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not sure if my girlfriends children are Canadian Citizens

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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alphazip said:
Again, not that simple.

1) If the gf was born in 1976, was her FATHER born (or naturalized) in Canada? (It used to be that only fathers in wedlock...or mothers out of wedlock...could pass citizenship on to their children.)
2) If so, was her birth registered with Canadian authorities at that time...or did she register her birth before 2004 (delayed registration of birth abroad)?
3) When did she get her first Canadian passport...before or after 2009?

Answers to these questions are important to determine whether your gf was a citizen before 2009 or as a result of changes to the Citizenship Act that took effect on April 17, 2009.

There's more to it than screech's simple statement that "Since the two kids were born before April 2009, they will have Canadian citizenship." In fact, if your gf just became a citizen in 2009, I'm sorry to say that the children are NOT Canadian citizens.
My GF says she was registered and got a citizenship card as a baby. She got a passport later in live. Way before 2009 for sure.

Her dad started working in Canada in the 70's and acquired citizenship by naturalization. What class or how is unsure.
 

alphazip

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May 23, 2013
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NLSanZLD said:
My GF says she was registered and got a citizenship card as a baby. She got a passport later in live. Way before 2009 for sure.

Het dad started working in Canada in the 70's and acquired citizenship by naturalization. What class or how is unsure.
Great! Then the children are Canadian citizens. And now we know.
 

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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alphazip said:
Great! Then the children are Canadian citizens. And now we know.
new information: the kids entered Canada on a travel Visa and it has expired.
What do you think the consequences will be when they apply for proof of citizenship at this point, knowing the their travel visa's have expired?

Also; because the Visa has expired, would it be better to apply for residence permits while staying in Canada, just to be sure or to avoid any brutal separations of any kind.

I know she waited way to long to apply for the kids proof of citizenship, but lack of resources and time and finances did not allow her to apply sooner. Please don't judge too soon folks. We are trying to make this work so the kids can have the things they are entitled to and have a happy life in Canada.
 

alphazip

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May 23, 2013
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NLSanZLD said:
new information: the kids entered Canada on a travel Visa and it has expired.
What do you think the consequences will be when they apply for proof of citizenship at this point, knowing the their travel visa's have expired?

Also; because the Visa has expired, would it be better to apply for residence permits while staying in Canada, just to be sure or to avoid any brutal separations of any kind.

I know she waited way to long to apply for the kids proof of citizenship, but lack of resources and time and finances did not allow her to apply sooner. Please don't judge too soon folks. We are trying to make this work so the kids can have the things they are entitled to and have a happy life in Canada.
The children are Canadian citizens; they just need proof. As such, I don't think there's any danger of them being deported. My suggestion would be to apply for their citizenship certificates ASAP, if you haven't already done so. I would suggest that you ask for expedited (urgent) handling, based on the circumstances.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/urgent-proof.asp
 

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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alphazip said:
The children are Canadian citizens; they just need proof. As such, I don't think there's any danger of them being deported. My suggestion would be to apply for their citizenship certificates ASAP, if you haven't already done so. I would suggest that you ask for expedited (urgent) handling, based on the circumstances.
Thanks for the confidence boost, I will try to convince her to move forward and mail in those applications.
I have renewed my printer cartridges, I bought a big sized envelope, The forms are already filled out (PDF), all the pictures are taken, all copies of the needed documents are made. It seems pretty straight forward for me at this point.
The only thing I should ask her is why she didn't or couldn't apply for Canadian travel document for the kids in the first place. Surely that shouldn't have been a big problem if they are Canadian. Maybe I don't understand how things work traveling from Mexico to Canada.
At least I have learned a few things.

Thanks again for the support. This forum has helped me out several times now.
 

Leon

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Jun 13, 2008
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Surely she could have applied for their citizenship certificates a long time ago but as she is dragging it now that she needs them, she probably put it off then too thinking she could just do it later.

Anyway, it is not important. She can apply now. It's really not a problem.
 

alphazip

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May 23, 2013
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NLSanZLD said:
new information: the kids entered Canada on a travel Visa and it has expired.
What do you think the consequences will be when they apply for proof of citizenship at this point, knowing the their travel visa's have expired?
Visitors' visas weren't the correct way to go, but at least it got the kids to Canada. It didn't work for this woman:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bad-advice-family-stranded-south-africa-1.3261972

"CIC informed the family that a temporary visa was not appropriate since the child has a claim to Canadian citizenship, said CIC. Citizenship and immigration officials said Standfield should have applied for proof of citizenship and then a Canadian passport instead."
 

