I am a Canadian citizen, but left Canada in 1978 and have been a declared non-resident for the last 30 odd years. I am now planning on returning home to live permanently with my wife and son.

Does anyone have an idea on paperwork or procedures that I have to follow. Our son is Canadian, so that's fine, and my wife who is British, is preparing the forms for spousal sponsorship, etc. But I'm not sure what 'I' have to do? Advice would be much appreciated.

I would think , that as a Canadian citizen all you need to do is get on the plane! , The "non resident " bit was , presumably for tax purposes, so you would need to inform the CRA that you are now resident.

i think this is the section on their website you need

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/nr74/README.html

If not already possessed, get Canadian passports for yourself and son.

You'll need proof of your Canadian citizenship (a Canadian birth certificate, citizenship certificate or passport).

You should probably read this:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5087-eng.html

Assuming your son was born outside Canada, you'll need to obtain a Canadian Citizenship Certificate for him. Once you have this proof of his Canadian citizenship, you can also obtain a Canadian passport for him. I don't think this is strictly necessary if he already has a passport from another country e.g. UK. The US expects US citizens to use US passports when entering/leaving the country (at least by air) but I don't believe that Canada has that same requirement for Canadian citizens.

Hi

The OP needs to sponsor his spouse. See: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra...sor/spouse.asp