Tom

Hi There,

In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18 years
old at the time.

Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
becoming a us citizen ?

Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I can
fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other course of
action I can take ?

Thanks in advance.

Andrew Miller

Read here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html

--

../..

Andrew Miller
Immigration Consultant
Vancouver, British Columbia
email: [email protected]
(delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
________________________________


"tom" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi There,
    > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18 years
    > old at the time.
    > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
    > becoming a us citizen ?
    > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I can
    > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other course
of
    > action I can take ?
    > Thanks in advance.

Tom

Mr. Miller,

Currently I live in the US , and am a US citizen. Is this what I need to do
next ?

1. apply for permanent resisence in Canada
2. live in Canada for 365 days
3. apply for Canadian citizenship - and ask for leniency ?

Thanks


"Andrew Miller" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Read here:
    > http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html
    > --
    > ../..
    > Andrew Miller
    > Immigration Consultant
    > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > email: [email protected]
    > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > ________________________________
    > "tom" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > Hi There,
    > >
    > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18
years
    > > old at the time.
    > >
    > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
    > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > >
    > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I
can
    > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other
course
    > of
    > > action I can take ?
    > >
    > > Thanks in advance.
    > >
    > >

Andrew Miller

If your circumstances fit the profile from the announcement then yes on all
3 questions.

--

../..

Andrew Miller
Immigration Consultant
Vancouver, British Columbia
email: [email protected]
(delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
________________________________


"tom" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Mr. Miller,
    > Currently I live in the US , and am a US citizen. Is this what I need to
do
    > next ?
    > 1. apply for permanent resisence in Canada
    > 2. live in Canada for 365 days
    > 3. apply for Canadian citizenship - and ask for leniency ?
    > Thanks
    > "Andrew Miller" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Read here:
    > >
    > > http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html
    > >
    > > --
    > >
    > > ../..
    > >
    > > Andrew Miller
    > > Immigration Consultant
    > > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > > email: [email protected]
    > > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > > ________________________________
    > >
    > >
    > > "tom" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > >
    > > > Hi There,
    > > >
    > > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18
    > years
    > > > old at the time.
    > > >
    > > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
    > > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > > >
    > > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I
    > can
    > > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other
    > course
    > > of
    > > > action I can take ?
    > > >
    > > > Thanks in advance.
    > > >
    > > >
    > >
    > >

Rich Wales

"tom" wrote:

> Is this what I need to do next?
> 1. apply for permanent residence in Canada

It's extremely significant, BTW, that the new government policy
[http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html] waives some
key requirements normally imposed on applicants for immigration
-- namely, the point system, and medical inadmissibility based
on excessive demand on the health care system (i.e., having an
"expensive" disease like cancer or HIV/AIDS, which would normally
cause an immigration application to be rejected out of hand).

> 2. live in Canada for 365 days

After being accepted for immigration and moving to Canada as a
permanent resident (a.k.a. "landed immigrant"), of course.

> 3. apply for Canadian citizenship - and ask for
> leniency?

I don't actually believe "leniency" will be involved at that
stage, because resumption of citizenship by an ex-citizen after
living in Canada for a year is specifically provided for in the
law. The "leniency" will already have been exercised when you
get your immigrant visa (in that some key requirements for
would-be immigrants will have been waived -- see above).

Note that the application to resume Canadian citizenship is
different from the regular citizenship application; you can find
it at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/resume.html
(though it's certainly possible that the application may be
revised by the time you're ready to file it).

> Currently I live in the US, and am a US citizen.

Keep in mind, of course, that if/when you do reacquire Canadian
citizenship, this will =not= affect your US citizenship. Some
people will undoubtedly "assure" you that becoming a Canadian
again will mean losing your US citizenship, but they're wrong.
For more info on this, see: http://www.richw.org/dualcit/

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

David Tew

    > "tom" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > Hi There,
    > >
    > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18 years
    > > old at the time.
    > >
    > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
    > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > >
    > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I can
    > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other course
    > of
    > > action I can take ?
    > >
    > > Thanks in advance.
    > >
    > >

You don't mention whether 1) you were born in Canada and moved with
your father to the U.S., where he became a U.S. citizen, OR 2) you
were born in the U.S. to a Canadian father, who subsequently became a
U.S. citizen.