Leon

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Maybe the woman on this thread didn't have to apply. Maybe her kids are visa exempt. There are many cases of citizen parents or PR parents travelling with their visa exempt kids to Canada in order to sponsor them later without anybody trying to stop them.

PR parents sometimes get TRV's for their non-PR kids and sometimes they get TRP's if the TRV is denied and sometimes a flat out refusal. Seems to depend on the visa office. Surely you may deny a child a TRV based on the child not being a visitor but the parents plan being for the child to stay permanently. A TRP could be given on H&C grounds, that it's undue hardship on the family to be separated but CIC doesn't always agree.

However, applying for a TRV was of course not the right way for her in this case. She should have applied for a citizenship certificate as her daughter was born. Failing that, she could have applied for it as well as a temporary passport before moving as long as the child was under 2. After that, she can not get a temp. passport anymore, however, she could get a facilitation visa, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2009/ob154.asp

This woman was badly advised. She should have come here :)
 

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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Leon said:
Surely she could have applied for their citizenship certificates a long time ago but as she is dragging it now that she needs them, she probably put it off then too thinking she could just do it later.

Anyway, it is not important. She can apply now. It's really not a problem.
Ok, we've got al the paperwork, the big envelope, the fees, pictures. We're going to write urgent on the envelope and include an explanation why the kids need their citizenship proof. (Ontario Health Card and SIN and Benefits). We are very close to mailing it, but here's the thing;

The mother has doubts and worries about one little detail that she think might change the results of the application and she feels the people at the Citizenship's office might assume wrong and get the wrong idea. I tried to explain that the "people at Citizenship" go by the dates and documentation that they have on file. As far as I can remember their archives did not get lost in a fire of some kind and it's not run by some old person who has papers falling out of a stacked suitcase in some back alley.

All jokes aside, she claims her father applied or obtained citizenship for himself and for his kids at some point around years 1976-1978. How or from where or what the situation was is not clear. I think it was some sort of family application. Her sister has a piece of paper, but she doesn't know where it is.
When we get to the point and we are ready to mail it, she shuts down and brings up this one item that makes her think things will go wrong with the application. We end up not mailing it and postponing it once again unless I come up with some solid words to explain it to her.

She has a hard time to explain the situation from way back when she was 2 years old and she and her sisters don't remember obviously, but she thinks the kids are 3rd generation and have no Citizenship? How much of this is true? Does that rule apply or is there even such a rule?

I'm sorry to say if her family is not very organized or keep their affairs neatly in order.
She tried to explain it to me, and I will try to translate it into this forum to say what people think. I hope Anyone can explain their argument with some solid information and not just saying: 'Just do it, see what happens' without weighing the consequences of deportation or separation of families.

The mother has Canadian Citizenship and was born in 1976. She holds a valid Canadian Passport and a Citizenship Card. She obtained CanCitizenship when her father applied for it when she was only 2-3 years old through some sort of family application.
She has the original and translated Birth Certificates.
Kids are born in 2000 and 2002 in Mexico and have no proof of Can Citizenship and their Travel Visa now has expired. They used a travel Visa to move to Canada faster. They are in school and doing well. Mother and Children live with their sister/Aunt in Canada.
Their father is out of the picture/divorced/absent. The grandmother has passed away. The grandfather of the kids obtained Citizenship for the whole family through his job or when he travelled a lot back in around ?1978? This is unsure since there is no paperwork on this exact date.

I was hoping this forum could explain why it's ok to apply for Proof of Citizenship (urgent) right now and support the argument or referring to the rules or acts that Citizenship will use to make a decision on this application. Thank you.

Taken from immigrationdirect.ca/citizenship/citizenship-certificate-canada.jsp:

Canadian Citizenship by Parentage
Effective in April 2009, the rules change for individuals born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent. The change made to the Citizenship Act now limits citizenship to the first generation born or adopted outside of Canada.
Children born outside of Canada to a Canadian citizen (parent) will only be considered at the time of birth if:
The Parent was born in Canada or The parent became a Canadian citizen by naturalization.

