My mother was born in PEI, Canada to Canadian parents in 1910 and she
(only) migrated to the U.S. in the early 1940's. My mother received
U.S. citizenship through naturalization with her papers dated
effective 1944. I, her son, am a male born in the U.S. in October of
1946; two years after my mother became a U.S. citizen. My father was
(deceased) a U.S. citizen, having been born in Philadelphia, PA in
1912. My mother never renounced her Canadian citizenship in the
process but also never requested dual citizenship for Canada and the
U.S. My question is, am I as her 58 year old son eligible to become a
Canadian citizen and obtain dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada? I
and my 94 year old mother reside in Florida year round and are both
retired.

Hi snapperjk,

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid too much time
has passed for you to claim your Canadian Citizenship. Even if you had
been born in 1947, the deadline passed by this summer.

Some face Aug. 14 deadline to claim Canadian citizenship
"OTTAWA - Individuals born outside Canada to a Canadian parent between
1947 and 1977 will not be able to claim Canadian citizenship after
Aug. 14, 2004.
The country's Citizenship Act put a time limit on how long certain
people could take to apply for Canadian citizenship. "
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/08/13/canada/citizenship_canada040813

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
"In order to retain Canadian citizenship, some citizens born outside
Canada to a parent who was a Canadian citizen at the time of their
birth are required to make an application and meet certain
requirements before turning 28 years of age. This is called retention
of Canadian citizenship and it applies to natural-born children of
Canadian citizens, not adopted children."
Note:
"Between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977 (inclusive), children
born outside Canada to a Canadian parent had to be registered with the
Registrar of Canadian Citizenship in order for them to be considered
Canadian citizens. Children had to meet certain criteria and had to be
registered within two years of their birth. To determine if you or
your children are subject to section 8 of the Citizenship Act, you
must know your date of Registration of Birth Abroad or your parent?s
Registration of Birth Abroad. To verify this information, contact the
Call Centre or Mission to get an 'Application for a Search of
Citizenship Records'."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/retention-worksheet.html

As it stands now:

For a Person Born Outside Canada after February 14, 1977:
You are a Canadian citizen if you were born outside Canada and:
* you were born after February 14, 1977; and
* you had a parent who was Canadian at the time of your birth.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/bornout-info.html

Additional Links of Interest:

"Visas are not required for U.S. tourists entering Canada from the
U.S. for stays up to 180 days."
http://www.aaa-mountainwest.com/borders.htm

"Americans who own vacation property in Ontario must maintain a
permanent residence in the United States and stay in Canada only for
up to six months at a time."
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/cott26_20000826.htm

So, there you have it.  If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer and I'll be
happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used:

born in the U.S. mother canadian 
born in the U.S. mother canadian 1946

---

Request for Answer Clarification by snapperjk-ga on 21 Oct 2004 19:46 PDT

Thank you. The article you referenced says 'The deadline affects those
born outside Canada after Dec. 31, 1946, and before Feb. 15, 1977'. I
was born before Dec. 31, 1946, my date of birth being Oct. 26, 1946.
Referring to the dates in the article, I was born outside of either
end of the article dates. So, what of persons born Dec. 31, 1946 and
before? Also, As I stated, my mother was naturalized U.S. in 1944, two
years before my birth. Is she still considered Canadian citizen after
her naturalization and to this day.
Thank you.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 21 Oct 2004 20:19 PDT

Hi snapperjk,

Thank you for your clarification. The Canadian Citizenship Act came
into effect January 1, 1947, before that Canadians were British
subjects and that is why the cut-off date is 1947.

In regards to your Mom, if she did not apply for a certificate of
citizenship within six years of leaving Canada, then I'm afraid she
lost her chance for Canadian citizenship.

"Naturalized Canadians will lose their citizenship if they stay out of
Canada for a period of six years or more. Canadian citizenship can be
retained in such cases only by an official endorsement on a passport
or certificate of citizenship."
http://www.theshipslist.com/Forms/citizenship.htm

CBC Radio Archives:  Broadcast Jan. 1, 1947: Audio file
Canadians officially become Canadian citizens
"Until 1947, Canada was a nation without citizens. "Canadians" were
simply British subjects living in Canada. It was an embarrassment for
a country that emerged from the Second World War with a strong sense
of nationhood. On Jan. 1, 1947, the Canadian Citizenship Act came into
effect and Canadians finally became "Canadian citizens." On this 1947
New Year's Day CBC Radio broadcast, Maclean's magazine editor Blair
Fraser tells a nation of new citizens what it all means."
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-423-2428-20/that_was_then/politics_economy/canadian_citizenship

The Canadian Citizenship Act:
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/c-29/33112.html

Please let me know if something is still unclear - it's important to
me that you are completely satisfied with your answer and there is no
limit to the number of clarifications you can post.