If #2, it is easy to have your citizenship confirmed w/o even moving
back to Canada. See: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/born-e.html

If #1, then the info to which Mr. Miller referred would apply BUT
take into consideration whether 18 is considered the age of majority.
If it is, then you did NOT lose your citizenship by your father's
action because you weren't a minor. In that case, it would depend
whether you took U.S. citizenship on your own as an adult.

Rich Wales

David Tew wrote:

> If [you were born in the US to a Canadian father who sub-
> sequently became a US citizen], it is easy to have your
> citizenship confirmed w/o even moving back to Canada.

That would be because Canada's pre-1977 citizenship law didn't
recognize foreign-born children of Canadians as having Canadian
citizenship unless they were registered with Canadian consular
officials. If the original poster was never so registered, he
would never have lost his Canadian citizenship (having, in fact,
never had it in the first place), and he can indeed register as
a citizen now without having to immigrate, etc.

A not-so-sensical outgrowth of the above is that a foreign-born
child whose Canadian parents were conscientious about registering
him/her as a citizen could have ended up worse off (in terms of
losing Canadian citizenship) than a similar child whose parents
didn't realize (or perhaps didn't care) that they should have
told Canadian consular officials about their child. I assume
this incongruity was probably one reason why the Canadian gov't
decided to relax the regulations in order to give a break to
people who lost Canadian citizenship in this way.

> If [you were born in Canada and moved with your father to
> the US], then the info to which Mr. Miller referred would
> apply, BUT take into consideration whether 18 is considered
> the age of majority.

Under the Canadian Citizenship Act (1947), the age of majority
was 21; an 18-year-old was still considered a minor and would have
been subject to the provision under discussion.

> In that case, it would depend whether you took U.S. citi-
> zenship on your own as an adult.

This actually reminds me of another aspect to the old Canadian
citizenship law. In order for a child whose Canadian father lost
or gave up his Canadian citizenship to lose his/her own citizen-
ship, it was necessary that the child must either (1) have already
had some other citizenship before the father's naturalization, or
else (2) have acquired another citizenship (typically the father's
new citizenship) at the same time as his/her father. The idea
here was to avoid statelessness; the child would lose Canadian
citizenship only if he/she had some other citizenship to fall
back upon, but if the only citizenship the child had left was
Canadian, he/she would be allowed to keep it.

So, if the original poster acquired US citizenship before, or at
the same time as, his father did, then he would have lost his
Canadian citizenship (and, as discussed earlier, would have to
apply to immigrate to Canada in order to eventually regain it).

BUT if the original poster did NOT get US citizenship along with
his father -- which is quite possible, because (AFAIK) the legal
age for being naturalized on one's own in the US was 18 at that
time, not 21 -- then he would NOT have lost Canadian citizenship
when his father lost his.

Now, there's another aspect of Canada's pre-1977 law that said
that an adult Canadian (i.e., age 21 or over) who obtained some
other nationality automatically lost his Canadian citizenship.
If the original poster became a US citizen on or after his 21st
birthday -- but before Canada's current citizenship law came
into force on 15 Feb. 1977 -- then he would have lost Canadian
citizenship, all on his own (not because of what his father did),
and in this case I seriously doubt he can get his citizenship
back in the manner we've discussed earlier.

HOWEVER . . . if the original poster became a US citizen after
his father did, but BEFORE his 21st birthday, THEN it appears
that he may NOT in fact have EVER lost his Canadian citizenship,
since his US naturalization would not have been recognized under
the Canadian law of that time if the naturalization had taken
place while he was still a minor (i.e., not yet 21).

