I am a Canadian Citizen, my husband is a British Citizen. Our children hold British passports, but as I understand, they are also considered Canadian Citizens (since I'm a Canadian Citizen). We will all be moving to Canada. I have had no problem purchasing one way tickets to Canada for my husband (who has the required visa) and for myself, but I've been told that because our children do not have Canadian passports, we may be forced to purchase return tickets at the airport, or may not be allowed into Canada. Surely this can't be right??? Do our children need Canadian passports??

I think you would need to check first about the Citizenship of your children - rules change over the years. A good place to start would be on the Canadian Immigration board of this site where the experts give free advice

That sounds very silly to me ..... what visa does your husband have? As your dependents they will be covered under his visa, or yours, or both surely????

Hi

The kids are canadian via birth to a Canadian citizen mother, don't have visas. They should have proof of Canadian citizenship either a citizenship card or Canadian passport, it would appear that they have neither.

My son is the same as your kids my wife is canadaian i am british. WE applied at the High commision for his citizenship which came through in 2 months. We were told that if his citizenship card did not come through in time you can apply for temporary 1year passports.

But by the by i don't think what you have been told is right, i don't think the airline will force you to buy the 2way ticket but canadian immigration officers might wonder, obviously make sure when you get to the canadian airport you have there birth certificates to hand to prove that they are yours

Steve

If your wife doesn't also have British citizenship, it might be an idea for her to consider applying for naturalisation before she leaves the UK - haveing British citizenship would make any future return much easier.


The contrary is true. Canadian immigration will not refuse entry to Canadian children, although if they don't have the right documentation then there will most likely be a delay while their status is verified.

The problem is that if the airline refuses to allow them to board, they will never get near Canadian immigration in the first place. Some airlines are more fussy than others about one-way tickets, best to get an ok in writing from the airline *before* spending money if that's what you want to do.

Same as you, I am Canadian Citizen, my husband British. Both kids born in UK but I applied for Canadian citizenship at birth for them which I am led to believe is a little easier to do then than when they are older. They are now teenagers and now have two passports, Canadian and British. I also hold dual nationality now having taken my Life in the UK test and attended "the ceremony". So all our little loose ends are tied up and the only big one is selling the home!! I would advise you get their Canadian passports done before you leave and you get British citizenship, it is more money to spend but well worth it to avoid the hassle at immigration.

Good luck

Children born overseas to Canadian citizens (since 15 Feb 1977) are Canadian at birth automatically, however it's always easier to document these things sooner rather than later.

The second generation born overseas is also Canadian at birth, but the person loses citizenship at age 28 unless he or she meets the requirements for retention and makes an application on time.