Canadian nationality law

Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAN : Canadian nationality law

Canadian citizenship is obtained by birth in Canada (other than as a child of a foreign diplomat), by birth abroad, when at least one parent is a Canadian citizen, or can be granted to a permanent resident who lives in Canada for three out of four years before applying for citizenship and is able to speak English or French. Time spent as a temporary resident before permanent residence is granted counts as half. Under special circumstances, the law allows for some requirements to be waived.

Contents

1 History of Canadian Citizenship
2 Birth in Canada
3 Canadian citizenship by descent
4 Naturalization as a Canadian citizen

4.1 Children aged under 18
4.2 Citizenship ceremonies

5 Canadian citizenship by adoption
6 Japanese Repatriation
7 Loss of Canadian citizenship
8 Resumption of Canadian citizenship
9 Rights and responsibilities of citizens
10 Proof of Canadian Citizenship Document
11 Commonwealth Citizenship
12 External links
13 See also

History of Canadian Citizenship

British & Commonwealth citizenship

Commonwealth nationality laws

Classes of British citizens and subjects

Rights and Visas

Acts

Canadian citizenship, as a status distinct from that of "British subject", was created on 1 January 1947. Prior to that date, Canadians were British subjects and Canada's nationality law closely mirrored that of the United Kingdom. See History of British nationality law

On 1 January 1947, Canadian citizenship was conferred on most British subjects connected with Canada. Subsequently, on 1 April 1949, Canadian nationality law was extended to Newfoundland upon that country's admission to Confederation.

Canadian nationality law was substantially revised on 15 February 1977. Notably, from that date Canada fully accepts multiple citizenship. However those who lost Canadian citizenship before that date did not automatically have it restored.

Birth in Canada

In general, anyone born in Canada from 1947 has acquired Canadian citizenship at birth. The only exceptions concern children born to diplomats, where additional requirements apply.

Most persons born in Canada before 1947 acquired Canadian citizenship on 1 January 1947 if still living at that date.

Canadian citizenship by descent

Any person born outside Canada from 15 February 1977, who has a Canadian parent at the time of birth, is automatically a Canadian citizen by descent.

If the Canadian parent is also Canadian by descent and the other parent is not born or naturalized in Canada, then Canadian citizenship will be lost on that person's 28th birthday unless the person successfully applies to retain Canadian citizenship.

Those born outside Canada between 1 January 1947 and 15 February 1977 are generally not Canadian citizens unless their birth was registered with the Canadian government before they were two years of age (and neither they nor their responsible parent subsequently lost Canadian citizenship by becoming citizens of another country before 1977) OR they applied for Canadian citizenship by descent before 14 August 2004. Applications for citizenship by descent fell into two categories: 1) delayed registration of birth abroad, which, when granted, made the person a citizen from birth (as if the birth had been registered with the Canadian government within two years as required by the 1947 Citizenship Act), and 2) a facilitated grant, in cases where the Canadian parent was the mother, not the father. The latter was not retroactive, so does not make children of the grantee born before the grant, Canadian citizens.

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. [link]

Naturalization as a Canadian citizen

A person who is a permanent resident may apply for Canadian citizenship by naturalization (grant) after three years resident in Canada.

The requirements in full are that the person:

is aged 18 years or over
is a permanent resident
has lived in Canada for a total of three years out of the four years preceding the application for citizenship
knows about Canada (a test is required as part of the application process)
knows the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship

Children aged under 18

The naturalization requirements for children under 18 are different to those for adults.

the child should be a permanent resident
a parent of the child should be a Canadian citizen or in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship

The residence and other requirements do not normally apply to those aged under 18.

Citizenship ceremonies

All applicants for Canadian citizenship aged 14 or over must attend a citizenship ceremony as the final stage of their application. See also Oath of citizenship (Canada)

Canadian citizenship by adoption

There is no provision in the Citizenship Act for automatic conferral of Canadian citizenship upon those adopted by Canadian citizens, whether in Canada or overseas. It is necessary for the child to be granted Canadian citizenship by naturalization. Although the child usually needs to be a permanent resident, the three year residence term is not required where an adoptive parent is a Canadian citizen.

Effective 16 July 2001, adults who were adopted as children may be able to apply for a special grant of Canadian citizenship under section 5(4) of the Citizenship Act without requiring permanent resident status or residence in Canada. [Details]

This is in response to rulings in the Canadian courts known as the McKenna case in 1995 and 1999.[link][link]

Japanese Repatriation

On September 22, 1988 the Prime Minister agreed a redress package for Japanese Canadians deported from Canada between 1941 and 1946 (about 4000 in total) and their descendants.

The package authorises a special grant of Canadian citizenship for any such person. All descendants of deported persons are also eligible for grant of citizenship provided they were living on September 22, 1988, regardless of whether the person actually deported from Canada is still alive.

Loss of Canadian citizenship

Under current law there is no provision for involuntary loss of Canadian citizenship except:

naturalized Canadians can be deprived of citizenship if convicted of fraud in relation to their citizenship application, or their original admission to Canada as an immigrant
second-generation Canadians by descent may lose Canadian citizenship automatically on their 28th birthday if they do not meet the requirements for retention

Many Canadians lost Canadian citizenship prior to 15 February 1977 through:

naturalization in another country
long residence overseas (prior to 1967)
if a child, based on a parent's loss of Canadian citizenship

See History of Canadian citizenship

A Canadian citizen who holds another nationality may in some cases renounce Canadian citizenship voluntarily.

Resumption of Canadian citizenship

Former Canadian citizens who lost their citizenship as adults are generally required to obtain landed immigrant (permanent resident) status under normal rules and live in Canada for one year in order to resume Canadian citizenship.

As of 5 May 2005, a special concession has been made to those who lost Canadian citizenship as minors between 1 January 1947 and 14 February 1977 based on a parent's loss of Canadian citizenship. These persons now have an unqualified right to resume Canadian citizenship without actually residing in Canada. [link]

Former Canadians who lost British subject status before 1947 have no specific rights to Canadian citizenship, except in the case of women who lost British subject status on marriage to a foreign man.

Rights and responsibilities of citizens

Citizens are:

Able to vote in political elections upon reaching the age of 18.
Able to serve on a jury.
Able to run for political office upon reaching the age of 18.
Able to obtain a Canadian passport.
Able to prevent risk of getting deported from Canada
Able to work for the Federal government (where citizenship is usually required)
Allowed to live outside Canada indefinitely while retaining the right to return
Able to pass on Canadian citizenship to children born outside Canada.

Proof of Canadian Citizenship Document

Any Canadian can apply for a citizenship certificate. New Canadians get a certificate when they are granted citizenship. If you automatically acquired citizenship because you were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent or you are a woman who was landed in Canada before 1947 (e.g., a war bride), you can apply for a citizenship certificate. [Details]

It can take many months to issue a citizenship certificate. [Processing Times for Citizenship Certificates]

Commonwealth Citizenship

Under United Kingdom law, Canadians are Commonwealth citizens and hence are entitled to certain rights in the UK:

access to the UK Working Holiday visa scheme
for those with a UK born grandparent, access to the UK Ancestry Entry Clearance
for those born before 1983 who meet the requirements, Right of Abode in the UK
the right to vote and stand for public office in the UK