immigration, new born, and last name issue rant

[mingus]

Ok, this one is a little bit of a rant/heads up to all of you out there who are expecting here in Canada while you husband is out of/ not allowed in the country.

I am in Alberta and I don't know if this rule applies to all Provinces or not.

I gave birth to our beautiful daughter 3 weeks ago. While I was in the hospital, I had to fill out the paperwork for her birth certificate - naturally.

The problem arised when I stated that she was to have her father's last name ( I kept my maiden name). In order to do that in Alberta, her father has to sign the paperwork. Here is the catcher - he has to sign the original. I could not scan it or fax it, it had to be that piece of paper. When I told them our story - waiting for immigration/visa they really didn't care. so I sent it in without his signature. I guess I could have signed for him, but my luck someone would ask how he could have signed it before he got his visa and charge us with forgery or something.
So, yester day I get a letter saying because I did not follow the "rules" they have recoded her name completely different and if we don't like it, then we have 60 days to jump thru these legal hoops.

So, my child does not have her father's name and we will have to wait till god knows when it get it changed, plus the hassel of getting it changed. We can not have her added to my husband's family book nor have her birth recorded in his country because of this as well. We won't even get into how this is going to cause passport issues....
isn't it wonderful how our goverment makes everything so complicated???

ok.... deep breath.......... Rant over.

 

[chelley]

gosh i feel for you...

here in ontario all the paperwork is officially filed online after the birth... i don't remember filling out anything in the hospital this time around (not to say i didn't, drugs blurr everything lol), but nothing is signed at the hospital... you fill out the application online and digitally sign it... he's technically supposed to check the box, but shhhhhh i did it

i do feel for you tho... there must be someone who can help fix this?? maybe your mp might be of some help?

 

[canadianwoman]

Yeah, try talking to your MP. The situation is ridiculous - bureaucracy gone wild.

 

[Siouxie]

I think they have done this incorrectly!

I have just looked at the Service Albert website, when naming a baby it states the following applies: http://www.servicealberta.ca/778.cfm

Parents are Married to Each Other and Parents Use Different Last Names

If both parents sign the Registration of Birth:

The father must be recorded on the Registration of Birth
The child may have any one of the last name options

If only one parent signs the Registration of Birth according to Alberta law:

The father must be recorded on the Registration of Birth
The child's last name will be the mother and father's last name hyphenated in alphabetical order

Last Name Options for Your Child

Mother's maiden name or mother's currently used last name
Father's last name
Mother's maiden or currently used last name hyphenated or combined with the father's last name (the order of names is optional)
A last name that is ethnically or culturally significant to the parent(s)
A combined name is the joining of two last names with or without a space or hyphen (example: Jones Smith; JonesSmith or Jones-Smith). Only one hyphen and only two last names may be used. Do not used a slash ( / ) or a comma ( , ) between the two last names.

Registration of births: http://www.servicealberta.ca/779.cfm

Alberta's laws allow the parent(s) various options when choosing the child's last name. The last name of the child is based on the relationship and marital status of the parents. Some restrictions may apply. Refer to Choosing a Last Name for Your Child as well as Guidelines for Choosing a Given Name or Last Name for Your Child.

Once a birth is legally registered, corrections or alterations may only be completed with the appropriate documentation and statutory declarations. If an amendment is requested within 90 days from the date of event (birth, marriage, death), there is no fee. Fees may be applicable on amendments requested after the 90 days.

You need to register an amendment: http://www.servicealberta.ca/777.cfm

What is a correction (amendment) to a registration?

The original registration, completed at the time of the event (birth, marriage, death, stillbirth), is the legal document filed permanently with Vital Statistics. When the registration contains errors or incomplete/missing information, an amendment may be requested to correct the registration. When a correction is requested to an Alberta registration, specific procedures must be followed. Only Alberta events may be amended by Alberta Vital Statistics. When the event did not occur in Alberta, contact the jurisdiction where the event occurred to request an amendment.


I would also make a complaint to both the hospital registration department and the Vital Statistics Office!

 

[cezvi]

Ok, this one is a little bit of a rant/heads up to all of you out there who are expecting here in Canada while you husband is out of/ not allowed in the country.

I am in Alberta and I don't know if this rule applies to all Provinces or not.

I gave birth to our beautiful daughter 3 weeks ago. While I was in the hospital, I had to fill out the paperwork for her birth certificate - naturally.

The problem arised when I stated that she was to have her father's last name ( I kept my maiden name). In order to do that in Alberta, her father has to sign the paperwork. Here is the catcher - he has to sign the original. I could not scan it or fax it, it had to be that piece of paper. When I told them our story - waiting for immigration/visa they really didn't care. so I sent it in without his signature. I guess I could have signed for him, but my luck someone would ask how he could have signed it before he got his visa and charge us with forgery or something.
So, yester day I get a letter saying because I did not follow the "rules" they have recoded her name completely different and if we don't like it, then we have 60 days to jump thru these legal hoops.

So, my child does not have her father's name and we will have to wait till god knows when it get it changed, plus the hassel of getting it changed. We can not have her added to my husband's family book nor have her birth recorded in his country because of this as well. We won't even get into how this is going to cause passport issues....
isn't it wonderful how our goverment makes everything so complicated???

ok.... deep breath.......... Rant over.

I live here in Manitoba and I think it has the same rules as Alberta.

After I gave birth to my son, I signed the Registration of Birth at the hospital. My husband and I weren't married then but I put in his last name to be my son's last name. When the nurse saw this, she gave me a paper for my boyfriend to sign. The form was called "JOINT REQUEST TO REGISTER FATHER". if I sent it via postal mail it would take at least 3 weeks for him to receive it and another 3 weeks for me to received it back, all signed with his signature. So what I did was just scanned it and sent it thru e-mail and told him to send it to me via postal mail. After receiving it, I went to the Vital Statistics Office and submitted it then went on to apply for his Birth Certificate.

I don't know why they told you you couldn't scan it then send it via email then have your husband send it to you via postal mail with his signature. Totally sucks for you though that you have to go through all that...

 

[roopa82]

you need to reply....ask them that you want to chnge hi last name.....in that case they will send you an affidavit....i think you both parents need to be at same place to do so.....in that case you can go back to home country.....give alberta statistics ur home country address....they will mail that affidavit to your home country address

also for 60 days....they will not charge u any fees for first 60 days...afetr tht fees will be charged to change the name...they will keep birth info upto four years