Are they Canadians, or is it just me?
October 5, 2006 11:27 PM   Subscribe

Can my husband, born of a Canadian mother at the wrong time, get Canadian citizenship before moving to Canada? The customs agent told us where to look, but we're still confused.

My new husband has a few years to go until retiring from the U.S. Air Force. We're stationed in Alaska right now, and driving up here, we were told by Canadian Customs and Immigration (I don't remember where in Canada--the U.S. side of the border was Sweetgrass, MT) that I was considered a citizen of Canada (I was born in Canada in 78, so I knew that one), and we were given the Canadian Immigrations website to check on the status of my husband and son (from a previous marriage). We decided to start trying to find out about their status, because we still both have a lot of family in Canada and may want to live there after his military retirement.


My husband's mother was born in Ireland, but adopted by Canadian parents as an infant and was thus a citizen at the time of his birth in 1973. As I understand it after reading this, he is not considered a Canadian citizen--though he would be if he'd been born four years later--unless his mother registered him before he was two years old. His mother, the only person who'd know--his dad has no idea--passed away several years ago. Is there any way for us to find out his current status, or to register him as a Canadian without me having to move there and declare ability to financially support him? Is his only option to apply as my spouse rather than as his mother's son? And is it correct that my grade-schooler, born to a Canadian mother living in the U.S. within the past decade, is considered a citizen of Canada for life, without me having to register him?
posted by Cricket to Law & Government (2 answers total)
 
The wording of that act is incredibly bizarre. But basically, it comes down to this: Was your husband born in Canada? If so, it would seem that according to this (ok, it's wikipedia, but it's citing the 1947 citizenship act, which precedes the 1974-1975-1976 act that currently stands) he should be entitled to Canadian citizenship. If he wasn't born in Canada, the citizenship by descent section (right below the linked section above) seems to agree that he had to be registered before he was 2 years old, AND neither his mother nor himself can have gained citizenship of another country before 1977. Although, then we have this nugget:
One class of Canadian citizens by descent who can still claim citizenship are those whose births were registered as required by the 1947 Act, but who then lost their Canadian citizenship when their responsible parent (normally the father) became a naturalized citizen of another country. In 2005, the Canadian Parliament passed a law allowing such persons who lost citizenship as minors to apply to resume Canadian citizenship without a residency or background-check requirement.
I'd say you should maybe try contacting the justice department to find out if your husband was registered as a Canadian citizen.

Also, I should note this: both your husband and your son are eligible for Irish citizenship, since your husband's mother was born in Ireland. And since Ireland is part of the EU, if your husband/son claim their Irish citizenship, they would be eligible to live/work anywhere in the EU. That's a definite benefit. Plus, having an Irish passport can be handy if you're kidnapped by militants in the middle east.
posted by antifuse at 2:49 AM on October 6, 2006


I don't know about your husband, but your son is definitely a Canadian citizen. However, you can't really prove your son is a citizen until you apply for a citizenship card. I suggest you apply for his card now. Here is some general information, here is the form to use when applying from the United States. I hear it takes 6-12 months to get these things. Only one parent needs to sign the form.
posted by crazycanuck at 7:17 AM on October 6, 2006


« Older Two cameras I didn't order. Don't know who sent...   |   How trusting a friend can ruin your credit rating. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.