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RPW33 Posts: 4
Posted On: 1/27/2017
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I've discovered recently that I am a dual citizen! I was born in the states in the 60s. My father was born in Quebec in the 20s, came to the US in the 50s and became a US citizen sometime before 1964.
Under the old rules I was not a Canadian because my father had become an American citizen by the time I was born. Apparently, under the new rules put in place in 2015, it only matters that one parent was born in Canada and lived there in 1947.
How do I prove where my father lived in 1947? He would have been in his early 20s then and was working on the family farm, where if they kept employment records, they are long gone. I know he collected a small pension (Old Age pension, I believe) from Canada for about 10 years before he died based on the ~10 years he worked there before coming to the US. I don't know how he proved his employment to get that pension.
My question is this... can I request records from whatever agency administers the Old Age Pension to prove that he had enough residency to collect the pension? I have no idea if this would be sufficient to CIS but it's worth a shot. I don't even know how to begin working on that.
Any other suggestions for proving my dad's residency in 1947?
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Moderator Moderator Posts: 4075
Posted On: 2/7/2017
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Hello,
Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.
We can appreciate that you would be interested in this type of information.
According to the Document Checklist - Application for a Citizenship Certificate (Proof of Citizenship), it states that in the case stated below you will require a certified copy of the following,
Scenario 3 - If you were born outside Canada on or after January 1, 1947 to a Canadian parent or a parent who became a citizen as a result of the legislative amendments to the Citizenship Act on April 17, 2009 or June 11, 2015:
- proof that one or both of your natural parents were Canadian citizens when you were born, such as:
- your parent(s)' provincial or territorial birth certificate,
- Canadian citizenship certificate,
- certificate of registration of birth abroad,
- retention certificate, or
- British naturalization certificate
Unfortunately, it does not state any other documents that can be used to try and prove Canadian Citizenship.
You may want to try and contact the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) directly for some information.
We have had some of our users previously state that they have been able to contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) from abroad by dialing 1 613 944 4000. Listen to the options to get to IRCC. Then you should be transferred to the IRCC Call Centre.
Please note though that some have reported that it did not work for them or that it is no longer working.
You may want to give it a try.
Long distance charges will apply.
We will continue to research and look into this.
We hope to post any information we find.
Hopefully there are other users with similar experiences and situations who can share their suggestions.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.
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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org
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RPW33 Posts: 4
Posted On: 2/13/2017
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Thanks so much for your help! I will try calling that number.
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Moderator Moderator Posts: 4075
Posted On: 3/9/2017
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Hello,
We have received some information from one of our researchers.
They have contacted the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre for some information and suggestions.
According to the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre, since the goal is to apply for citizenship, they suggested that you should apply for Proof of citizenship as well as an Application for a Search of Citizenship Records at the same time.
As you may not have a lot of information on hand, they suggested that you should try and fill out the proof of citizenship form to the best of your abilities and specify which information is not available to you at this time, as well as the reasons for which you do not know or have that information.
They also suggested that you should refer back to your application for search of citizenship records where applicable to explain any major gaps. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre representatives stressed that these applications should be submitted at the same time and in the same envelope.
By going down this process and submitting the applications for both of these at the same time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will search for relevant documentation where needed, such as the proof of pension payments or anything else that can help verify parental lineage in Canada.
Ultimately, if both documents are filled out and the documents are recoverable, the application will go through at the same time and, according to them, you should be able to proceed with obtaining citizenship.
It may also be helpful to review the checklist of items needed for proof of citizenship.
The Application for Search of Citizenship Records currently costs $75 to process. The Application for a search of citizenship records (CIT 0058) Calculating your fees section states that if you are applying for a citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) at the same time as this application, you do not have to pay for a search of citizenship records.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.
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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org
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RPW33 Posts: 4
Posted On: 3/10/2017
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Thank you so much! This is the most promising information I've gotten so far. I was not aware that one could request a search of citizenship records. I will be working on this in the coming weeks and will let you know how it goes!
Many thanks to Anna and the researchers who tracked this down!
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Moderator Moderator Posts: 4075
Posted On: 3/16/2017
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You are very welcome! We will let them know for sure.
We really hope that everything works out for you.
Please let us know how it goes.
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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org
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RPW33 Posts: 4
Posted On: 8/8/2017
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Just wanted to let you know that my Canadian citizenship certificate arrived this week! A few months after I sent in the application, I got an email from them explaining that I did not need to submit the CIT 0058 form (search of citizenship records). They said all I needed was my father's birth certificate. That form is for people who were not born there but became citizens later. They didn't seem to care that I could not prove that he lived there in 1947 either. Or at least they assumed that he did based on the records I sent.
In any case, it all worked. I'm officially a Canadian!
Thank you so much for your help!
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Moderator Moderator Posts: 4075
Posted On: 8/11/2017
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That is great news!
Thank you for updating us on your situation and for sharing this with us.
We are glad that everything worked out.
We hope this opens many new doors for you.
Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.
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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org
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