MarylandNed

Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are saying. "Registration of Canadians Abroad" is a free service that has nothing to do with applying for a Canadian citizenship cert. You're correct that the OP would contact the Canadian High Commission to initiate the citizenship cert application but that is not the same thing as "registering" with the High Commission. Unless you're using the word "registering" to mean something else.

williamceri

There was another bill passed last year - Bill C-24 Strengthening of Citizenship - you might like to check out. Not sure if it supersedes the previous Bill, but worth a look.

BritInParis

Crossed wires. I meant registering in the sense of applying for proof of Canadian citizenship rather than registering in the sense of providing your details to consular services in case of an emergency.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/immig.../#post11623091

FlyingDutchman6666

And that currently takes 9 months, if you're lucky. These kinds of processing times seem to be a common Canadian ailment

BritInParis

That is definitely an issue. My little cousin's application took nearly two years and by the time they made a decision the law had changed and he was no longer eligible. British expats get annoyed when the child's first passport takes more than two weeks to arrive. The mind boggles at how Canadian parents are expected to cope if the wait time is 12-18 months.

MarylandNed

If the child is a Canadian citizen born abroad, the parents can submit a Canadian passport application along with the application for a Canadian citizenship cert. The passport will be limited to 2 years validity by which time the Canadian citizenship cert should have been received.

Passports for new-born children

Although not an ideal situation, this is better than having to wait for the citizenship cert. I agree that processing times for Canadian citizenship certs are totally unacceptable.

BritInParis

I presumed there must be such an arrangement but it's interesting to note that information is not available on the London website.

Jaysuper

Sorry that I am bumping this query. I am a permanent resident of Canada, and my son is also a PR, but he is moving to study in the UK after staying in Canada as a Permanent Resident for 2 years. He would be 20 when I am qualify to apply for the Canadian citizenship. Would he automatically be eligible to have Canadian Citizenship at the age of 20 years, even though he is studying abroad?Just can't find anything on the CIC website. Thanks

christmasoompa

No, he'll need to qualify independently, your eligibility for citizenship has no bearing on his.

Do also bear in mind that he needs to spend 730 days out of every 5 years since landing in Canada, so he'll need to be very careful to ensure he doesn't lose his PR status.

HTH.

Jaysuper

Thanks for that. But he would have already spent 730 in Canada before leaving for the UK and he would return every summer, and with us being naturalized, would we not be able to have him as a dependent with him being in full time education?

Former Lancastrian

To obtain citizenship he would have to have the time in as set out by the new rules
Time you have lived in Canada
You must have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 1,460 days during the six years immediately before the date of your application. You must also be physically present for at least 183 days during each of four calendar years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date of application. These requirements do not apply to children under 18.

Exceptions to these requirements apply for certain Crown servants and certain family members of Crown servants.

When calculating time you have lived in Canada, you can only count time spent after you became a permanent resident of Canada.

christmasoompa

OK, so his PR status should be ok, but remember that it's *every* five years, not just the first five years.

And the dependent status is only for PR applications, which doesn't apply to you as she's already got PR. There is no dependency for citizenship, each individual needs to qualify on their own merits.

HTH.

Irri

Not sure if this is much help, but...

My mother was born in Canada (her parents were British). They moved back to the UK when she was still young. She has dual citizenship.

The rules change from time to time, but in 2010 I applied for citizenship and received it. It took about 6 months to process.

I just walked into the Canadian embassy in London and talked to them about it.

MarylandNed

I'm guessing that you didn't apply for Canadian citizenship. I suspect that you were already a Canadian citizen (at birth; by descent through your mother) and that what you actually applied for was proof of your existing Canadian citizenship (i.e. a Canadian citizenship certificate).

Applying for proof of Canadian citizenship (by definition, you are already a Canadian citizen at the time of the application) is NOT the same thing as applying for Canadian citizenship (by definition, you are NOT a Canadian citizen at the time of the application).