New Canadian Citizenship Rules Coming Into Effect April 2009

Posted on 31. Jan, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Announcements, Blog, Expat Life
2 comments

All Canadian expats and TCKs need to be aware of the new Canadian citizenship rules going into effect on April 17, 2009.

1. These new rules will significantly impact second-generation Canadians born abroad, as they will not be Canadian citizens by birth. This means that if you, a Canadian citizen, were born outside Canada and also gave or will give birth outside Canada, your children born abroad will not be Canadian citizens.
This rule also applies to Canadian citizens who adopt foreign-born children.

2. On the other hand, the Canadian government is taking steps to clean up the 1947 Citizenship Act mess. People who lost their Canadian citizenship back then, including war brides and many British subjects, will automatically reacquire their Canadian citizenship.
People born abroad to a Canadian parent on or after January 1, 1947 will also become Canadian citizens, even if they never took the necessary steps to become one.

3. Foreign-born children who were adopted on or after January 1, 1947 will be eligible for Canadian citizenship without having to become permanent residents first (under the previous rules, only children adopted after February 14, 1977 were eligible).
This also applies to foreign-born children who were adopted by someone who will reacquire Canadian citizenship under the new rules (see 2.)

There are many exceptions and nuances, many of which apply to diplomats or government employees and military personnel.
You can see the complete rules on this Citizenship and Immigration Canada page.

Expat author Robin Pascoe further discusses the impact of these new rules on expat families and TCKs on her blog. She also links to a helpful Powerpoint file that can help you determine whether your children or grandchildren born abroad will be Canadian citizens.

If you have questions about the new rules, please let me know in the comments and I will research them further. Hopefully together we can try to make all this clearer and faster to understand.

Emmanuelle