News on changes in citizenship for Canadians living abroad

[MotorcycleRider]

Making Canadian has become a bit more complicated for second generation overseas born children. Looks like my grandchildren will have to be born on Canadian soil. This will probably affect some people in Taiwan, who are second generation oversea Canadians.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules.asp

[maoman]

Making Canadian has become a bit more complicated for second generation overseas born children. Looks like my grandchildren will have to be born on Canadian soil. This will probably affect some people in Taiwan, who are second generation oversea Canadians.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules.asp

It only applies to second-generation foreign -born Canadians who were born after April 17, 2009. So my two year old daughter can have a Canadian child outside of Canada, but my (as yet unborn) second child can not.
I'm very unhappy with this legislation - for the first time, the government is distinguishing classes of Canadian-ness. Boo! Hiss!

[MotorcycleRider]

Yeah, the Canadian government is really pissing people off lately, first the new the HST tax system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonized_Sales_Tax, which would make certain things more expensive, and now this. WTF Canada!

[Sleepyhead]

These are big changes.

First, children born to Canadian citizens may no longer automatically receive Canadian citizenship, even when both parents are. If you're having a kid here, check with the consulate on the new rules or you may have to apply for citizenship for your sprog.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/New ... 415818.cms

Second, some Canadians who gave up their citizenship (not by choice, or other reasons) may be able to regain it automatically. If you married a Taiwanese and were forced to give it up by the Taiwan government, getting it back may be possible just by applying. Again, check with the Canadian consulate for legal specifics.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1239931 ... =yhoofront

And excuse if others have posted this. A search for "Canadian citizen" didn't produce any results.

[914]

It only applies to second-generation foreign -born Canadians who were born after April 17, 2009. So my two year old daughter can have a Canadian child outside of Canada, but my (as yet unborn) second child can not.
I'm very unhappy with this legislation - for the first time, the government is distinguishing classes of Canadian-ness. Boo! Hiss!

Wrong. Passing on Canadian citizenship ends with the first generation born abroad. The date of birth of any of your children doesn't matter. Your foreign-born children, however, can not pass on Canadian citizenship to their children if their children are born outside of Canada.

From http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules.asp#become:

Understanding the first generation limitation

Under the current rules, it’s possible for Canadians to pass on their citizenship to endless generations born outside Canada. To protect the value of Canadian citizenship for the future, the new law will – with a few exceptions – limit citizenship by descent to one generation born outside Canada.

This means that children born to Canadian parents in the first generation outside Canada will only be Canadian at birth if:

* one parent was born in Canada, or
* one parent became a Canadian citizen by immigrating to Canada and was later granted citizenship (also called naturalization).

[maoman]

It only applies to second-generation foreign -born Canadians who were born after April 17, 2009. So my two year old daughter can have a Canadian child outside of Canada, but my (as yet unborn) second child can not.
I'm very unhappy with this legislation - for the first time, the government is distinguishing classes of Canadian-ness. Boo! Hiss!

Wrong. Passing on Canadian citizenship ends with the first generation born abroad. The date of birth of any of your children doesn't matter. Your foreign-born children, however, can not pass on Canadian citizenship to their children if their children are born outside of Canada.

From http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/rules.asp#become:

Understanding the first generation limitation

Under the current rules, it’s possible for Canadians to pass on their citizenship to endless generations born outside Canada. To protect the value of Canadian citizenship for the future, the new law will – with a few exceptions – limit citizenship by descent to one generation born outside Canada.

This means that children born to Canadian parents in the first generation outside Canada will only be Canadian at birth if:

* one parent was born in Canada, or
* one parent became a Canadian citizen by immigrating to Canada and was later granted citizenship (also called naturalization).

Yes, yes, I know all that. But I was reading from a gov't site that said this is not retroactive to Canadians born before the bill is passed into law. I'll try to find the exact link again.

[Chewycorns]

You can renounce your citizenship, apply for new citizenship in another country, and then get back your citizenship in 1 year instead of 3 years before.

Anyone gonna take the plunge because of this?

Yes. If you were a Canadian citizen in the past, but gave up, or renounced, your citizenship to take the citizenship of another country, you may resume your Canadian citizenship. To do this, former Canadians must obtain permanent resident status and live in Canada for at least one year before applying for citizenship.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informatio ... -faq01.asp

[Chuanzao El Ale Destroyer]

No really, hundreds of thousands of people, we're not sure how many, are soon to be Canadian! Isn't that just peachy!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123993183347727843.html
Thanks to a new law, Canada will bestow citizenship Friday on what its government believes could be hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting foreigners, most of them Americans.

The April 17 amendment to Canada's Citizenship Act automatically restores Canadian nationality to many people forced to renounce it when they became citizens of another country. It also grants citizenship to their children.

Isn't that nice! Hundreds of thousands of new little Canadians!

[Mucha Man]

....Isn't that nice! Hundreds of thousands of new little Canadians!

It's a beautiful thing in these hard times.

[Chuanzao El Ale Destroyer]

....Isn't that nice! Hundreds of thousands of new little Canadians!

It's a beautiful thing in these hard times.

agreed. I didn't want to post the entire article, but this makes things a lot easier for so many people.

I'm sorry though, the idea of Americans waking up and finding out they are really Canadian makes me I'm only human!