HOW TO CLAIM CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH OR DESCENT - A GUIDE ESPECIALLY OF INTEREST TO AMERICANS
/In 2017 I’ve seen a huge uptake in potential client enquiries, especially from Americans, about confirming their proof of Canadian citizenship.
Canada has one of the world’s more liberal citizenship regimes, where you can be eligible for Canadian citizenship and acquire proof of that citizenship primarily by way of: (1) location of birth in Canada; (2) at least one parent being a Canadian citizen; or (3) by a naturalization application process after being accepted as a permanent resident.
THE SIMPLICITY OF CANADIAN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP - JUS SOLI (RIGHT OF SOIL)
Lawyers love Latin, and citizenship law is no exception. Jus Soli is the technical legal term for citizenship acquired through birth. Only about 30 countries in the world - almost all of which are in North and South America - unconditionally grant citizenship to anyone born within their territories.
Lex Soli is the term used for the body of law governing if and how Jus Soli applies. Canada does have a narrow exception to Jus Soli in that if neither parent is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and either was employed at the time of birth by a foreign government or international organization in Canada, then you’re not entitled to Canadian citizenship even if you’re born in Canada. This is more than a theoretical exception, as Canadian-born Deepan Budlakoti found out when he was effectively rendered stateless through this process.
A certified copy of your birth certificate from a Canadian province or territory is the main document you’ll need to submit with your application to claim Canadian Birthright Citizenship.
THE COMPLEXITY OF CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT - JUS SANGUINIS (RIGHT OF BLOOD)
Citizenship by Descent - also known as Jus Sanguinis for Latin lovers - gets more complicated than Birthright Citizenship. There are several exceptions to Jus Sanguinis in Canada, and not just who you were born to but also your date of birth can be very important.
Generally the Citizenship Act grants Canadian citizenship to those born outside Canada to at least one Canadian parent, but the Act was recently changed to limit that citizenship by descent to one generation, meaning the children of children who so acquired citizenship by decent won’t also become Canadians automatically. Thus you’re a Canadian if one parent was a Canadian, but not if only a grandparent was a Canadian.
While the “first generation” rule only came into force on 17 April 2009 and is not retroactive, chances are unfortunately slim to none of being able to claim back past that point. There have been lots of tweaks to the Citizenship Act over the years to address injustices inflicted on various classes of people (often women) losing their citizenship, as well as streamlining inconsistent rules saying things like births abroad needed to be registered by a certain age, or those born abroad needed to actually claim their citizenship by a particular age in order to preserve it. But for the most part, the Government of Canada seems to have already done all the cleanup it is going to do in restoring citizenships lost, and there is a worldwide trend towards making citizenship claims more and more challenging (including in many countries even if you were born there).
So basically if you have an ancestor who defended what is now Canada during the War of 1812, but who decided in 1815 that life really was better south of the border, don’t hold your breath over making a claim. And even an ancestor defending Canada during the Great War of 1914 is getting pretty remote.
For proof of citizenship by descent, in addition to a copy of your birth certificate from the country in which you were born listing the names of your Canadian parent(s), you’ll also need proof of at least one of them being Canadian such as their own birth certificates or their citizenship certificates.
You’ll also need certified translations of any documents in languages other than French or English.
Unlike Birthright Citizenship, Citizenship by Descent can get very complicated. If you’re beyond the first generation born abroad, and a parent didn’t assert a claim before you, it’s unfortunately probably too late for you now even if born prior to 2009. But the only way to find out for sure would be to submit an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada - at a current cost of $75 in government processing fees, it’s a pretty modest investment, with the worst outcome being they say “no.” Here’s the government link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship.html
WHY YOU NEED TO APPLY AS SOON & AS COMPLETELY AS POSSIBLE FOR PROOF OF CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP
Current Government of Canada processing times for proof of citizenship usually range from about five months to a year, depending on the complexity of your application. Even the slightest error in the documents you submit can result in your application being returned and you having to completely restart the process. Thus you should apply as soon and as completely as possible. You’ll find all the required government application forms online, including an estimate calculator for current processing delay times.
Obtaining proof of citizenship is something I tell my clients they can do for themselves. But if success on the first try and in as rapid a means as possible is important to you, consider using an immigration lawyer. Our fees (and the fees of most other lawyers who handle citizenship) aren’t especially high as compared to other kinds of more complicated immigration processes.
Our firm charges $2500 Canadian for the entire citizenship confirmation government process, plus disbursements (which are usually fairly minor). For those born beyond the first generation, because of the unlikelihood of success, we suggest you just try yourself if you really want to find out. But we don’t want to tell you it’s completely impossible, as there can be rare exceptions, and ultimately we’re not the decisions makers, only the Government of Canada can tell you for sure whether you qualify or not.
Gordon S. Campbell has served as legal counsel to the Department of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada as well as the Canada Border Service Agency, and litigated public law cases as high as the Supreme Court of Canada. He now helps individuals and businesses with their citizenship and immigration needs.