pintsizejenny71

Hi,

I wonder if anyone has any advice for me about my son starting school in Canada.
We are moving to Canada the end of April, I am a single parent! my son has NEVER met his father, or has he had any contact since his birth, I have been his sole parent/guardian. I visited Canada last week and my sons future school, he is 15 by the way. They advised, they needed a copy of my proof of citizenship application (no worries on that one) but also a legal copy of information saying I have sole custody of my son..Well I don't have anything as I have never needed it, as there has never been an issue.

Any help ??

Jen

Novocastrian

Whose names are on your son's birth certificate? Aside from your own.

Oh, and what status will you have when you and he enter Canada in April?

pintsizejenny71

Hi,

I have a short copy certificate with neither of us named on it. When I enter Canada it is as a British citizen as awaiting proof to be forwarded to Canada.

Thanks

Shirtback

Proof of what? (Or am I missing something?)

Edited to add: Ok, I read your other posts.

First, I really think you should get/will need a long-form birth certificate.

Secondly, as far as the school is concerned, they *might* accept a statutory declaration. What does CIC require for your son?

SB

Novocastrian

I'm missing it too.

Actually, I'm not too sure what a short copy certificate is, nor, more importantly what that implications might be in your situation. But there are people on here much more knowledgable than I. They'll be along presently.

I hope that your rather strange statement that "you'll be entering Canada as a British citizen" isn't all you can tell us?

We're here to help you know.

The4BellsLondon

I have both short and long birth certs for my kids, but we (mr 4bell and I ) are named as father and mother on both ...

DandNHill

Novo, the short version doesn't have parents names on it...
the long one has mother and father fields, whether the father's name is recorded in the OPs case is uncertain... don't know whether it would be all the proof she needs though if she is the only one on the certificate...

JAJ

Is your son a Canadian citizen?

If not, have you obtained a permanent resident visa for him?
And if not, why are you even thinking about moving to Canada before taking this step?

Based on accounts from this forum, Canada is a lot less understanding about single parent situations than the United Kingdom. You say your son has never met his father but are the details on the birth certificate? If there is a father named on the birth certificate, then as a minimum, you will likely need some kind of court document/letter proving that in fact you have sole legal custody of him.

Novocastrian

OK, thanks. I think the OP should get a long form otherwise she's going to run in to the whole parental permission mess.

But, let's await clarification of how she and her son are going to enter Canada: until then the original question about study permits is unanswerable.

Edit: cross post with JAJ

Siouxie

I'm presuming that the OP has an application in place for proof of Citizenship for herself.

She should get a long form certificate to show proof that she is the only parent listed otherwise she 'could' get grilled on entry to Canada if she doesn't have either a letter of consent or a court order giving consent to remove the son to another Country.

She can get one for £9.25 https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-...fore-you-start



Edit: also crossed post with JAJ

Novocastrian

If so, she could have saved a lot of wear on several keyboards by stating that.

Nonetheless, if she's trying to prove Canadian Citizenship, does she have a right to enter (except as a visitor) before the proof is in hand? Let alone the son.

Siouxie

Indeed, but it's easy to forget to do so particularly if she presumed others had read her previous post.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=827460

She can enter as a visitor but until she has Citizenship status I don't believe she would be able to register her son in school as 'visitor' status wouldn't count for that. The big question is whether she will need to sponsor her son for PR once she becomes a Citizen, or whether he qualifies for Citizenship by descent (which I am not sure he does).

Shirtback

So am I. However, we have no clue, so far, as to her son's status.

I'm very sympathetic to the absent father situation, & *might* be able to help (BTDT,GTGDT), but there's an information gap.

Given the gap, I'm not going to put my research geek hat on & start searching/share what may be irrelevant info.

If the OP provides further info, I'll be delighted to help if I can.

SB

Shirtback

Duplicate

Novocastrian

Ah, I see she's discovered that she's a Canadian Citizen by decent (sic).

This does not engender a great deal of confidence in her tactics.