Travel Document - Documentation missing

[Confused in Toronto]

Hello all,

I just posted this in the Visa section, but thought I might cross-post here, in case some of you have experience to share:

I am compiling all the documents required to apply for a TD from the visa office in London. I have run into a bit of a roadblock in that my Canadian husband does not have his Certificate of Canadian Citizenship from way back in 1985, when he became a citizen. It's likely that his mother lost it. His citizenship card was also replaced in 1997. Thus, I do not have anything that shows the original date of his citizenship, as asked for in the application.

Has anyone had issues with this? If so, were you still able to get a Travel Document?

The processing time for getting his citizenship records is currently 10 months, and I am hoping to travel to Canada in April...

Thanks for any help!

Heidi

 

[spyfy]

Hey!

It's correct that you can't find the date of citizenship on the citizenship card, only on the actual certificate that your husband/his mother received back in the days when he received citizenship and which seems to be lost.

Important disclaimer: I myself never had to apply for a PRTD, so all I am stating in the following is just my own reasoning based on the available sources on the CIC-Website and my previous experience with other CIC paperwork. Please read it that way!

The problem is: Even if your husband remembered the exact date, you would still need his certificate of citizenship, see here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5627E.pdf
Item 8, sixth bullet point states that you need:
"documents showing the citizenship of the person you are accompanying, including the date the person became a Canadian citizen"

The only documents that provide the date when a person became a Canadian citizen are:
- If born in Canada, a Canadian birth certificate
- If naturalized, a certificate of citizenship (received at the ceremony or applied for later through CIC)
(There are some older documents, issued before 1977, but I guess they aren't relevant here)

More details see here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/documents.asp

I don't know if your husbands passport would be enough as a proof of citizenship, but I tend to say it wouldn't be accepted. Why I think this is true is:
- The passport doesn't show when someone became a citizen which seems to be a required part of the proof as per document checklist for a PRTD
- Passports aren't listed under the link above ("Documents accepted as proof of citizenship")

It is different in the United States (a valid US passport is an actual proof of US citizenship), but the US is one of the very small number of countries accepting passports as proof of citizenship.

Again, all this is based on my general experience. In fact I wouldn't mind being wrong (and other members of the forum are invited to correct me) since obviously this is not the answer you are looking for.

I have some good news though: You mixed up the processing times: 10 months is the time for a "Search of citizenship records". You do NOT need that. What you/your husband needs is a Certificate of Citizenship which takes "only" 5 months. That doesn't help with the April travel date, though.

Even if I am wrong and you won't need the certificate for your PRTD application, I would suggest that your husband applies for one. As a naturalized citizen, such a certificate is one of the most important documents that he should possess.

 

[Confused in Toronto]

Thank you again for trying to help me out...

I have also been informed previously that a passport is only considered a 'travel document' in Canada, not proof of citizenship nor, according to my bank, ID. This is very different from how they view the passport in Scandinavia, where it is both proof of citizenship and used as ID.

I am enclosing a copy of my husband's replacement citizenship card with my application, which I have understood IS considered proof of citizenship in Canada. The problem is that the date on it is 1997. It shouldn't really matter for my purposes (I hope), but since he became a citizen in 1985, and that is the date I have listed in the application, I have to explain the discrepancy to them. I hope THAT doesn't cause any problems with my already tight deadline to get this processed...

...at the end of the day, I guess what they need is proof that he is in fact Canadian. By providing copies of his passport and his citizenship card, I trust that this is being demonstrated. And then, hopefully, they will accept that I cannot at present show them the exact date he became a citizen.

And yes, I am already filling out the paperwork to have a replacement copy of his certificate of citizenship sent to us. 5 months is but the wink of an eye in comparison to 10 months...

 

[spyfy]

That sounds like a good plan! Indeed, the citizenship card is proof of citizenship and as long as the date of issue of that card is before the years that you claim to have accompanied him outside Canada (which is the case, I guess), I don't think they should care too much about the exact date. "Citizen since at least 1997" should really be enough.