Hi. I was born in the US (in 1964) and adopted as a baby. I recently found my birth mother and father. My father is deceased, but was born in Newfoundland in 1934. He came to the US in the early 50's, but from what I know, never became a US citizen. I recently submitted my request to the State of Missouri for my original birth certificate since my father's name will be on it (according to my bio. mom). What other things can I do at this point to move forward with becoming a Canadian citizen by descent? I don't have copies of my biological fathers birth or death certificates. Would I be able to obtain a copy of his birth certificate from Canada? Thank you for your help!
I doubt you're eligible for citizenship by descent. Adoption is a transfer of filiation, so your (legal) link to your biological parents is severed and one with your adoptive parents is established.
I expect your best course of action is to consult with a lawyer who is familiar with issues around adoption, filiation, and possibly legally undoing the adoption (if that's an avenue you would consider). If you are not eligible for citizenship because filiation was transferred and you do not inform IRCC of this, you may, at any time, be prosecuted for
misrepresentation and stripped of your citizenship (and possibly deported and barred from re-entering Canada).
You should check if, assuming filiation issues are resolved, you are eligible for citizenship that way. There is a summary on
the IRCC website, and there is a "Am I Canadian" tool linked from that page. Note that those are not legally binding findings; the only way to know for sure if you are a Canadian citizen is to apply for a citizenship certificate.
It may be useful to check relevant laws. Citizenship law as it is currently can be found at
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/index.html; you may need to check older versions of the law as well (not all of which are online). A (law) library would likely have previous versions available.
(You usually are allowed to get a birth certificate for someone who is named on your birth certificate. You'd need to contact
Service NL about this. Note that you may, strictly speaking, not be allowed to do so if filiation has been transferred. Service NL may be able to clarify this for you, or you may need to consult with a lawyer.)
