Citizenship for baby born outside of Canada

[mhmc]

I am Canadian but living in the UK. My child will be born in the UK in March (his dad is British). We're traveling to Canada in August for our wedding.

My question is about the eta/passport requirement for dual Canadian citizens. Does anyone know - will my baby automatically be a dual citizen and therefore need a Canadian passport to enter Canada? If so, do I need to apply for citizenship for him before applying for a passport? Processing time on the CIC website says 6 months, and we won't have that long before we travel. The child passport application asks for proof of citizenship in the form of Canadian birth certificate or citizenship number.

OR can I hold off applying for Canadian citizenship and have the baby enter Canada with an eta on his British passport? Thanks

 

[nope]

This isn't an authoritative answer -- but I suspect that you can enter Canada with the child's birth certificate, and your own passport. This is usually possible until the kid is 2 years old. It might be a good idea to apply now for their citizenship to be recognized, and carry some proof that that is in process.

This is what my sister did with her newborn when she came up to visit us from the US 3 years ago -- however, make sure that you can do it coming from England as well, and that the rules haven't changed.

Edit: this might be completely wrong (and probably is) -- I just read another thread that reminded me there are separate rules for flying to Canada that complicate things, look into them. My sister crossed on a land border. I'm leaving this up as a warning for what not to assume, apologies . . .

 

[mhmc]

The rules have changed.. children need to be on their own passport now. Thanks for replying though
The main issue is that the baby won't be born until March, which doesn't leave enough time for citizenship (8-9 months to apply outside of Canada). I've seen a few people post about a limited validity passport that's applied for alongside citizenship but can't find anything about that on the CIC website or the Canadian embassy website in England. I spoke to someone at the embassy who said I'm not required to register the baby as a Canadian and can therefore get him an eTA with his UK passport, but am not entirely confident that's accurate.

 

[bagelbagel81]

Hi there!
I am an Aussie with the same issue, and I ended up being able to buy an eTa for my 19 month old with her Aussie passport at departure at the airport.
Was then told by another member that this wasn't supposed to happen and Accused me of lying to get the eTa (ummm absolutely not!)- but apparently when babies born outside of Canada have dual citizenship they are required to enter Canada on a Canadian passport, so yes, you will have to apply for a Citizenship Certificate and Temporary Passport at the same time. I googled 'Temporary Passport, Canada' and it directed me to part of the CIC website where it had all the condition/processing times etc. it said at the moment it will take 20 days to process- so definitely enough time before you leave (I am also pregnant with my second child due late May- so need to organise this for both my children!)

This is the link I followed:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/passport/travel-documents/temporary.asp

I hope this helps!

 

[mhmc]

That is very helpful, thanks for sending the link

 

[bagelbagel81]

No worries at all!

 

[Eng_Mtl]

Hello Everyone,

I am in the similar situation, I am a Canadian citizen and my baby is born in outside of the country due to my wife. I am applying for his Proof of Citizenship but the required document states that I have to include my citizenship certificate in ORIGINAL. Does anyone sent their originals to the embassy ?

I want to make sure before I sent these documents to CIC.


Thanks

 

[Jess16]

Hi i am an aussie in a similar situation - my australian daughter was born last year (canadian born dad and Aussie mum) she has never been to canada and we have not applied for her citizenship. We have an aussie passport for her and approved ETA but just wasnt sure if we will have issues going on holiday to canada next month due to those laws i just stumbled across as the embassy in Sydney says shes automatically a canadian and needs citizenship proof and a passport? We have also been told something different over the phone when we called immigration canada that since we havent applied for citizenship and her ETA is valid it will be fine to travel with an Oz passport as they won't know shes canadian. Just wanted to ask about your experience? As we fly in 3 weeks so no time left to apply for anything!

