Question:
I have a question from one of my
relative. He bacame a naturalized
Canadian citizen in 1973. He left
Canada in 1975 and became US PR.
He became US citizen in 1979 and
in US since 1975. Is it possible
for him to regain Canadian citizenship?
Answer:
In all probability, he has not lost
it, unless he specifically revoked
it in front of an officer of Canada
authorized to take the renunciation.
The way to be sure is to apply for
a Canadian Passport. My understanding
is that prior to 1977 you could
not have dual nationality, and becoming
a citizen of another country caused
you to potentially lose your Canadian
citizenship. After 1977 dual nationality
was allowed and so becoming a US
citizen in 1979 should not affect
the Canadian citizenship.
I am not
an expert, but had cause to discuss
a very similar thing with the consular
section of the CHC in UK since my
partners mother became a UK citizen
in 1979 (she was born in Canada
and previously had a Canadian passport).
The CHC was happy to renew her passport
given this background - thus confirming
that there was no impact to her
citizenship.
I suggest
your relative gets/renews their
passport - this will crystalise
everything very quickly. Check with
a competent citizenship lawyer.
It is entirely possible (and from
what immigration tells me, entirely
PROBABLE) that the person would
no longer be considered a Canadian
citizen. The way to be sure is to
apply for a Canadian Passport. I
wouldn't waste the money until I
knew I was going to get one. Anyway,
it really doesn't matter. Canadian
citizenship is almost a detriment
in Canada. You are no more likely
to obtain employment than a landed
immigrant. The only possible exception
I believe is as a military officer,
or _possibly_ in the RCMP. Otherwise,
all other jobs, by law , must be
open to both citizens and permanent
residents. Even voting, which is
supposed to be a right open only
to Canadians, is laughably not so.
A good friend
of mine voted without a problem
in the last federal election. He
is a UK citizen and landed immigrant.
He was not asked for proof of citizenship.
Your relative almost certainly is
still a Canadian citizen. Under
the Citizenship Act (which came
into force in Canada in 1977 and
was in effect when your relative
became a US citizen in 1979), the
acquisition of a foreign (e.g.,
US) citizenship does =NOT= result
in loss of Canadian citizenship.
Unless your relative went out of
his way to file a formal renunciation
of Canadian citizenship with Canadian
consular officials, he is still
a Canadian citizen.
The US naturalization
contains (and contained in 1979)
a blanket renunciatory statement
by which the new citizen disavowed
all prior allegiances. However,
this statement has absolutely no
legal force under post-1977 Canadian
law. Further, under current US law
and State Dept. policy, it's pretty
certain that your relative could
reassert his Canadian citizenship
at this point without jeopardizing
his US citizenship in any way. Rich
Wales r...@webcom.com http://www.webcom.com/richw/dualcit/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada
and the US and have dual citizenship.
