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©Gregory James, January 2007
Canadian citizenship rules appear to be quite straightforward, but there are a few hidden traps that catch many people unawares. Many people who believe they are Canadian citizens are not Canadian citizens at all. Others are at risk of losing their citizenship if they fail to take action to protect it. Most people think that if a child is born to a Canadian citizen the child is automatically a Canadian citizen too. In most cases this is true, but there are exceptions to the rule. Many of those who immigrate to Canada stay here after they get their citizenship, but many seek to take advantage of their dual nationality and return to their home country. They will not lose their Canadian citizenship by doing so. But what about the children they have outside of Canada? During the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon it became clear that more than 40,000 Canadian citizens are living in Lebanon. Presumably most of them are also Lebanese citizens. Clearly, many of them are having children. Are those children also Canadian citizens? Maybe not. There is an obscure rule saying that if both the parent and the child are born outside of Canada, citizenship is not automatic. The child must take steps to retain his or her Canadian citizenship before the child’s 28th birthday. If the child fails to make the necessary application, the child loses Canadian citizenship. Not only must the child make an application to retain citizenship, the child must also prove that he or she has resided in Canada for the 12 months immediately before filing the application. If the child cannot prove that he or she resided in Canada for the 12 months preceding the application, he or she can try to prove some other “substantial connection” to Canada. “Substantial connection” is not clearly defined and will be determined on a case by case basis. This rule only applies to children born after February 14th, 1977. That means that it only applies to children who are currently 30 years old or younger. Those who are already 28, 29 or 30 years old may have significant problems with their citizenship rights and need to get legal advice. Those who are already 27 years old, but have not been residing in Canada since before their 27th birthday should also get legal advice. Everyone else still has time to apply, and should probably do so as early as possible. They might want to get legal advice too, to make sure that their rights are protected. |
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