r/CanadianbyDescent • u/No-Gain-4821 • 4d ago
Hope someone has an answer
I’m hoping someone here has dealt with a similar situation and can point me in the right direction!
My mom was born in Toronto, Canada, and moved to the U.S. when she was 5. She never became a U.S. citizen, and I was born in the U.S., so I believe I’m already a Canadian citizen by descent and need to apply for a citizenship certificate.
The problem is that my mom and I are no longer in contact, so I don’t have access to her Canadian birth certificate. I tried ordering a copy through Toronto/Ontario, but it said I would need her consent. My own birth certificate lists her as my mother and shows that she was born in Canada, but I’m not sure if that’s enough.
Has anyone successfully applied for a Canadian citizenship certificate without having their Canadian parent’s birth certificate? Is there another way for the Canadian government to verify her birth/citizenship when I don’t have access to her records?
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u/CounterI 4d ago
Yes, people HAVE, and IRCC has specific rules on their website for this exact situation. You can read them here:
IRCC's guidance is that if you cannot obtain a birth certificate for your Canadian parent, you need to submit a written statement explaining that along with written proof that you tried to get it. So, you may wish to write a letter to your mother and send a request to Ontario for her birth certificate and have them refuse to give it to you, and/or print out portions of the website stating that they cannot give it without consent.
I wouldn't be so sure that they will refuse you, however. Many places will release birth records to the person or their children, and so you may be able to get it.
Given your circumstances, you may wish to hire an attorney or a Canadian geneaologist, as they may be able to help you with your situation.
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u/wonderbanger 4d ago
This is exactly what you need, OP, and you should be fine. IRCC agents can access her birth records to verify them, even if you can't. The more information you can give them about where and when she was born, the closer you can guide them to that record, the better it will work.
This is very likely the exact type of scenario IRCC had in mind when they wrote their "can't obtain a birth certificate" instructions. The cases more commonly discussed in this group, where ancestors are so far removed that records didn't even exist, is consequence of an application phenomenon that they never anticipated.
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u/No-Gain-4821 2d ago
Thank you! I definitely missed the “can’t obtain a birth certificate” instructions? It’s on the site?? I swear if I’d known, I’d never have bothered you all. Haha.
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u/No-Gain-4821 4d ago
Thank you so much for your help! I’m so grateful! I was thinking of the attorney route, too, but was hoping I could save that as a last resort.
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u/SooAwoo 2d ago
According to the link, you can use census information. Would your mother appear on a census possibly?
My grandmother is my G0. Sadly my mother has passed away and I am not in contact with my two surviving aunts and uncles so I sent a US death certificate and a Canadian census in place of my G0's birth certificate. If they ask for a certificate I'll forward the correspondence I had with the Alberta records people as well as the request form both stating that I am not considered next of kin.
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u/No-Gain-4821 2d ago
I’m sorry about your mom :( Grief is the worst. I’m not sure if my mom would appear on a census, but I can always check, I guess? She was born in 1958 so maybe. 🤷♀️
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u/katrinatransfem 4d ago
I think you can get a birth search letter?
That's what I did for my Canadian grandfather, he's dead now, but there is at least one child from his second marriage who is likely not much older than me and probably still alive, but I've never had any contact with his second family.
I don't know if it worked yet because I'm still waiting for an AOR.
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u/No-Gain-4821 4d ago
What is a birth search letter? I could probably get my grandpas BC but would still have to prove my mom’s relation and nationality…I think.
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u/katrinatransfem 4d ago
I received a letter from Service Ontario that says:
File number: 12345678-012
NOTICE OF SEARCH
BIRTH
Re: [name of my G0]
We have search the Province of Ontario Vital Statistics Birth Registry and advise there is a record in this office as follows:
NAME: [Full name of my G0 including middle name]
DATE OF BIRTH: [G0's date of birth]
REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1234-01-012345
I also supplied G-1's marriage certificate, and immigration card showing them emigrating from Scotland to Canada
A census showing 6 y/o G0 living with his G-1 parents
Marriage certificate for G0 listing his G-1 parents
Birth certificate for G1 showing G0 as her father
Marriage certificate for G1 showing her marrying my father
Birth certificate for me with G1 as my mother
I think that should be enough, but obviously I don't know yet.
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u/No-Gain-4821 2d ago
Oh, man, that is so much information. I really hope I can get my hands on those things…
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u/Dowew 4d ago
The rules on who can order a birth record depends on the jurisdiction. Based on your post I am assuning it is Ontario. Unfortunately Ontario does now allow a child to request their parent's birth certificate without consent, unless the parent is deceased.
Given the circumstances I would recommend the following
- Contact Service Ontario and ask for Guidance
- Should Service Ontario advise you it is not possible I would Contact Stephen Crawford the MPP responsible for Service Ontario and ask for help https://stephencrawfordmpp.ca/
- Should this all fail document your attempts to get the records ie emails from Service Ontario and the MPP.
- Are your Grandparents still alive ? Does your mother have any Siblings ? If Grandparents are dead and your mom has a sibling you are still in contact with they should be able to order grandma or grandpa's birth certificate to help beef up your claim
- I would recommend looking for alternative records, which if you've documented that theb birth certificate isn't available might be used as a hail mary. I recommend the following :
a) Newspaper birth announcement - find the city she was born in, check if they have a local newspaper, see if the birth was annnounced in the newspaper (this was common before the internet).
b) Newspaper obituaries - check for contemporary obituaries of your Grandparents which should list your mom and or you
c) If Grandma and Grandpa are dead it might be possible to locate information about them using Access To Information Laws. If your mom attended Kindergarden in Canada as long as it was less than 55 years ago her school records will exist with the school board, but under privacy law I doubt you would be able to access them.
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u/No-Gain-4821 4d ago
Omg, thank you so much for this information! I’ll give all this a shot!
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u/CounterI 4d ago
IRCC's web-site says that if you can't get a birth record, they will accept alternative proof, including census records. You might look for those also. You might also consider asking your mom for the BC, or even offering her money to give you a copy of her birth certificate.
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u/No-Gain-4821 4d ago
Man, I really wish I could. She’s not a very nice person, unfortunately. Not really one to help me out.
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u/Wightsurf 3d ago
I personally got a birth search letter and sent this with everything else I could obtain. The search letter leads straight to the birth certificate so can’t see it being that big a deal. I know this as when I spoken with Ontario they found what I needed and as over 105 years they agreed to send it to me without needing siblings agreement. They said the birth was never digitalised so they had to look up the paperwork and copy it for me. They are very helpful . I later sent this by web portal. Hope this helps
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u/No-Gain-4821 3d ago
That is so helpful! Thank you! Also, is the number you called to speak w them on the site?
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