 

[screech339]

Hi i am an aussie in a similar situation - my australian daughter was born last year (canadian born dad and Aussie mum) she has never been to canada and we have not applied for her citizenship. We have an aussie passport for her and approved ETA but just wasnt sure if we will have issues going on holiday to canada next month due to those laws i just stumbled across as the embassy in Sydney says shes automatically a canadian and needs citizenship proof and a passport? We have also been told something different over the phone when we called immigration canada that since we havent applied for citizenship and her ETA is valid it will be fine to travel with an Oz passport as they won't know shes canadian. Just wanted to ask about your experience? As we fly in 3 weeks so no time left to apply for anything!

Your daughter is Canadian by descent by law. It doesn't matter if she doesn't officially have Canadian certificate. She has to apply for Canadian citizenship certificate. You can apply for a "limited" Canadian Passport at same time of submitting Canadian citizenship application since she is under 2 years old. You can apply for an express or urgent "limited" passport since you have proof of travel within 3 weeks.

 

[Jess16]

Thanks but i checked this limited passport and it will take over 30 days and we travel in less than that and technically our travel isnt urgent its for a holiday to see family but not a sick family member which would make it urgent. I called citizenship canadian IRCC and they said she wont be flagged as canadian in the system since she has never applied for citizenship and we havent registered her birth there so should be able to travel on her Australian passport as she has a valid ETA which canada approved and issued knowing her heritage. I hope that advice is correct as i am trying to get something in writing from them so i have supporting info/proof when we travel.

 

[picklee]

I am Canadian but living in the UK. My child will be born in the UK in March (his dad is British). We're traveling to Canada in August for our wedding.

My question is about the eta/passport requirement for dual Canadian citizens. Does anyone know - will my baby automatically be a dual citizen and therefore need a Canadian passport to enter Canada? If so, do I need to apply for citizenship for him before applying for a passport? Processing time on the CIC website says 6 months, and we won't have that long before we travel. The child passport application asks for proof of citizenship in the form of Canadian birth certificate or citizenship number.

OR can I hold off applying for Canadian citizenship and have the baby enter Canada with an eta on his British passport? Thanks

Because your child is Canadian, your child will need a Canadian passport to fly to Canada.

An alternative would be to fly to/from the U.S., and cross the border by personal vehicle with the child's U.K. passport.

 

[Ruqayya1979]

Hi ....what can I provide as photo ID for my daughter? I am applying on her behalf for proof of citizenship and she's still a baby so I don't have any ID w her photo on it. Would that cause a problem? I have to go back to Canada in August and I'm afraid I won't be able to travel back w my baby. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[smallcoffee]

Hello,

Found this thread and still unsure what to do.

I am Canadian and my 7 months daughter was born in Finland (she has a Finnish passport with approved eTA). There is a citizenship certificate application in progress for her but we are flying to Montreal next month. Can she be denied entry to Canada or flight with her Finnish passport?

 

[sns204]

Hello,

Found this thread and still unsure what to do.

I am Canadian and my 7 months daughter was born in Finland (she has a Finnish passport with approved eTA). There is a citizenship certificate application in progress for her but we are flying to Montreal next month. Can she be denied entry to Canada or flight with her Finnish passport?

While I'm sure customs can deny, I very much doubt they would. They may give you a bit of grief and tell you what you should have done, but feign ignorance and you'd likely be fine. The airlines may be a different matter, depending on how savvy they are. They could refuse her boarding because she doesn't have the correct travel documents.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hello,

Found this thread and still unsure what to do.

I am Canadian and my 7 months daughter was born in Finland (she has a Finnish passport with approved eTA). There is a citizenship certificate application in progress for her but we are flying to Montreal next month. Can she be denied entry to Canada or flight with her Finnish passport?

As you have applied for the Certificate of Citizenship, you can apply for a limited validity Canadian passport based on thst. Show proof of travel and it should be processed within time.

To fly on her Finnish passport, she would need an eTA. Canadian citizens don't qualify for eTAs. There have been others who have gotten eTAs for their foreign-born Canadian children by failing to declare the Canadian citizenship in the eTA app. That is lying on an immigration app, so I don't recommend that route.