New rules seriously impact Children of Canadian Expats

[canexpat]

For those that haven't heard- a new law coming into effect April 17th will mean that kids born abroad to Canadians who themselves were born outside of Canada will no longer be elligible for Canadian citizenship.

Go to the Canadian Expat Association page or
the Expat Expert blog-

Sorry, I'm not able to post linkable URL's yet.

[Steven]

That's not accurate.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenshi ... enship.asp

The new law extends citizenship to certain limited categories of people (who are no longer subject to the "retention" rule), it doesn't remove anything. In most cases the retention rule still works the same way.

[canexpat]

That's not accurate.

Yes it is accurate: "This means that children born in another country after the new law comes into effect will not be Canadian citizens by birth if they were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent." from your link.

This is not the case currently as any Canadian citizen, even 2nd generation born abroad, can pass on cititizenship.

[Steven]

But they wouldn't be anyway unless they complied with the retention rule, they're removing the retention rule for that category of people (people born after 1977) is how it reads to me. You have to move to Canada now for a year to retain it, so it's not that big of a deal because you would have to have been a Canadian who never lived in Canada for your children to be affected by it, if I'm reading all the blurb correctly (and I may not be, I admit).

[Reba]

But really, why should anyone two generations removed be eligible for citizenship anyhow?

[canexpat]

Reba... Both of my children were born in Japan but we promptly moved back to Canada. They both go to school and will probably end up working here. However, given the international flavour of their parents (their mom is Japanese) and the fact that they are bilingual, the likelihood of them going back to Japan even temporarily is highly likely. As far as I or anyone else is concerned, my children are as Canadian as I am. Hovewever, if either of them (or both) find someone special in Japan (or anywhere else in the world outside of Canada) and end up having a child, they will not be able to pass on Canadian Citizenship. Even if they intend on moving back to Canada to raise their family.

Why are we denying them the same rights (or their children) as me?

[Reba]

I don't think its any different than any other country's citizenship laws.

I'll just leave it there shall I, and agree to disagree.

[Steven]

Why are we denying them the same rights (or their children) as me?

They're not, their children would be entitled to Canadian citizenship because one of their parents lived in Canada. Where you were born isn't the main criteria, it's how long they spent in Canada that is, if I'm understanding it correctly. If you as a Canadian citizen have children abroad and they basically NEVER live in Canada (or less than a year), their children won't be entitled to Canadian citizenship, which sounds perfectly sensible to me.

At this moment in time if your child is in Canada then their children will be entitled to Canadian citizenship, regardless of where your child was born or where their children are born, is how it reads to me.