If a Canadian adopts a foreign child, is the child eligible to citizenship?

[unlucky_chaser]

Serious question. If a Canadian adopts a child from Africa, can they get citizenship for the kid?

Does it matter if:
1- The Canadian is not living in Canada
2- The Canadian is single
3- The Canadian is married to a non-Canadian and they are adopting together

Or any combination of (1,2) and (1,3)...

4- Does "public charge" come into play? e.g. if the child has a disability or something...are there heartless, inhumane rule to prevent passing on citizenship because the child is disabled?

IRCC's website is terse on the subject. I appreciate your information!

 

[k.h.p.]

1. Is the Canadian a Canadian by birth or by descent? If the Canadian is a citizen by descent, they need to not be limited in who they can pass on citizenship to.
2. This doesn't matter.
3. As long as one partner is a Canadian citizen and not subject to the citizenship by descent rules this doesn't matter.
4. No.

 

[unlucky_chaser]

1. Is the Canadian a Canadian by birth or by descent? If the Canadian is a citizen by descent, they need to not be limited in who they can pass on citizenship to.
2. This doesn't matter.
3. As long as one partner is a Canadian citizen and not subject to the citizenship by descent rules this doesn't matter.
4. No.

Thank you, k.h.p!

Yes, that Canadian is Canadian by birth. What are the restrictions in that case?

Also any particular maximum age on the child?

 

[scylla]

The child also needs to be an orphan (both paresnts deceased) and adopted by a certain age - and also adopted following official procedures.

 

[scylla]

Thank you, k.h.p!

Yes, that Canadian is Canadian by birth. What are the restrictions in that case?

Also any particular maximum age on the child?

Under 18 years old

 

[k.h.p.]

Thank you, k.h.p!

Yes, that Canadian is Canadian by birth. What are the restrictions in that case?

Also any particular maximum age on the child?

Have you looked here?

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-canadian-citizenship-adopted-person.html

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Serious question. If a Canadian adopts a child from Africa, can they get citizenship for the kid?

Does it matter if:
1- The Canadian is not living in Canada
2- The Canadian is single
3- The Canadian is married to a non-Canadian and they are adopting together

Or any combination of (1,2) and (1,3)...

4- Does "public charge" come into play? e.g. if the child has a disability or something...are there heartless, inhumane rule to prevent passing on citizenship because the child is disabled?

IRCC's website is terse on the subject. I appreciate your information!

Everything really depends on whether it is classed as an Adoption of Convenience. Are either of you related to the child? Are the biological parents still alive? How old is the child?

 

[unlucky_chaser]

Have you looked here?

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-canadian-citizenship-adopted-person.html

Oh I haven't seen that one! Thank you, Sir! looks very helpful!

 

[unlucky_chaser]

Everything really depends on whether it is classed as an Adoption of Convenience. Are either of you related to the child? Are the biological parents still alive? How old is the child?

Oh this is hypothetical so far. The Canadian person is considering, to even see if that'll be an option to adopt, instead of actually having biological children of their own. I imagine there'll be no relationship to the child.

What's an adoption of convenience? My understanding is that to adopt, one pays 10s of thousands of dollars and spends years in the process. I imagine the scenario would be that they want to adopt a child from a desperate place, potentially an orphan. No one researched that yet, I think they are assuming there will be organizations to go through and match children to adoptive families.

Can you share what considerations to avoid any problems there? They'd be going for a young child so we're talking 3 year olds, not 12. I imagine the biological parents won't be around either (killed in a war for example).

If it helps, the Canadian person has been born in Canada as well as their parents. From HKP's link, seems they're not subject to restrictions there.

 

[Buletruck]

Something else to consider

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/adopt-child-abroad/restrictions.html

There are certain countries where the government won’t recognize the adoption.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Oh this is hypothetical so far. The Canadian person is considering, to even see if that'll be an option to adopt, instead of actually having biological children of their own. I imagine there'll be no relationship to the child.

What's an adoption of convenience? My understanding is that to adopt, one pays 10s of thousands of dollars and spends years in the process. I imagine the scenario would be that they want to adopt a child from a desperate place, potentially an orphan. No one researched that yet, I think they are assuming there will be organizations to go through and match children to adoptive families.

Can you share what considerations to avoid any problems there? They'd be going for a young child so we're talking 3 year olds, not 12. I imagine the biological parents won't be around either (killed in a war for example).

If it helps, the Canadian person has been born in Canada as well as their parents. From HKP's link, seems they're not subject to restrictions there.

An Adoption of Convenience is when the child is being adopted just to bring them to Canada. The most common scenario is adopting the child of a family member when the child's parents are still alive. The biological parents remain as the actual parents even after the adoption, while the new legal "parents" are basically just custodians.

 

[canuck78]

Would really consider working with an adoption consultant in Canada or at least pay for a consultation before you go ahead. They will be able to answer any questions.

 

[unlucky_chaser]

Canuck_in_uk: Ooooh I see. Yes, I always imagined that adoptions happen when biological parents are dead/absent. Good point, didn't occur to me that this could happen.

Canuck78: Good advice. I'll forward it to the person. The only complication is that they live in the US, so they may decide to adopt from the US, but of course if things change and they want to go back to Canada, they want to make sure they can bring their adopted kids with them and not have the family torn apart.

 

[s_himani]

I am planning to immigrate to Canada. The problem I have is, since birth I was living with my grandparents, due to some family reasons, so I have their name all over my official documents, but no legal adoption was done. My biological mother got re-married and the step-father & my biological mother have no kids, due to this fact, as I am the single child I don’t want to leave them alone. Is there any way, I can prove them to be my parents as grandparents are no more.

 

[Naturgrl]

I am planning to immigrate to Canada. The problem I have is, since birth I was living with my grandparents, due to some family reasons, so I have their name all over my official documents, but no legal adoption was done. My biological mother got re-married and the step-father & my biological mother have no kids, due to this fact, as I am the single child I don’t want to leave them alone. Is there any way, I can prove them to be my parents as grandparents are no more.

How are your immigrating and have you lived as a PR in Canada for at least 3 years. Sponsoring parents is by lottery and you have to meet minimum income requirements. Some people never get selected for the lottery.