

However, as others said, you shouldn't worry as getting PR for your child should be straightforward.