Would You?
 

I was recently asked by a friend of mine if duel citizenship were not possible from your birth country (she was from Germany), would you negate your British Passport in favour of a Canadian one.
Having lived in Canada for a number of years...my response was...Never.
I would never give up my British Passport.
Both countries have pro's and con's IMHO. but if push came to shove so to speak, give me my British heritage.
In Canada we are morgage free, and have a beautiful home, with all the accessories I could never have had in the U.k... ie. a Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts, Games Room, and a house maybe 5 times the size of my U.K. home. The materialistic stuff and the acerage that Canada easily affords,were made possible from the incomes we were able to earn in the U.K. as opposed to Canada.
Simple question really.
Would you give up British citizenship to gain Cainadian citizenship, if you could not have duel citizenship... follow?

Re: Would You?
 

Duel citizenship? Is that where you put the citizenships to fight each other with a lethal weapon to settle a score over a matter of honor?

Or, are you talking about dual citizenship? Talk about taking some extra English classes rather than extra citizenships… ?
:beer: :beer: :beer:

Re: Would You?
 

I would in a heart beat. this is the country I have chosen to live in. I have applied for citizenship and hopefully will have that this year. (A friend of mine applied in Feb 2004, took her test in July 2004 and still haven't heard.. so I think the processing time is taking longer!!)

I cannot see the point of paying for a British passport when I will have a Canadian one but hubby is quite keen for the kids to have both ....

Re: Would You?
 

Now, this is my own opinion so I don't care if I'm wrong or if somebody disagrees!!! ;)

This is the problem with countries such as canada or UK. If a person is living in a country for long term they should be made to become citizen of that country. I know you pay your taxes, support the local sport etc but nothing brings loyalty to a country than citizenship and the say on how it is run.

If I go and stay in canada i will cease to become british. I will have my heritage and my own customes which i will had down to my kids but i have to decided to leave the UK and why should I formally link myself to the past. I have nostalgia and family for that.

Re: Would You?
 

Glad its only a theoretical question!

Two years ago I would have said I would keep my British Citizenship, now Im not so sure. From a practical standpoint, I am more likely end up working in the US than in Europe in future, so Canadian citizenship makes that easier, and from a "where is home going to be" point of view I would have to say Canada over the UK any day of the week. If you are going to live somewhere long term, it make sense to be able to vote and take part in the demopcratic process in that country.

Just glad the UK has the sense not to require that I have to make that choice!

Re: Would You?
 

I totally agree. I am a Canadian citizen and an English one - or UK or whatever you want to call it. I think that you should be required to become a Canadian citizen within a specified period. After all, you are getting all the benefits of a Canadian and so you should be one. My sister has been here for over 30 years and is still not a citizen. She is, however, on the voter's list due to the fact that someone came to her door and asked her for her name etc. and afterwards it turned out she had been enumerated and her name was on the voter's list. She hasn't ever voted. She isn't legally entitled to.

I am acquainted with some other people who came to Canada nearly 40 years ago. They are not Canadian citizens. They can hardly speak English. I think this is abusing the privilege of living in Canada. If you can't be bothered to learn one of the official languages and you can't be bothered to become a citizen then I don't think you should be allowed to stay here.

Just my two cents worth.

Re: Would You?
 

Permanent residents do *not* get all the benefits of being a Canadian.

A law that forced permanent residents to apply for Canadian citizenship after x number of years would certainly increase the application rate. Although CIC would have a nightmare actually processing the applications.

The question is - would you want people to be applying for Canadian citizenship for such a negative reason?

There is the other factor that some people, who face the loss of their home country citizenship, find it hard to make that final break for a variety of personal reasons.

Jeremy

Re: Would You?
 

Not just the UK - Canada also doesn't require you to make that choice. If you were in Singapore as a PR, for example, and wanted to take citizenship you'd have to provide proof from the British High Commission that you had renounced your British citizenship.

Incidentally, if someone renounces British citizenship to obtain (or retain) another one, they have an entitlement to resume it later on by reapplying. But only once - further resumption is discretionary, as is resumption for any other reason.

Some countries do not let former citizens resume their citizenship, or place significant restrictions on doing so. Canada is one of these, as is the US.

Jeremy

Re: Would You?
 

I met a guy this evening who left the UK with his parents when he was 8, and is now a canadian citizen in the air force here. He said that in the (all be it unlikely) event that hostilities broke out between the UK and Canada, due to some clause somewhere he would have to revoke his service in the canadian forces and be on the UK side. Seemed a bit odd to me :confused:

Re: Would You?
 

In that case how would you deal with those immigrants who cannot afford the fees for citizenship?

Mrs G

Re: Would You?
 

If every PR had to go for citizenship, then wouldnt they just add it to the front end PR landing fees, then citizenship would be "free" when the time came? Seems kind of pointless to inflict it on people anyway, very "uncanadian" at the least.

Re: Would You?
 

Where wars have broken out between countries, those connected with the 'other' side have always had a difficult time. The experiences of the Japanese in Western Canada during WW2, or Germans in the UK at the time (many of whom had fled the Nazi regime) are a case in point.

Even many who were naturalised British subjects were caught up in the net.

However I doubt your friend would be obliged to fight for the UK against Canada if he didn't want to.

Jeremy

Re: Would You?
 

Eh, as opposed to getting the PR card every 5 years?! That's why some of the long timers I know have applied - they don't want the PR Card hassle twice a decade!!

Re: Would You?
 

Citizenship should not be seen as a purely financial matter. However if you must look at things in these terms:

- the USD6 I94-W fee is saved every time you enter the US (plus less time wasted at the border)
- PR Cards take a lot longer to process than passport applications, so hassle there
- Canadian citizenship may mean you can take that great contract in the US (TN visa plus no need to worry about keeping Canadian PR)
- If looking for a job in Canada, you can be 'Canadian' on your resume, which may open more doors than being a landed immigrant. Some employers have difficulty understanding the different immigration statuses and may simply ignore non-Canadians.

Jeremy

Re: Would You?
 

Totally agree, no I would not give my British passport up.

JJ