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In a press release issued Thursday, Canada\u2019s minister of Citizenship and Immigration the Honourable Diane Finley addressed concerns that some Canadians have discovered that their citizenship has expired according to a little known provision in the Citizenship Act.<\/p>\n
The provision applies to Canadian citizens who were born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent also born outside of Canada. These individuals must take steps to apply to retain Canadian citizenship before their 28th birthday. While the regulation is found in the 1977 Citizenship Act, it did not take effect until February 2005 – when the first group of effected Canadians reached their 28th birthdays. Beginning January 1, 2007, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) began stamping expiration dates on citizenship certificates for people subject to retention, with the aim of reminding individuals to take the necessary steps.<\/p>\n
Many of the cases of lapsed citizenships have emerged in communities along the border with the United States. It is common for Canadian children in some of these border towns to be born in a U.S. hospital because it is closer than the nearest hospital on Canadian soil. In these cases, individuals may have lived their whole lives in Canada only to discover when applying for a passport that their citizenship has expired.<\/p>\n
Minister Finley has promised to take quick action to resolve the cases of lost citizenships. While no exact number of effected individuals is available, most estimates place the number in the low thousands. CIC has redeployed personnel to make the issue a priority, and Minister Finley has assured “that while cases of lost citizenship are being reviewed, there will be no interruption to individuals in government benefits such as health-care coverage or old age pension and these individuals can rest assured that they can remain in Canada.”<\/p>\n
One avenue that may be employed for resolution is the use of a provision of the Citizenship Act that allows for special grants of citizenship by order of cabinet. This section may be employed “to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.” According to a spokesperson for CIC, the department hopes to have outstanding cases resolved within eight months.<\/p>\n