This can admittedly be horrendously complicated, but keep in
mind that Canada's 1977 citizenship law involved a major paradigm
shift -- from a situation in which dual nationality was considered
a "bad thing" and was actively discouraged to one where no one
cared a whit about dual nationality any more at all -- and many
of the loose ends simply weren't thought out thoroughly when the
new law was framed. The original poster, if he's too confused by
all this, might want to gather all the relevant facts and then go
looking for a Canadian immigration lawyer who would be willing
to give him a brief (and hopefully inexpensive or free) initial
consultation about his situation.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Tom

David,
I was born in Peru,
My father filled out "canadian citizen born abroad" when I was born.
Later, we moved to the US .
So I need to find out what age is considered the majority, right ?

Thanks

"David Tew" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > > "tom" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > >
    > > > Hi There,
    > > >
    > > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18
years
    > > > old at the time.
    > > >
    > > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my father
    > > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > > >
    > > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form I
can
    > > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other
course
    > > of
    > > > action I can take ?
    > > >
    > > > Thanks in advance.
    > > >
    > > >
    > You don't mention whether 1) you were born in Canada and moved with
    > your father to the U.S., where he became a U.S. citizen, OR 2) you
    > were born in the U.S. to a Canadian father, who subsequently became a
    > U.S. citizen.
    > If #2, it is easy to have your citizenship confirmed w/o even moving
    > back to Canada. See: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/born-e.html
    > If #1, then the info to which Mr. Miller referred would apply BUT
    > take into consideration whether 18 is considered the age of majority.
    > If it is, then you did NOT lose your citizenship by your father's
    > action because you weren't a minor. In that case, it would depend
    > whether you took U.S. citizenship on your own as an adult.

Tom

Andrew,

Is the age of majority 18 , or 21 ?

Also, I read in another posting to the thread that I can have my
citizenship confirmed- do you recommend I do that first ?
( http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/born-e.html )

I am grateful for your help.

"Andrew Miller" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > If your circumstances fit the profile from the announcement then yes on
all
    > 3 questions.
    > --
    > ../..
    > Andrew Miller
    > Immigration Consultant
    > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > email: [email protected]
    > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > ________________________________
    > "tom" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > Mr. Miller,
    > >
    > > Currently I live in the US , and am a US citizen. Is this what I need to
    > do
    > > next ?
    > >
    > > 1. apply for permanent resisence in Canada
    > > 2. live in Canada for 365 days
    > > 3. apply for Canadian citizenship - and ask for leniency ?
    > >
    > > Thanks
    > >
    > >
    > > "Andrew Miller" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Read here:
    > > >
    > > > http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html
    > > >
    > > > --
    > > >
    > > > ../..
    > > >
    > > > Andrew Miller
    > > > Immigration Consultant
    > > > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > > > email: [email protected]
    > > > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > > > ________________________________
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > "tom" wrote in message
    > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > >
    > > > > Hi There,
    > > > >
    > > > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was 18
    > > years
    > > > > old at the time.
    > > > >
    > > > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my
father
    > > > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > > > >
    > > > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a form
I
    > > can
    > > > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other
    > > course
    > > > of
    > > > > action I can take ?
    > > > >
    > > > > Thanks in advance.
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > >
    > >

Andrew Miller

Age of majority at the time your father took US citizenship was 21 years -
you were only 18, thus you lost your citizenship when your father obtained
American one and you should follow the process outlined here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html

The information from link you just mentioned doesn't apply to you.

--

../..

Andrew Miller
Immigration Consultant
Vancouver, British Columbia
email: [email protected]
(delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
________________________________


