Citizenship is an acquired right at birth. For most people and in most countries whose families have lived in a country for even many generations. [The changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act, the most comprehensive in more than 35 years, make it much harder and more costly to become a Citizen of Canada. One of the most important changes is the requirement that an individual must now physically reside in Canada for 4 years over a 6-year qualifying period.]
Dual citizenship is different. In general, my opinion about dual citizenship is: “Citizenship is not a (more-or-less) God given right, but a privilege and entails the commitment to ‘residing in this country CANADA, working here, paying taxes and contribute to society and economy in a responsible way.” Dual citizenship has no meaning in this context, because you either live here or there. And do not feel a real commitment to either. In fact, for many it has become an opportunistic way to exploit a government, for example during war situations or to pursue illegal financial gains, or maybe for tax gains.
In Canada certain rules apply to dual citizenship. Canada, whose main government rests on a deeply entrenched constitutional monarchy – the King of England, or the United Kingdom, being the Head of State – dual citizenship for British subjects is a given. Especially here in British Columbia (the name British already implying that it is more British than anything) British born citizens would never loose their own birth citizenship, and are therefore permanent dual citizens.
There are many mostly smaller countries who also allow dual citizenship, even when Landed Immigrants into Canada assume the Canadian citizenship. It really is up to the country, but not to Canada, who is very welcoming to immigrants, and whose rules can be easily taken advantage of. Canadian citizenship can not be revoked, once acquired. [ https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/documents/dual-citizenship ]
While for other countries, outside Canada born citizens loose their birth citizenship when becoming Canadian. In my case, the same had happened. My birth citizenship was revoked when becoming a Canadian. Which later in life can have its difficulties when re-visiting ones former homeland. Europe is a good example. When I became a citizen of Canada, it had been before the EU (European Union) was formed. Of course, I would have very much liked to become a EU citizen, when re-visiting. Many years later when I started travelling again, after many years hard and constant work in Alberta, I as a former citizen by birthright needed an extension of stay (from 3 to 4 months) by the domestic immigration service over there. Like all other foreign-born immigrants to that same (former) homeland of mine.
How can children of Canadian citizens become also Canadian citizens ?
To be eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship, the minor:
- must be under 18 years of age on the day you sign the application.
- must be a permanent resident (landed immigrant) of Canada.
- must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years immediately before you apply.
- Question is, how can those children also acquire a Canadian passport prior to
A minor born outside Canada to a Canadian parent on or after April 17, 2009, is a citizen by birth if the minor is in the first generation born outside Canada, and the Canadian parent was born in Canada; Dec 7, 2023.
If the parent was not born in Canada, but has acquired Canadian citizenship through a parent, how can a child obtain Canadian citizenship, a child also born and residing outside of Canada ?
Another take on this:
Canada allows biological and legal parents to pass citizenship to their children who were born outside of the country, provided at the time of the child’s birth the parents were first-generation Canadians. Once Canadian citizenship has been passed down, it cannot be passed down again. So if you were born abroad to Canadian parents, your children will not automatically get Canadian citizenship if they were born abroad as well.
Remember, for some obscure reasons, there are still cases that people who want to acquire Canadian citizenship for their children – even if they fully reside in their own home lands and never live in Canada again and are second-generation Canadian citizens – manage to somehow get Canadian citizenship and Canadian passports for their children. In general, no matter what, a child cannot have its own Canadian passport before the age of 16.
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