Children born outside of Canada and adopted by a Canadian citizen will only be eligible for Canadian citizenship under the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act if:
The adoptive parent was born in Canada or
The adoptive parent became a Canadian citizen by naturalization.
Children who are not eligible for Canadian citizenship under the Citizenship Act may be eligible to be sponsored as a permanent resident. Children under the age of 18 may apply for citizenship as soon as they become a permanent resident.


My questions also as a boyfriend looking at this situation. Wouldn't it be a safer option or more secure or clear to apply for Permanent Resident cards for the kids and go from there? Maybe more expensive and more time consuming, but less insecure or confusing to all parties involved.
I used to work with a lot of flow charts in basic programming. I would love to have a flow chart in order to get to the results easier. I love flow charts. Sometimes live is not all 1's and 0's, or is it?
 

Leon

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What you are quoting is the new law of 2009. It only applies to babies born after the new law took effect. As has been explained to you on this thread, according to all the info you gave, the kids are citizens.

So what does the mother feel she is gaining by waiting? Does she feel that her children's undetermined status in Canada is preferable to getting proof of citizenship somehow? In case immigration now came and wanted to deport the children (unlikely but what if scenario), wouldn't it be preferable to say that she has already applied than to say oh, the kids have been in Canada for months and I am waiting for don't know what to apply for their certificates?
 

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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Leon said:
What you are quoting is the new law of 2009. It only applies to babies born after the new law took effect. As has been explained to you on this thread, according to all the info you gave, the kids are citizens.

So what does the mother feel she is gaining by waiting? Does she feel that her children's undetermined status in Canada is preferable to getting proof of citizenship somehow? In case immigration now came and wanted to deport the children (unlikely but what if scenario), wouldn't it be preferable to say that she has already applied than to say oh, the kids have been in Canada for months and I am waiting for don't know what to apply for their certificates?
Who knows what any mother feels? I sure don't know what it's like to be a mother with 3 teenagers trying to create a better future. Lack of time and money. Lack of resources and uncertain what tomorrow brings. Living with her sister and a brother in law who has had enough of her and her kids living in their house. The plan was only to stick around for 3 months which turned into a full year. Let's not judge her situation too much.
The house is getting too small. She's working nights. She's always cooking and cleaning for everybody. She does groceries for everyone. She feels obligated to do these things to repay her stay at her sisters house. On top of this her certified foreign credentials are costly translated but for some reason she would have to redo all of her educational years to work in her original field of study. I've heard this before. Canada's so called welcoming skilled worker program seems a little shady to me. It's like making a claim on your car insurance only to find that it doesn't cover situations where you are not holding the steering wheel at 10 and 2 at all times. Little loopholes that change the terms a little bit. Meanwhile here we are thinking we signed up for something good for our future.
Getting started in Canada has not been the dream she was hoping for so far, but she's trying to make it work.

That being said, she has finally sent the application today. She used a tracking number for the envelope so she can follow the mailed documents. It's expected to reach the Citizenship office in a few days. I'll keep you folks posted on the progress results.
 

saria1

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"she claims her father applied or obtained citizenship for himself and for his kids at some point around years 1976-1978."

With that statement you made, says she is a NATURALIZED citizen, so YES the kids are citizens. I'm glad she finally mailed the application, and a HUGE kudos to you for dealing with such a wishy washy woman!
 

alphazip

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May 23, 2013
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saria1 said:
"she claims her father applied or obtained citizenship for himself and for his kids at some point around years 1976-1978."

With that statement you made, says she is a NATURALIZED citizen, so YES the kids are citizens. I'm glad she finally mailed the application, and a HUGE kudos to you for dealing with such a wishy washy woman!
Yes, I agree. The information has now changed! If the girlfriend was naturalized, then the kids are 1st generation born abroad, so of course they're Canadian, no matter what year they were born.
 

NLSanZLD

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Sep 22, 2015
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saria1 said:
"she claims her father applied or obtained citizenship for himself and for his kids at some point around years 1976-1978."

With that statement you made, says she is a NATURALIZED citizen, so YES the kids are citizens. I'm glad she finally mailed the application, and a HUGE kudos to you for dealing with such a wishy washy woman!
thanks for clarifying. The application has been delivered to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, NS today. We used a tracking number and asked for a signature through Canada Post Xpresspost service. We printed “Urgent – Citizenship Certificate (Proof)” on the envelope and provided a short letter stating why we think it's urgent.
Next we will wait for a confirmation letter which will give us a case number. With this number we can track the progress of the application online. It's very exciting and thanks everyone for the support.