kammy88

Hi there everyone. Firstly must say that this is a VERY informative forum and thanks for the FAQs about filling out the forms. Anyway, I have a question concerning my children. My wife is a Canadian citizen and my children were born before 2009 and I have been told that they are Canadian citizens but they must still apply for their citizen certificate. I have filled in form IMM 0001 but does anyone know if there is a way to speed up the processing time? I read somewhere that you can ask for faster processing if your children are unable to attend school in Canada. Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my post!

Kam

MarylandNed

Can't answer your question properly without more info.

Where are you living now?

If you are outside Canada, how are you moving the kids to Canada if they don't have proof of Canadian citizenship? Since they don't have Canadian citizenship certs, I assume they also don't have Canadian passports.

If you are in Canada, under what status were the kids admitted?

The kids don't need study permits since they are Canadian citizens but it sounds like you can't prove that. They also don't need study permits because their mother (as a Canadian citizen) has the right to work or study in Canada. Hopefully you have long form birth certs for the kids that include full details of the mother but I'm not sure if those alone will satisfy the school.
Details here: Find out if your child needs a study permit

kammy88

Hi MarylandNed

Thanks for your reply. We are living in the UK, Manchester to be precise. I have sent in my application for PR status and I have read that I can stay in Canada while my application is in progress. We do have the long birth certificate but what else can I prove that the children has a Canadian mother. Does anyone on this forum had this problem?

Surely the long birth certificate is enough to prove that the child is Canadian by descent. What if I include the letter or email that the application for the Canadian Citizen Certificate is in progress. Thanks for reading and any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Kam

Former Lancastrian

You can always follow this link to apply and get a Canadian citizenship certificate
Get proof of citizenship (adults and minors)

Novocastrian

<mutters "must be nice to newbies">

Even thick ones?

MarylandNed

This will work if he has time to receive them before leaving for Canada. It takes about 5 months inside Canada but he'd be applying outside Canada and would have to add 3-4 months.

Processing Times: Citizenship Certificate (Proof of Citizenship)

If this timeline doesn't work, then I would contact the Canadian High Commission in London and ask for advice. There is an emergency passport that might be the answer for the kids.

The new canadian temporary passport - Passport Canada

MarylandNed

Just curious as to what you would do if the mother presented you with her Canadian passport while the kids had UK passports and UK birth certs that proved she was their mother?

Former Lancastrian

If I wasn't 100% sure that the kids are Canadian citizens (onus on them) then I would issue a visitor record until they could show proof of Canadian citizenship.
Determining Canadian citizenship.

The following documents are acceptable proof of Canadian citizenship:
 Canadian passport;
 Certificate of Canadian Citizenship (both large and pocket or wallet size; the smaller form now exists in two versions: one with a 44mm x 57mm (1 3⁄4” x 2 1⁄4”) photograph, and the other with a 35mm X 53mm (1 3/8" X 2 1/16") photograph);
 Canadian Emergency Passport (a BSO at PIL will automatically refer for secondary examination a person in possession of a Canadian Emergency Passport. Once they have verified the person's identity, the BSO at Immigration Secondary retains the passport and forwards it to the Passport Office, Foreign Affairs Canada, Ottawa);
 Certificate of Naturalization;
 Certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad; and
 Certificate of Retention of Canadian Citizenship.
A Canadian provincial birth certificate is a good indicator of Canadian citizenship, but does not contain a photograph. The BSO must therefore be satisfied that the person is the rightful holder.

MarylandNed

So it seems that if they made it that far (getting past the airline check-in desk in the UK with possibly a one way ticket to Canada), the kids could be admitted as visitors and then apply for citizenship certs from within Canada. Obviously it would be preferable for them to have a Canadian passport (full or emergency) or a Canadian citizenship cert, but the above scenario seems doable if needed.

Former Lancastrian

We are not totally heartless bastards

MarylandNed

Right...not totally...