Former Old Country ceases to exist

[Bittboy34]

Just a hypotethical question. A person immigrates to Canada as a Permanent Resident from a tropical island (state). 2 years later the state ceases to exist, as it is invaded by an agressor. What happens to that Permanent Resident, as he/she is now stateless, almost like abstract person?

 

[scylla]

Just a hypotethical question. A person immigrates to Canada as a Permanent Resident from a tropical island (state). 2 years later the state ceases to exist, as it is invaded by an agressor. What happens to that Permanent Resident, as he/she is now stateless, almost like abstract person?

They should apply for Canadian citizenship as soon as they have sufficient residency days so that they will no longer be stateless and can qualify for a Canadian passport.

 

[hawk39]

I think that if State A is taken over by State B, then citizens of former A would now be citizens of B, so the PR would now apply as a citizen of B. But if B invaded because it wants to "wipe A and its citizens off the map", then I think the PR would have a strong case to now apply as a refugee. Given Canada's history as a compassionate nation and as a signatory of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (even if the PR is over 21), I wouldn't be surprised if that PR was given an immediate grant of citizenship.

 

[Buletruck]

I think politically, it’s a little more complicated than that. If one country was invaded, it doesn’t just automatically cease to exist. The invading country would need to have its new territory recognized before you could claim it no longer exists (i.e. Netherlands and France during WW2 or East Timor when Indonesia invaded). A government in exile can still be recognized as the official government and hence, its countrymen are still citizens.

 

[zardoz]

I think that if State A is taken over by State B, then citizens of former A would now be citizens of B, so the PR would now apply as a citizen of B. But if B invaded because it wants to "wipe A and its citizens off the map", then I think the PR would have a strong case to now apply as a refugee. Given Canada's history as a compassionate nation and as a signatory of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (even if the PR is over 21), I wouldn't be surprised if that PR was given an immediate grant of citizenship.

I would be VERY surprised. You don't need to have citizenship to remain in Canada as a PR. There are lots of stateless refugees around the world and many in Canada, who are quite secure wherever they are currently resident.

 

[mpottier]

In many cases countries have the ability for an individual to apply to be stateless, if this truly is the case. For example the UK: https://www.gov.uk/stay-in-uk-stateless

You are then given a document, that looks sort of like a passport that will allow you to travel to some degree. Canada does something similar. So essentially if are a PR, you may have to switch over. These are often case by case type situations.