"tom" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Andrew,
    > Is the age of majority 18 , or 21 ?
    > Also, I read in another posting to the thread that I can have my
    > citizenship confirmed- do you recommend I do that first ?
    > ( http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/born-e.html )
    > I am grateful for your help.
    > "Andrew Miller" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > If your circumstances fit the profile from the announcement then yes on
    > all
    > > 3 questions.
    > >
    > > --
    > >
    > > ../..
    > >
    > > Andrew Miller
    > > Immigration Consultant
    > > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > > email: [email protected]
    > > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > > ________________________________
    > >
    > >
    > > "tom" wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > >
    > > > Mr. Miller,
    > > >
    > > > Currently I live in the US , and am a US citizen. Is this what I need
to
    > > do
    > > > next ?
    > > >
    > > > 1. apply for permanent resisence in Canada
    > > > 2. live in Canada for 365 days
    > > > 3. apply for Canadian citizenship - and ask for leniency ?
    > > >
    > > > Thanks
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > "Andrew Miller" wrote in message
    > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > > Read here:
    > > > >
    > > > > http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/press/03/0318-pre.html
    > > > >
    > > > > --
    > > > >
    > > > > ../..
    > > > >
    > > > > Andrew Miller
    > > > > Immigration Consultant
    > > > > Vancouver, British Columbia
    > > > > email: [email protected]
    > > > > (delete REMOVE from the above address before sending email)
    > > > > ________________________________
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > > "tom" wrote in message
    > > > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > > >
    > > > > > Hi There,
    > > > > >
    > > > > > In june 10,1975 , my Canadian father became an US citizen. I was
18
    > > > years
    > > > > > old at the time.
    > > > > >
    > > > > > Question 1 - did I loose my Canadian citizenship because of my
    > father
    > > > > > becoming a us citizen ?
    > > > > >
    > > > > > Question 2 - If i did loose my Canadian citizenship, is there a
form
    > I
    > > > can
    > > > > > fill out to resume my Canadian citizenship ? Or is there any other
    > > > course
    > > > > of
    > > > > > action I can take ?
    > > > > >
    > > > > > Thanks in advance.
    > > > > >
    > > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > >
    > > >
    > >
    > >

Rich Wales

"tom" wrote:

> I was born in Peru, My father filled out "Canadian citizen
> born abroad" when I was born. Later, we moved to the US.
> . . . So I need to find out what age is considered the
> majority, right?

Short answer: I believe this pretty much settles it; you would
most likely have lost Canadian citizenship when your father became
a US citizen when you were 18. The age of majority under Canada's
old citizenship law was 21, so you were still a "minor child".

Longer answer:

The fact that your father registered you with Canadian consular
officials would mean that you were, in fact, a Canadian citizen
as a child. This also would have meant that you did, in fact,
have Canadian citizenship that could have been lost later on.

I don't know any details about Peru's citizenship laws, but there
is a reasonable likelihood that you also acquired Peruvian citi-
zenship at birth because you were born there. That is, it sounds
like you may very well have had dual (i.e., Canadian and Peruvian)
citizenship as a child. Do you happen to know whether you have
(or ever had) Peruvian citizenship?

Canada's pre-1977 citizenship law -- which, as we've said already,
revoked the Canadian citizenship of a minor child whose responsible
parent (generally meaning the father) lost his Canadian citizenship
-- had a proviso under which this revocation would happen only if
the child had another citizenship (either before the father lost
his Canadian citizenship, or something the child acquired along
with the father). The idea was to prevent making such children
stateless (i.e., without any citizenship).

You didn't say when (or even if) you became a US citizen. But even
if you never did -- or if you did so after your father -- it most
likely would not have made any difference under the old Canadian
law IF you happened to have Peruvian citizenship, because in that
case you would still have met the old law's requirement about having
some other citizenship after losing your Canadian citizenship.

Now, the above might not apply if -- for some reason -- you didn't
acquire Peruvian citizenship at birth (or lost it for some reason
before your father became a US citizen). In that case, you would
still have to determine whether you acquired US citizenship before
(or at the same time as) your father -- and if you didn't, then
you may not have lost your Canadian citizenship after all.

But even if you didn't lose your Canadian citizenship along with
your father, there is one more way under which you could have lost
it -- namely, if you acquired US citizenship on or after your 21st
birthday, but before the current Canadian citizenship law took
effect on 15 Feb. 1977. In this case, you would have lost your
Canadian citizenship on account of your own foreign naturalization
as an adult -- and probably without a straightforward option to get
it back now.

Regarding age: AFAIK, Canada's pre-1977 citizenship law defined a
"minor" as being under 21. So, at 18, you were still a minor, and
your father's loss of Canadian citizenship (as a result of his
naturalization in the US) would have caused you (his minor child)
to lose your Canadian citizenship too. I believe this would also
mean that if you didn't lose your Canadian citizenship along with
your father, and you then became a US citizen after your father
(but before your 21st birthday), you would never have lost your
Canadian citizenship at all, because in Canadian eyes you would
still have been a minor, and foreign naturalization of a minor
child didn't cause loss of Canadian citizenship except in connec-
tion with the actions of the responsible parent (generally meaning
the father; see above).

