HELP! Does my (step) son need a Canadian passport to enter Canada?

[mgb6682]

Hi all, This is a reasonably complex question and we are struggling to find any appropriate information.

Earlier this year myself and my family received our COPR and are booked to arrive in Canada early next year. We have 2 children, our son however is from my wife's previous relationship. His father is Canadian and lives in the UK.
We have been going through the process of getting my son's Canadian Citizenship (as his father is a citizen) and have been told it is in final process. Canadian immigration are aware of this but our family immigration status is based on us all having British passports and those documents are the ones to which our COPR is attached.

Today however I stumbled across information stating that ALL Canadian citizens entering Canada MUST do so using a Canadian passport. Currently my son does not have his citizenship yet but if I receives it before we leave the UK for Canada will he need a Canadian passport too? Is his COPR still valid? His COPR is obviously useless with a Canadian Passport as he will have the right to enter the country as a citizen of Canada. We are really unsure of what this may now mean for us.

I realise that this question may be a little too complex for this kind of discussion but I thought I would give it a try as we are a little concerned at the moment.

Thanks

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi all, This is a reasonably complex question and we are struggling to find any appropriate information.

Earlier this year myself and my family received our COPR and are booked to arrive in Canada early next year. We have 2 children, our son however is from my wife's previous relationship. His father is Canadian and lives in the UK.
We have been going through the process of getting my son's Canadian Citizenship (as his father is a citizen) and have been told it is in final process. Canadian immigration are aware of this but our family immigration status is based on us all having British passports and those documents are the ones to which our COPR is attached.

Today however I stumbled across information stating that ALL Canadian citizens entering Canada MUST do so using a Canadian passport. Currently my son does not have his citizenship yet but if I receives it before we leave the UK for Canada will he need a Canadian passport too? Is his COPR still valid? His COPR is obviously useless with a Canadian Passport as he will have the right to enter the country as a citizen of Canada. We are really unsure of what this may now mean for us.

I realise that this question may be a little too complex for this kind of discussion but I thought I would give it a try as we are a little concerned at the moment.

Thanks

So you included him as an accompanying dependent in the PR app and did his medical exam, and he got approved for PR and got his own COPR based on his UK passport?

Of course he wasn't required to be included at all in the PR app as a dependent, since he was already a Canadian citizen. Usually if the visa officer knows the birth place of father was Canada, they would note the child was already Canadian and would simply remove them as dependent from the app. Not sure if ex-spouse's birthplace is disclosed anywhere on the app though.

Typically Canadian citizens are only allowed to fly on their Canadian passports, since otherwise they would need an eTA which of course a citizen is not eligible for. However if he already has a COPR, then my guess is that would mean an eTA was also automatically generated for him. So even though his citizenship is in process, he would probably be able to check into an airline using his UK passport without any trouble. Of course this is just a guess.

See here for dual-citizen rules for flying: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/dual-canadian-citizens.asp

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Agree with above. Your son is a Canadian citizen and should never have been included in the PR app.

There may be complications in having him use the COPR to enter Canada as a PR when he is actually a citizen, so I suggest you inform the VO of this ASAP to have it corrected. In regards to his Certificate of Citizenship app, send proof that you guys are flying to Canada to become PRs and request that they expedite the app so your child can apply for his Canadian passport in time to come to Canada with his parents.

 

[Rob_TO]

Agree with above. Your son is a Canadian citizen and should never have been included in the PR app.

There may be complications in having him use the COPR to enter Canada as a PR when he is actually a citizen, so I suggest you inform the VO of this ASAP to have it corrected. In regards to his Certificate of Citizenship app, send proof that you guys are flying to Canada to become PRs and request that they expedite the app so your child can apply for his Canadian passport in time to come to Canada with his parents.

As long as he can board the airplane, then once at Canadian airport the child would NOT do the PR landing. They would simply enter as a visitor with their UK passport, ignoring their COPR entirely. In this case they could go to Canada even before he gets Canadian passport.

The only trouble would be with the airline boarding, however if they have COPR that should mean they also have automatic eTA clearance to fly on the UK passport. Stress "should" as this is kind of a unique situation which I'm pretty sure hardly ever happens.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

As long as he can board the airplane, then once at Canadian airport the child would NOT do the PR landing. They would simply enter as a visitor with their UK passport, ignoring their COPR entirely. In this case they could go to Canada even before he gets Canadian passport.

The only trouble would be with the airline boarding, however if they have COPR that should mean they also have automatic eTA clearance to fly on the UK passport. Stress "should" as this is kind of a unique situation which I'm pretty sure hardly ever happens.

Provided CBSA understands the situation and lets him do that. I seriously doubt that more than a few CBSA officers, if any, would have ever dealt with a Canadian citizen having a COPR and no proof of Canadian citizenship. I would play it safe and inform the VO, as the child should never have been included. They have a few months before they are going to Canada, so it's enough time to get that situation sorted out and to get the child's Canadian documents.

