Ottawa directs some with ‘Lost Canadian’ citizenship to surrender documents
IRCC says recipients can provide more records to keep their citizenship certificates while officials review whether original proof was missing.
- On Saturday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began ordering individuals who obtained citizenship under 'Lost Canadians' legislation to surrender their certificates during an investigation into missing original documentation.
- Bill C-3 replaced a Stephen Harper-era law limiting citizenship transmission to the first generation born abroad after an Ontario Superior Court judge deemed the previous restriction unconstitutional in December 2023.
- IRCC requires original vital statistics documentation to prove lineage, yet applicants struggle to locate these records, forcing many to search through baptismal records, census data, and Ancestry to substantiate their citizenship claims.
- Immigration lawyer Amandeep Hayer estimates at least a couple hundred people have received these letters, while Maureen Silcoff, an immigration lawyer with 38 years experience, said the revocations leave recipients in legal limbo.
- Recipients can submit additional documentary evidence to resolve the investigation, though the Canadian Press has not yet received a response from Immigration Minister Lena Diab's office regarding the revocations.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Why is the Canadian government demanding the return of documents from those who have already received them? The Canadian government abruptly suspended thousands of citizenship certificates issued late last year under the "Lost Canadians" Act. Now, holders are being ordered to urgently return the documents for further verification. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing CBC News. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began sendin…
Canada pulls citizenship from new ancestral applicants
The Canadian government revoked citizenship for many recent applicants encouraged by a weakened ancestry rule, after many were accepted despite insufficient documentation. Canada has long held that citizenship by descent only extends to the first generation, those born abroad to Canadian parents. People born to second-generation Canadians were traditionally excluded, but a recent amendment to the country’s Citizenship Act broadened citizenship-b…
Winnipeg Free Press
'Lost Canadians' told to surrender citizenship certificates are searching for answers
OTTAWA - People who received citizenship certificates through Canada's citizenship by descent law are scrambling for answers after an unknown number of them suddenly received requests from the federal government to surrender their certificates over the weekend.
Ottawa ordered the return of many certificates that had been granted to persons by virtue of their filiation to a Canadian ancestor.
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