Proof of Citizenship for Foreign Child. 

tarhibniamul

Posts: 22

Hello, I’m new here.

I was wondering if anyone can let me know how to go about obtaining proof of citizenship for my child whose father naturalised as a Canadian short before he was born? He is refusing to give consent for a search of his records and wouldn’t provide his Canadian identification for this purpose. Any pointers or leads will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Moderator

Moderator

Posts: 4141

It is important to consider Mexican surrogacy laws. While surrogacy is legal in Mexico as of 2021, not every state in Mexico has implemented the court’s order yet.

Therefore, you must consider the surrogacy laws in the state you are intending to engage a surrogate in. You should also inquire as to whether the state allows for a “pre-birth parentage order” which allows birth certificates to include the names of the intended parent(s).

International surrogacy in Mexico generally requires that one genetic parent be a citizen of the baby’s intended country of residency. This can hold a few different implications for those seeking surrogacy options in Mexico:

One of the genetically linked parents must hold a Canadian citizenship.

A DNA test will likely be performed on the newborn post-birth to prove paternity.

Intended parents who use both an egg and sperm donor (therefore having no genetic relationship to the baby) may be unable to apply for the baby’s citizenship to return home.

If the baby receives Mexican citizenship and holds a valid Mexican passport, then they would be eligible to travel to Canada with an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) and would not require a temporary resident visa or a temporary resident permit (see below). eTAs are valid for 5 years however, as a visitor, your baby will initially be admitted for 6 months. You can ask the officer to issue the baby a visitor record valid for 1 year or, you can enter for 6 months and then after 4-5months, file an online application to extend the baby’s stay in Canada as a visitor while you wait for the sponsorship application to be processed. While the application is pending, the baby will be in maintained status.

As a permanent resident, you can apply to sponsor your dependent child for Canadian permanent resident status. This can be done online (from outside or within Canada) however the processing times are lengthy.

More information can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children/apply.html.

To facilitate travel, if the baby does not receive Mexican citizenship but instead Chinese (or another visa required) citizenship, you can submit the sponsorship application and apply for a Temporary Resident Visa concurrently so that you can travel to Canada with your new baby.

It is unlikely that a child would be approved for a temporary visitor visa as they do not have a temporary intention to remain in Canada and therefore, it is possible that you will instead be asked to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit concurrently.

If eligible for sponsorship, you as the sponsor must be able to prove your ability to support the child financially. Also, sponsoring a child born through surrogacy will generally require proof of legally recognized parental rights.

If you are eligible to apply for Canadian Citizenship, and can receive Citizenship before your baby is born, it will likely speed up the process of obtaining the necessary documents to bring your new baby back to Canada.

To be eligible to become a Canadian citizen, you must:

• be a permanent resident
  
• have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years
  
• have filed your taxes, if you need to
  
• pass a citizenship test
  
• prove your language skills
  

This would support obtaining the necessary documents for your baby as a minor born outside Canada to a Canadian parent is a citizen by birth if the minor is in the first generation born outside Canada, and the Canadian parent:

• was born in Canada; or
  
• became a Canadian citizen by immigrating to Canada (becoming a permanent resident) and being granted citizenship (also known as naturalization).
  

The interpretation of “parent” for applications of citizenship by descent has been expanded to include non-biological legal parents at birth and biological parents. Parents who have been recognized as their child’s legal parent at birth by way of the original birth certificate or relevant birth records (surrogacy contracts, court orders, hospital records, etc.) are eligible to pass down Canadian citizenship with or without a genetic or gestational link to their children.


More information on submitting an application for a minor child of a Canadian Citizen can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0003-application-canadian-citizenship-minors-under-18-years.html.