Is citizenship retroactive?

[tesing1234]

Hi,

I'm trying to determine whether my mother has been a Canadian citizen from the date of her citizenship certificate or from birth:

She was born in 1958 in the UK to a Canadian mother and British father, in wedlock.

Therefore she was not considered a Canadian at birth at the time, as far as I know, due to the discriminatory legislation regarding her father not being Canadian.

She applied for citizenship around 2001 and was it granted.

Is this retroactive? I.e. is she viewed as being a citizen from her birth?

I would greatly appreciate any help or information with this situation, thank you.

 

[btbt]

Hi,

I'm trying to determine whether my mother has been a Canadian citizen from the date of her citizenship certificate or from birth:

She was born in 1958 in the UK to a Canadian mother and British father, in wedlock.

Therefore she was not considered a Canadian at birth at the time, as far as I know, due to the discriminatory legislation regarding her father not being Canadian.

She applied for citizenship around 2001 and was it granted.

Is this retroactive? I.e. is she viewed as being a citizen from her birth?

I would greatly appreciate any help or information with this situation, thank you.

Yes, she is probably considered to be a Canadian citizen from her birth (i.e. her citizenship certificate would indicate her date of birth as the date she became a Canadian citizen).

However, that does not make you a citizen necessarily (because of how the legislation around citizenship for that lost generation was written, and also because there are some constraints around those born abroad to Canadian parents who were born abroad).

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/eligibility/already-citizen.html has a link to a tool to help you find out if you may be a citizen.

If you want or need formal proof you would need to apply for a citizenship certificate, which is the official determination of your Canadian citizenship or lack thereof.

 

[tesing1234]

Yes, she is probably considered to be a Canadian citizen from her birth (i.e. her citizenship certificate would indicate her date of birth as the date she became a Canadian citizen).

However, that does not make you a citizen necessarily (because of how the legislation around citizenship for that lost generation was written, and also because there are some constraints around those born abroad to Canadian parents who were born abroad).

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/eligibility/already-citizen.html has a link to a tool to help you find out if you may be a citizen.

If you want or need formal proof you would need to apply for a citizenship certificate, which is the official determination of your Canadian citizenship or lack thereof.

Thanks for the reply!

Do you know where in the legislation it states that she is considered to be a citizen from birth?

 

[btbt]

Thanks for the reply!

Do you know where in the legislation it states that she is considered to be a citizen from birth?

I don't.

You seem to be looking for something very specific. Nobody here is qualified or in a position to give you legal advice. It may be worthwhile to do some focused research yourself, and/or engage a lawyer familiar with citizenship law.

As a starting point: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/index.html

There are some provisions in the law that talk about certain citizens to be considered citizens other than by way of grant, so one of those may apply. There's also a bunch of provisions filed under "Deemed applications", which may be what you're looking for.

There's a lot of cross-referencing in the act, and the occasional reference to previous versions of the act, so it may take a bit of puzzling to find which parts apply to your mother, but it should be manageable. To consult some older versions of the relevant law(s) you may need to consult a (law) library, as not all versions of the text seem to be online, at first glance.

(There may some relevant decisions from the supreme court, in which case you'd need to consult https://www.scc-csc.ca/home-accueil/index-eng.aspx)

 

[Alurra71]

Just curious, have you looked at her certificate, perhaps it indicates when her citizenship "began", i.e. 1958 (would indicate from birth) or 2001 (would indicate from time she requested certifcation)

 

[alphazip]

Hi,

I'm trying to determine whether my mother has been a Canadian citizen from the date of her citizenship certificate or from birth:

She was born in 1958 in the UK to a Canadian mother and British father, in wedlock.

Therefore she was not considered a Canadian at birth at the time, as far as I know, due to the discriminatory legislation regarding her father not being Canadian.

She applied for citizenship around 2001 and was it granted.

Is this retroactive? I.e. is she viewed as being a citizen from her birth?

I would greatly appreciate any help or information with this situation, thank you.

Between 1977 and 2004, the child of a Canadian citizen mother could apply for a "facilitated grant of citizenship" (see below). Initially, the applicant had to have a background check and take the oath of citizenship, but this was eventually declared discriminatory, because the children of Canadian citizen fathers did not have to do so. (See: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1482/index.do) However, the children of Canadian fathers and those of Canadian mothers were still treated differently, in that the former (such as myself) simply made a delayed registration of birth abroad and thereby became citizens from birth, while the latter received citizenship by grant, which was not retroactive.

If your mother received her citizenship in 2001, then it would have been by grant, and therefore not retroactive. The importance of this distinction is that only children born to your mother after the date of the grant (but before April 17, 2009) would have inherited Canadian citizenship.

I should add that as of April 17, 2009, your mother became a Canadian citizen by descent (instead of by grant), which IS retroactive to her birth. However, if you're hoping to claim Canadian citizenship through her, this still doesn't help. That's because the legislation limited Canadian citizenship to the first generation born abroad, and you are the second.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/acquisition-loss/retention-prior-attaining-28-years-old.html

"Facilitated grant of citizenship under Paragraph 5(2)(b)
Persons born outside Canada between January 1, 1947 and February 14, 1977 in wedlock to a Canadian mother were able to apply for a grant of citizenship under paragraph 5(2)(b) until August 14, 2004. Between May 17, 2004 and August 14, 2004, persons born out of wedlock to Canadian fathers were also eligible to apply for this grant. The grant was not retroactive to birth but became effective on the date the application was approved (see Grant of Citizenship – 5(2)(b))."