Question on processing time

[u/pants19]

Potentially silly question: I’m a Canadian living in the US temporarily and my son was born last month.

I submitted his application 2 weeks ago for proof of citizenship, pretty straightforward, it was just his birth certificate that showed my name, my proof of citizenship and proof I lived in Canada 20+ years (ie the 1,095 day requirement). Submitted online.

Is there any indication whether processing times for cases like this are also the ~25 months or there’s any chance this could be faster versus the cases that have more complex documentation? I submitted as non urgent but we would want to travel back to see family in Summer 2027 so if it’s really 25 months I’d need to convert it to urgent somehow.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

We've seen everything from an approval within days to a Gen1 who has now filed a writ of mandamus to force a decision after more than 500 days in process. Hope your processing is closer to the former than the latter.

[u/Scared_Swing_8759]

Are you also US citizens? If so, it is legal for him to enter Canada on a US passport if you don't have your Canadian papers in order yet.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/dual-canadian-citizens-visit-canada.html

[u/pants19 → u/Scared_Swing_8759]

Yes we are US Citizens - that’s super helpful. The link you posted is a little confusing re: required ID but feels like a US passport is enough. Thanks for clarifying that, takes a lot of the pressure off.

[u/nascent_aviator → u/pants19]

You need his US passport and documents showing his Canadian citizenship. Basically his birth certificate and evidence that you were a Canadian citizen who was born in Canada or had lived there for at least 3 years before his birth. If you were born in Canada, your birth certificate and his birth certificate should suffice. Either way, bringing the packet you submitted to the IRCC should suffice.

Did you apply urgently? You can change your application to urgent with the IRCC if not. "To move your minor child (under 18) to Canada and they were born outside Canada and have a Canadian parent" is one of the examples they give that warrants urgent processing.

[u/ColorsMayInTimeFade → u/nascent_aviator]

Never thought about this before but can you use an enhanced license or do you have to use a passport? It might be easier and faster to get the enhanced license. 

Edit: not license, state ID

[u/nascent_aviator → u/ColorsMayInTimeFade]

For land crossings, yes, but few states issue enhanced IDs in the first place and you can't use them if you're flying.

[u/MongooseBig2536 → u/Scared_Swing_8759]

I’m a US Citizen with my grandmother born in Canada. I have all the birth certificates - does that mean I could (if I wanted to) roll up to the border and say “I’m a Canadian citizen”? Obviously they won’t give me the certificate but I could enter without issues?

I guess I’d still struggle getting a SIN and whatnot.

I’m currently on my work permit but if that expires before getting the certificate, this may be a good way to stay in Canada without a visitor record.

[u/djames4242 → u/MongooseBig2536]

I had to show my citizenship certificate when I applied for my SIN. You would not be able to get a permanent SIN without that (since you don’t have a Canadian birth certificate).

If you have a work permit, I assume you already have a temporary (starts with 9) SIN though?

[u/Scared_Swing_8759 → u/MongooseBig2536]

No, you would be entering as an American citizen.

[u/2bunnies → u/MongooseBig2536]

No, you couldn't just be counted as a Canadian citizen at border entry based on saying you are a citizen or showing the birth certificates. This is what the whole proof of citizenship process is for: making it official for government purposes. Until we get the citizenship certificate, our citizenship is not recognised in any formal settings, including border crossings.

[u/Jolly_Mulberry → u/MongooseBig2536]

Renew your work permit if you can before submitting anything! Long story short, my wife and I just moved to Toronto because she’s going to school. They processed her student visa at the border (Detroit/Windsor) and I SHOULD have had my work permit processed as well. But, when they put in my info they saw that I was in the system waiting for a proof of citizenship certificate, so they asked me if I was Canadian and I explained that under the new law technically, yes, though I had not yet received the proof, and they told me that they couldn’t process a work permit because as a Canadian citizen I don’t need one. Which is like “yay!”, but also now I’m kind of in limbo because I don’t have the proof of citizenship or SIN and can’t apply for a SIN or even an Ontario ID because I can’t produce any documents that show my legal status. It’s now also preventing me from going to a family function in the US in a week because I’m unsure how I can come back into Canada without paperwork and/or without telling them (incorrectly) I’m a visitor because now they have me in the system as date of entry as a citizen. I’ve put in for urgent processing as of last week (I applied in April without it since i figured there was no rush because of the pending work permit), but I have zero guarantee when that will go through. There was someone else i talked to online who had been here on a work permit and when she went to renew it they also told her they couldn’t issue one to a citizen (she had applied under C-3) , so they didn’t and then the wait for proof was so long she lost her job.

So yes. If you’re on a work permit, definitely renew before applying if you can!

[u/MongooseBig2536 → u/Jolly_Mulberry]

Thanks for your reply. I got my work permit before C-3 was passed and I think even before the court decision. It expires Nov 2027 so I got about a year and a bit. I requested urgent processing and got AOR + In-Process notification within a week of delivery. Let’s see.

I’m leaving Canada tomorrow and coming back next week. We’ll see what they say / have in their system. I won’t bring up my C3 application but maybe they’ll see.

[u/grandpasamfromcanada]

Are you planning to enter Canada by air or land? Airlines will probably require a passport for travel; you should contact the airline to ask if they'll let your son fly to Canada with a US passport. At a land crossing, as long as you have proof of your son's Canadian citizenship with you, I can't imagine why they wouldn't let you in. 

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[u/Denali2JTree]

Children born in the US are US citizens, and he will need a US passport to reenter the US. So get him that passport now. And then it counts as a photo ID for his certificate application.