As I suggested earlier, if the above set of provisions seems like
an unchartable plate of spaghetti, you might do well to gather all
the relevant facts and go find a Canadian immigration lawyer who
is willing to give you a brief initial consultation at little or
no cost.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

David Tew

[email protected] (Rich Wales) wrote in message news:...
    > "tom" wrote:
    >
    > > I was born in Peru, My father filled out "Canadian citizen
    > > born abroad" when I was born. Later, we moved to the US.
    > > . . . So I need to find out what age is considered the
    > > majority, right?
    >
    > Short answer: I believe this pretty much settles it; you would
    > most likely have lost Canadian citizenship when your father became
    > a US citizen when you were 18. The age of majority under Canada's
    > old citizenship law was 21, so you were still a "minor child".

Additional note: if your mother was a Canadian citizen at the time of
your birth, you should still be able to claim Canadian citizenship as
the result of court rulings providing for the equality of women in
matters of citizenship. This would apply whether she did or did not
later take U.S. citizenship.

If, as Rich Wales stated, your father was conscientious and registered
your birth with the Canadian consulate at the time you were born, and
if your mother was not Canadian, you would have lost your Canadian
citizenship at the same time he did.

Petercli

Rich,

So Canada could not have revoked my Canadian citizenship - becuase I would
have been stateless as a result.
So I am still Canadian.
Do you recommend I persue a legal clarification of the matter ?

Thanks,Peter

"Rich Wales" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "tom" wrote:
    > > I was born in Peru, My father filled out "Canadian citizen
    > > born abroad" when I was born. Later, we moved to the US.
    > > . . . So I need to find out what age is considered the
    > > majority, right?
    > Short answer: I believe this pretty much settles it; you would
    > most likely have lost Canadian citizenship when your father became
    > a US citizen when you were 18. The age of majority under Canada's
    > old citizenship law was 21, so you were still a "minor child".
    > Longer answer:
    > The fact that your father registered you with Canadian consular
    > officials would mean that you were, in fact, a Canadian citizen
    > as a child. This also would have meant that you did, in fact,
    > have Canadian citizenship that could have been lost later on.
    > I don't know any details about Peru's citizenship laws, but there
    > is a reasonable likelihood that you also acquired Peruvian citi-
    > zenship at birth because you were born there. That is, it sounds
    > like you may very well have had dual (i.e., Canadian and Peruvian)
    > citizenship as a child. Do you happen to know whether you have
    > (or ever had) Peruvian citizenship?
    > Canada's pre-1977 citizenship law -- which, as we've said already,
    > revoked the Canadian citizenship of a minor child whose responsible
    > parent (generally meaning the father) lost his Canadian citizenship
    > -- had a proviso under which this revocation would happen only if
    > the child had another citizenship (either before the father lost
    > his Canadian citizenship, or something the child acquired along
    > with the father). The idea was to prevent making such children
    > stateless (i.e., without any citizenship).
    > You didn't say when (or even if) you became a US citizen. But even
    > if you never did -- or if you did so after your father -- it most
    > likely would not have made any difference under the old Canadian
    > law IF you happened to have Peruvian citizenship, because in that
    > case you would still have met the old law's requirement about having
    > some other citizenship after losing your Canadian citizenship.
    > Now, the above might not apply if -- for some reason -- you didn't
    > acquire Peruvian citizenship at birth (or lost it for some reason
    > before your father became a US citizen). In that case, you would
    > still have to determine whether you acquired US citizenship before
    > (or at the same time as) your father -- and if you didn't, then
    > you may not have lost your Canadian citizenship after all.
    > But even if you didn't lose your Canadian citizenship along with
    > your father, there is one more way under which you could have lost
    > it -- namely, if you acquired US citizenship on or after your 21st
    > birthday, but before the current Canadian citizenship law took
    > effect on 15 Feb. 1977. In this case, you would have lost your
    > Canadian citizenship on account of your own foreign naturalization
    > as an adult -- and probably without a straightforward option to get
    > it back now.
    > Regarding age: AFAIK, Canada's pre-1977 citizenship law defined a
    > "minor" as being under 21. So, at 18, you were still a minor, and
    > your father's loss of Canadian citizenship (as a result of his
    > naturalization in the US) would have caused you (his minor child)
    > to lose your Canadian citizenship too. I believe this would also
    > mean that if you didn't lose your Canadian citizenship along with
    > your father, and you then became a US citizen after your father
    > (but before your 21st birthday), you would never have lost your
    > Canadian citizenship at all, because in Canadian eyes you would
    > still have been a minor, and foreign naturalization of a minor
    > child didn't cause loss of Canadian citizenship except in connec-
    > tion with the actions of the responsible parent (generally meaning
    > the father; see above).
    > As I suggested earlier, if the above set of provisions seems like
    > an unchartable plate of spaghetti, you might do well to gather all
    > the relevant facts and go find a Canadian immigration lawyer who
    > is willing to give you a brief initial consultation at little or
    > no cost.
    > Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
    > *NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
    > *DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
    > or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
    > are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Rich Wales