 

[Rob_TO]

Provided CBSA understands the situation and lets him do that. I seriously doubt that more than a few CBSA officers, if any, would have ever dealt with a Canadian citizen having a COPR and no proof of Canadian citizenship. I would play it safe and inform the VO, as the child should never have been included. They have a few months before they are going to Canada, so it's enough time to get that situation sorted out and to get the child's Canadian documents.

As long as the child has UK passport, then they can simply enter as a UK visitor. Wouldn't really matter if they had Canadian citizenship or not as UK passport holders are visa-exempt anyways.

They could mention at the POE that the child's citizenship papers are in progress but not complete yet (if its taking too long to process and they must come to Canada in the meantime). Of course traveling with Canadian passport if possible is always the safest and best option.

 

[mgb6682]

Thank you all for your responses. It is indeed a pretty uncommon situation. The Consulate in Canada are now involved and are looking into fast tracking his citizenship certification so that a passport can be obtained and amendments made to our COPR and application accordingly.

The main problem we have is that until he receives his Certificate, technically he is not a Canadian citizen in the eyes of immigration. This is why he had to be included as a dependent because he is a certified and passport holding British citizen. During our application we were instructed, both on the forms and by the observing officer to register him as a dependent even though, through birth right, he is a citizen. Just not documented.

This shouldn't have been a problem but our Permanent Resident application was processed REALLY quickly and his Citizenship Certificate is taking a really long time. That certificate is now like a ticking time bomb. If we receive it soon we just get his passport, amend our details for COPR and all is good. If it comes once we are already in Canada then no issue either as he can enter with his COPR and British Passport as intended. But if we get his certificate in that window just before we leave it really makes things difficult as his COPR becomes useless and we may not have time to make all the amendments and get his passport in time.

I just hope the Consulate can help us out.

Thanks for all your advice

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you all for your responses. It is indeed a pretty uncommon situation. The Consulate in Canada are now involved and are looking into fast tracking his citizenship certification so that a passport can be obtained and amendments made to our COPR and application accordingly.

The main problem we have is that until he receives his Certificate, technically he is not a Canadian citizen in the eyes of immigration. This is why he had to be included as a dependent because he is a certified and passport holding British citizen. During our application we were instructed, both on the forms and by the observing officer to register him as a dependent even though, through birth right, he is a citizen. Just not documented.

This shouldn't have been a problem but our Permanent Resident application was processed REALLY quickly and his Citizenship Certificate is taking a really long time. That certificate is now like a ticking time bomb. If we receive it soon we just get his passport, amend our details for COPR and all is good. If it comes once we are already in Canada then no issue either as he can enter with his COPR and British Passport as intended. But if we get his certificate in that window just before we leave it really makes things difficult as his COPR becomes useless and we may not have time to make all the amendments and get his passport in time.

I just hope the Consulate can help us out.

Thanks for all your advice

He is most certainly Canadian in the eyes of immigration, even without proof of it. Had it been clearly stated in the application that his father is Canadian and he is first generation born abroad, he would have been removed from the app as a dependent. This has happened several times in Family Class apps where children born abroad to a Canadian have been included in their foreign parent's app when the parents didn't realize their children were already citizens; IRCC removed the child and told them to apply for proof of citizenship.

I'm not sure who you mean by "observing officer" but that was incorrect advice.

Good luck on getting it all sorted!

 

[Rob_TO]

During our application we were instructed, both on the forms and by the observing officer to register him as a dependent even though, through birth right, he is a citizen. Just not documented.

First I've ever heard of this. There have been several similar cases on this forum, and in all I've seen just mentioning that 1 parent was born in Canada and child was starting process to get citizenship, resulted in the visa officer instructing NOT to include them as dependent since obviously they didn't need PR status.

Someone may have simply made a mistake in your case.

But if we get his certificate in that window just before we leave it really makes things difficult as his COPR becomes useless and we may not have time to make all the amendments and get his passport in time.

Again should note, even if this happens you may still be able to fly him to Canada on his UK passport.

In general when PR app is done and COPR is received, an eTA (or some kind of authorization) is automatically linked to the passport on record in PR app in order to check into an airline and fly to Canada. I highly doubt this would be instantly terminated when the citizenship certificate is done.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1184&top=16

So if you get his citizenship certificate and must fly to Canada before he gets a Canadian passport, he could just board the airplane on his UK passport/COPR authorization. Again this is ONLY for the airline purposes. Once in Canada airport, you can explain the situation to CBSA. They will allow him entry either by just his visa-exempt UK passport, or as a citizen with the certificate you will have.

He will NEVER in any scenario, even if he doesn't have his certificate yet, use his COPR with CBSA. Since obviously he does not need to land as a PR.

 

[mgb6682]

If it is a mistake it's a pretty big and annoying one.

What I don't understand is if my son needs no certificate of citizenship to be a citizen for immigration purposes, why has he needed an eta for the times he has already been to Canada, including trips he has made with his birth Father.

The officer/agent/emplyee dealing with our application CERTAINLY knew of my son's dual nationality, as part of our application was a form, signed by his birth father stating it was ok to take him to live in Canada. This also included a signed statement from him outlining the fact that he (his birth father) was Canadian along with a copy of his Canadian passport. These are documents they explicitly a

Thankfully the consulate got back to us today to inform us his cerificate is on its way so we should have time to get his passport sorted and this will just be a minor inconvenience at the start of our new adventure.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

If it is a mistake it's a pretty big and annoying one.

