We are permanent residents and are expecting our 1st child in October, 2011. We have no intention of applying for Canadian citizenship for ourselves and would like to retain Indian citizenship for the to be born child as well.
1) Is it mandatory that we have to apply for Canadian citizenship for the child or can we apply for Indian citizenship and then apply for PR for the child?
2) Will CIC refuse to give PR status to the child for the reason that he/she was born here and is a Canadian citizen by birth?
Your valuable inputs are most welcome. Thanx.
Quote:
Originally posted by Rian
We are permanent residents and are expecting our 1st child in October, 2011. We have no intention of applying for Canadian citizenship for ourselves and would like to retain Indian citizenship for the to be born child as well.
1) Is it mandatory that we have to apply for Canadian citizenship for the child or can we apply for Indian citizenship and then apply for PR for the child?
2) Will CIC refuse to give PR status to the child for the reason that he/she was born here and is a Canadian citizen by birth?
Your valuable inputs are most welcome. Thanx.
Your child will automatically (by birth) become canadian citizen if born in Canada. The child will not be PR.
For child, you need to take OCI.
If you want the child to have Indian citizenship then you should do the delivery in India otherwise if the child is born here it automatically becomes Canadian.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You know you are a desi when ........ You spew forth the virtues of India, but don't want to live there...............You've never had a tanning salon membership
Birth has to be registered with indian consulate within one year. Do not apply for cdn passport. see mha.nic.in under citizenship or contact indian consulate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Give free food http://www.thehungersite.com ||
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posted on: 05-03-11 15:02:27
Quote:
Originally posted by Desi # 1
For child, you need to take OCI.
The child is not eligible for OCI unless one of the parents is. In this case, they are Indian citizens, hence the child is ineligible.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dimple2001
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posted on: 05-03-11 15:04:22
Quote:
Originally posted by rajcanada
Birth has to be registered with indian consulate within one year. Do not apply for cdn passport. see mha.nic.in under citizenship or contact indian consulate.
But what happens to cdn citizenship by birth? If the child seeks Indian citizenship, then there must be authorization for stay in Canada (visa, PR status) which will be denied due to Cdn citizenship. Kind of a vicious circle? No?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dimple2001
Assuming you are not an Indian diplomat, the delivery will have to be done either in India, or in a country where there is no provision for birthright citizenship (most European countries no longer offer birthright citizenship, for example). You are an Indian citizen by birth only if you are born to at least one Indian parent in India, or to at least one Indian parent in a country that does not consider you a citizen of theirs by birth. If your child is born in Canada, Canada will not recognize your child's lack of Canadian citizenship, even if you apply to register your child's Indian citizenship at the nearest Indian consulate, and I am not sure the consulate will even let you do this. The only way to renounce Canadian citizenship by birth is to do it in front of a Canadian citizenship judge if such renunciation will not leave you stateless, and your child as a minor may not be able to do this (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/renounce-eligibility.asp).
You may want to think about whether maintaining your child's Indian citizenship is necessary. Your child will be eligible for a Person of Indian Origin card immediately, and will be eligible for OCI after one or both of you lose Indian citizenship. He/she will be able to live and work in India indefinitely, and even apply for Indian citizenship after living there continuously for a few years.
Perhaps unfortunately, there are some advantages that your child will have if he/she is not born in India. A lot of countries determine immigration quotas by country of birth (USA, for example), not country of citizenship. These are useful things to keep in mind.
The whole concept of citizenship by birth is a bit artificial and silly, in the sense that it's entirely luck that determines what rights you have, where you can live and work, and what countries you can travel to just by virtue of being born in a certain place on the planet. However, it is the system we've got, and we might as well maximize the benefits our children will have.
It is entirely possible to be an Indian citizen and not maintain Indian heritage or \"Indian-ness.\" Citizenship and identity/culture/heritage do not have to be linked.
Sorry about the preachy part at the end. Hope you found this useful.