Regards,
hummer

---

Request for Answer Clarification by snapperjk-ga on 22 Oct 2004 19:59 PDT

hummer, thanks again.. but I still am not clear. First, I did go to
the 'Ships List' link and the naturalization item number 9 does not
apply to my mother since she was born in Canada in 1910 and resided
there until the early 1940's. She married a U.S. citizen on May 1,
1943 in the U.S. Then, she became a U.S. citizen in 1944 through
naturalization papers. So, the naturalization was in the U.S. not
Canada.
Item 7 reads as:
7.   The Act recognizes the right of women to decide their own
nationality. Previously women have been classed as persons under
disability and automatically assumed the nationality of their
husbands. A Canadian woman who marries a man of any other nationality
may retain Canadian citizenship if she so wishes.
The 2nd sentence of the above item 7 seems to be the key here. I
interpret it to mean that before the act of Jan. 1, 1947 came into
effect, my mother in 1943 marries my father, a U.S. citizen and then
becomes a 'person under disibility and automatically assumes the
nationality of their husband's, which would be U.S. in her case.
What is not clear though, if she 'automatically assumes my father's
nationality' (according to Canadian/British law) in 1943, (before the
act of 1947), what happens to her status as a 'British Subject living
in Canada' on the 1943 date of marriage? Did Canadian/British law
'strip' her on her May 1, 1943 marriage date of her 'Canadian/British
citizenship'; having been left with no citizenship of either Canada or
Britain and hence becoming a 'pure' citizen of the U.S.?
Jack

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 23 Oct 2004 06:31 PDT

Dear Jack,

Thank you for being so patient with this, as you know, questions of
citizenship are rarely cut and dry and that is why posting
clarifications and communicating is so important.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada:
"If you were a British subject who lived in Canada for 20 years
immediately before 1947, you must send:
- a birth certificate (issued by authorities in the country where you were born)
- two (2) pieces of personal identification, such as a driver?s
licence and a health insurance card
- for women only: details of your husband?s nationality at the time of
your marriage
- other documents, such as marriage certificate and or legal name
change certificate (if applicable) "
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/guides/CIT0006E3.html

Your mother left in 1943 - did she live in Canada "immediately before 1947"? 

"If you are a woman, Canadian-born or a British subject, who lost her
British subject status by marriage before 1947, you must send:
- your birth certificate (issued by authorities in the country of your
marriage certificate
- proof of your husband?s foreign nationality at time of marriage
- two (2) pieces of personal identification, such as a driver?s
licence, and a health insurance card
- other documents, such as legal name change certificate (if applicable) "
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/guides/CIT0006E3.html

Did she lose her British subject status when she married your American father?  

"If you were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent before January
1, 1947, you must send:
- a birth certificate which lists your parents (issued by responsible
government authorities in the country where you were born)
- proof that your natural father (or your natural mother, if your
parents were not married before your birth) was a Canadian citizen
when you were born, i.e. your parents? Canadian birth certificate or
Canadian citizenship certificate
- your parents? marriage certificate
- two (2) pieces of personal identification, such as a driver?s
licence and a health insurance card
- other documents, such as your marriage certificate and/or legal name
change certificate (if applicable) "
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/guides/CIT0006E3.html

Given that your parents were married when you were born, is it
possible to use your mother's Canadian birth certificate?

Those questions, and I'm sure others, need to be addressed to the
proper authorities and I agree with gfmaster that you should visit a
Canadian Consulate in Florida. When you do, I would print out the
Citizenship and Immigration Canada link that I just provided and take
it with you. Also have with you the documents mentioned above (birth
and marriage certificates, i.d. cards, etc).

Please accept my apologies for misunderstanding your question and not
giving you links to the proper sources from the beginning. However, I
think we've finally managed to nail it down with the link I've
provided in this clarification. I'm sorry it still doesn't give you a
clear-cut answer, but I think it will be a great help when you visit
the consulate.

Again, thank you for your patience with me, I appreciate it.  8-)

Sincerely,
hummer

hummer,Thanks. You have put a great effort forth in getting much more
info then I could on my own. It was a difficult question and one that
was open to many different interpertations and I had gone into this
with knowledge that I would eventually have to contact the Canadian
government. Now, I am much better prepared. (gfmaster, thanks for your
assistance, also. Your comment was very helpful with my own research.)

Snapperjk,
The answer provided is unsound.

Your question should be directed to the appropriate Canadian
authorities. For Florida see here:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/world/embassies/mission-en.asp?MID=359

It should be clearly understood (as you were born prior to 1st January
1947) that different rules apply to your situation (than those noted
in the response) and that you can apply for Canadian citizenship (thus
having dual citizenship of the U.S. & Canada).

Kind regards,
gfmaster

gfmaster & hummer;
After going to the link provided by gfmaster and then to additional
links within that link, I was able to determine that because my mother
was born before 1932 and married before 1947 she was considered a
'disabiled' British subject. The affect of her 1944 U.S.
naturalization was that Canada did not recognize any decision she made
as legal, so she still was recognized in Oct. of 1946, the date of my
birth, as a British subject. My mother can write a simple request to
get her Canadian citizenship with proof of birth in Canada.
That's the good news! The bad news is I cannot get Canadian
citizenship because my mother being married at the time of my birth
did not carry the 'right of drevitive' which would allow me to claim
Canadian citizenship. Had my father been born in Canada and my mother
born in the U.S., I could claim Canadian citizenship. Remember, until
Jan. 1, 1947, my married mother was considered by British law as
'disabled' !!
So, hummer, was not applicable to me since it applied to those born
Jan. 1, 1947 and after. I was born in 1946 and am governed by the
previous acts of 18?? and 1932.
Thank you.

Dear Jack,

Thank you for your kind note, nice rating, and unexpected tip - I
really appreciate them all.  I'm glad that we were finally able to
sort things out enough to help you move through the citizenship maze.
If you think of me, I would be happy if you could drop me a note to
let me know how it all turns out.

Sincerely,
hummer, class of '64 also (or did you have to wait an extra year to start school?)