"petercli" wrote:

> So Canada could not have revoked my Canadian citizenship
> - because I would have been stateless as a result. So I
> am still Canadian.

I'm not sure who "petercli" is; I couldn't find any earlier postings
under this name, either in this thread or any other. Are you "tom",
posting under a different name? You seem to be posting from the
same ISP as "tom", so I suppose this is conceivable (though by no
means proven).

Anyway . . . . If you are "tom" using a different address, then I
guess some relevant followup questions at this point would be:

(1) Did you acquire Peruvian citizenship -- at birth, or at any
other time? If not, are you certain that you really didn't?
Or did you and your family simply never investigate the possi-
bility that you might have had Peruvian citizenship? Please
realize that the mere fact that you were registered with
Canadian officials as a child would =not= necessarily have
prevented you from having Peruvian citizenship too -- i.e.,
you might have had dual (Canadian/Peruvian) citizenship, even
if you and your parents never realized this fact.

(2) If you did acquire Peruvian citizenship at birth or in child-
hood, did you explicitly lose it at any time as far as you're
aware? That is, were you ever told by Peruvian officials that
they no longer considered you to be one of their citizens?
Again, don't simply assume that you must obviously have lost
your Peruvian citizenship (acquired at birth) when your father
had you registered with Canadian officials as a Canadian born
abroad; citizenship laws usually don't work that way.

(3) Did you ever become a US citizen? If so, what was the date,
and how old were you at the time? As I explained previously,
it would matter (as far as Canadian law was concerned) if your
US naturalization happened before, simultaneously with, or
after your father's US naturalization -- as well as whether
it was before 15 February 1977 or not -- and also whether you
had reached your 21st birthday yet (the age of majority under
the pre-1977 Canadian citizenship law -- though it would appear
from your first posting that you didn't become 21 until after
Canada's current citizenship law took effect).

(4) What about your mother? What citizenship(s) did she have when
you were born? As David Tew pointed out, if your mother was a
Canadian citizen at the time of your birth, you should be able
to claim Canadian citizenship through her (without having to
apply to immigrate to Canada first), no matter what might have
become of your status as a result of your father's story.

If you aren't "tom", then the specifics of some of the above
questions obviously won't apply to you. Tell us about you, if you
would -- where and when you were born, what citizenship(s) your
parents had, what citizenship(s) you are aware of having had as
a child, etc., etc.

> Do you recommend I pursue a legal clarification of the
> matter?

I'm sure that wouldn't hurt in any case -- though if you have the
necessary documents to prove all the relevant dates, places, and
citizenships, it might not be necessary to get a lawyer involved.
Many dealings with Citizenship and Immigration Canada can be made
on one's own, without a lawyer. But if your situation seems iffy,
an experienced Canadian immigration lawyer couldn't hurt and might
possibly help.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.