What I don't understand is if my son needs no certificate of citizenship to be a citizen for immigration purposes, why has he needed an eta for the times he has already been to Canada, including trips he has made with his birth Father.

The officer/agent/emplyee dealing with our application CERTAINLY knew of my son's dual nationality, as part of our application was a form, signed by his birth father stating it was ok to take him to live in Canada. This also included a signed statement from him outlining the fact that he (his birth father) was Canadian along with a copy of his Canadian passport. These are documents they explicitly a

Thankfully the consulate got back to us today to inform us his cerificate is on its way so we should have time to get his passport sorted and this will just be a minor inconvenience at the start of our new adventure.

He didn't need an eTas and had his Canadian citizenship been disclosed in the eTA app, the app would have been refused and he would have been told to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. IRCC doesn't automatically know he is a citizen; he was born abroad and has never been in the system. It is the responsibility of the parents to sort out this stuff.

Is this "officer/agent/employee" you refer to an actual IRCC employee or a consultant you used to file your app?

 

[Rob_TO]

He didn't need an eTas and had his Canadian citizenship been disclosed in the eTA app, the app would have been refused and he would have been told to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. IRCC doesn't automatically know he is a citizen; he was born abroad and has never been in the system. It is the responsibility of the parents to sort out this stuff.

For sake of eTA, I don't think Canada can "force" people to become Canadian citizens. Being born overseas to a Canadian parent makes you eligible for citizenship, not an automatic citizen. Someone born in another country may have absolutely no desire to become a Canadian citizen. So I believe these people can still legally answer "no" on the eTA application form when asked if they're a citizen, if they simply want to come to Canada as a visitor and as a citizen of some other country, and they haven't initiated any process with Canada to obtain citizenship.

 

[mgb6682]

Canuck_in_uk, all of the information I mentioned regarding my sons Canadian parentage was sent to the IRCC officer processing our application. We haven't dealt with any 3rd party agents. The IRCC have all the information regarding his parents nationalities and they processed him as a dependent of his Mother, the lead applicant on a Skilled Worker PR application. At the time it was processed and complete he was and is a British citizen. However now, after the fact, he is also a Canadian citizen and we are just concerned as to what this means with regards to the potential for conflict of status and his travel arrangments.

As you state Rob_TO, having a birthrite doesn't always equate to automatic status. He is also French by birthrite from his mother who is a French citizen, born and raised and moved to the UK but he (her son) is NOT a French citizen. We must apply for him to be granted that formal status.

I just wish IRCC had a simple way of asking them questions so we could just shed a bit more light on what this change means and what action it requires, if any. Im not sure Im happy to just turn up to the airport on our leaving day and trust it is all still ok! But then I also can't find what it is Im supposed to do!

Ill just keep digging the website for answers I guess.

Thanks both for your input

 

[canuck_in_uk]

For sake of eTA, I don't think Canada can "force" people to become Canadian citizens. Being born overseas to a Canadian parent makes you eligible for citizenship, not an automatic citizen. Someone born in another country may have absolutely no desire to become a Canadian citizen. So I believe these people can still legally answer "no" on the eTA application form when asked if they're a citizen, if they simply want to come to Canada as a visitor and as a citizen of some other country, and they haven't initiated any process with Canada to obtain citizenship.

Incorrect. It does make a person automatically a citizen from birth, hence the reason they only need to apply for PROOF of citizenship whereas those eligible for citizenship (such as a PR meeting the requirements) must apply for a GRANT of citizenship. They may not desire to assert their Canadian citizenship but it doesn't change the fact that they are a citizen.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Canuck_in_uk, all of the information I mentioned regarding my sons Canadian parentage was sent to the IRCC officer processing our application. We haven't dealt with any 3rd party agents. The IRCC have all the information regarding his parents nationalities and they processed him as a dependent of his Mother, the lead applicant on a Skilled Worker PR application. At the time it was processed and complete he was and is a British citizen. However now, after the fact, he is also a Canadian citizen and we are just concerned as to what this means with regards to the potential for conflict of status and his travel arrangments.

As you state Rob_TO, having a birthrite doesn't always equate to automatic status. He is also French by birthrite from his mother who is a French citizen, born and raised and moved to the UK but he (her son) is NOT a French citizen. We must apply for him to be granted that formal status.

I just wish IRCC had a simple way of asking them questions so we could just shed a bit more light on what this change means and what action it requires, if any. Im not sure Im happy to just turn up to the airport on our leaving day and trust it is all still ok! But then I also can't find what it is Im supposed to do!

Ill just keep digging the website for answers I guess.

Thanks both for your input

As you guys have plenty of time before you are coming to Canada and your son will have his Canadian passport in time, just inform the VO and they will correct your documents.

I seriously don't understand how IRCC screwed up so bad when they had all of the information regarding your son's father and citizenship.