Dual citizenship no longer allowed for Canadians????

[faylen 0]

Hi there,

I think this is the best place to ask this question. Anyway, we're still contemplating whether to file for citizenship or not. One of my husbands clients works as the HR person for this one company, who happens to be in charge also of their immigration/sponsorship department (I don't know what else to call it, but that seems approriate). So, my husband just briefly mentioned to her that we're planning to get my US citizenship, allowing me to be dual (canadian and us). Then she asked if we have any intention of moving back to canada in the future, which in fact, we do. So anyway, she said that if we did do this, that we would have to give up our US citizenship. Is anyone aware of this? I mean, is there any truth to this? I was trying to find more info on the USCIS website, but I haven't come across anything. She said that this change is pretty recent. I'm so confused. Can someone please enlighten me. Thanks.

[raymaga 25]

It's the first I've ever heard of that.

I'm pretty sure the HR person didn't have their facts straight.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

It's the first I've ever heard of that.

I'm pretty sure the HR person didn't have their facts straight.

On the nail! HR is 1,000% wrong on this one. Edited September 2, 2008 by CherryXS

[akdiver 3]

I think your information is incorrect and it seems highly unlikely.

That said, it's too bad. I think to get citizenship in one nation, you should have to forgo citizenship in all other nations. It's not really unreasonable. Part of being a citizen is paying taxes. It is highly unlikely that people are paying income and other taxes to two governments on the same money at the same time (if they were, they would go broke in no time). In fact, governments have tax treaties in place specifically to allow people to avoid this. If people are not paying taxes to a government, they shouldn't be permitted to be that government's citizens.

Edited September 2, 2008 by akdiver

[payxibka 10,045]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html

[churipu 4]

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada website doesn't mention anything about this alleged change that person was talking about...You can click on the link I gave you and read about it, btw I will quote the part of interest here as well:

Unlike the law in effect in Canada up to 1977, the current Citizenship Act allows Canadian citizens to acquire a foreign nationality without automatically losing their Canadian citizenship. Since February 15, 1977, a Canadian citizen who acquires another nationality may retain Canadian citizenship, unless he or she voluntarily applies to renounce it and the application is approved by a citizenship judge. The current act thus makes it possible to have two or more citizenships and allegiances at the same time for an indefinite period.

Hope it helps

Edited September 2, 2008 by churipu

[faylen 0]

thanks for all your replies. i sure do hope that she's got it all wrong. i have to be honest though, i'm still a little apprehensive about this, because afterall, she is the one who does all the immigration paperwork for their employees. wouldn't you think she's current with whatever information she has?? i don't know. just a thought.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Remember that there are lawyers who are supposed to be up to date on immigration procedures as well who habitually make mistakes, get it wrong and cause lots of errors for their clients. This HR person sounds like she is not as familiar with all aspects of US citizenship as she likes to believe. Present her with the documentation you have and ask her to provide you with the documents that support what she says. I am willing to bet she will be unable to find any.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Kathryn41

[kmineo 0]

A lot (not all) of HR people you can trust about as far as you could thrown them. You can't lose your citizenship that way, as I am sure that link posted above said. You can lose your greencard that way. Hence why people like to get their citizenhip. So if they do end up moving out of the country they don't have to jump through hoops. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[NickD 203]

A lot (not all) of HR people you can trust about as far as you could thrown them. You can't lose your citizenship that way, as I am sure that link posted above said. You can lose your greencard that way. Hence why people like to get their citizenhip. So if they do end up moving out of the country they don't have to jump through hoops. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

The way I read that Department of State thing about dual citizenship, easy, say if you were born in one country and were naturalized here, but frowned upon if you were born in one country and were naturalized here and attempt to be naturalized in a third country.

Already stated that my wife had some difficulty renewing her Venezuelan passport, but she is a natural born citizen of Colombia and is only naturalized in Venezuela. But on the other hand, her daughter was born in Venezuela with zero problems on getting a passport. As a LPR here, we did consider getting her a Colombian passport, that would not be a problem for her.

So how many different countries is the OP talking about?

[SpiritAlight 1]

The only way to lose a country's citizenship, is if you renounce it.

And still, I know Canada would give it back.

BTW, on taxes and citizenship...if you are earning no money then you are paying no taxes.

You are still a citizen.

[warlord 73]

Ok, here's where the issue went wrong. If you are in the process of getting your N-400 or before and move to Canada on your Green Card, you can abandon your GC. This is where they confused it. Once you get your US citizenship you are free to move about the world and live where ever you want. Now you can lose US Citizenship by say taking up a position in a foreign army that is hostile to the US or such things like that, or you could possibly lose it by becoming a citizen of another nation, but nothing will deny your US citizenship in Canada since you already hold Canadian (not becomming Canadian).

Hope this clears up the confusion...

[Gulskjegg 0]

Ive noted some strange things about Canada over the last few years. Case in point, my wife and I went to one of the main CBP crossing stations to get a study permit. The kid behind the counter, most likely fresh out of college and making a whopping 15 bucks an hour, told us we didnt have sufficient money to warrant a study permit. He suggested we come back with $30,000USD cash in the bank, all tuition paid in advance, and (get this) proof of stocks and bonds. The CIC regulations state proof of $10,000 per-person per-year and I found at least one major college that states clearly that the money does not need to be in the bank, you just need to show you have access to it. My pension is in the $40,000USD range, tax free, but thats not enough?

There seems to be a national myopia/xenophobia developing in Canada. At this rate the current prosperity will run collapse by sheer micro and mismanagement. Oh well, theres always Europe.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Gulskjegg

[RositaL 0]

As an HR person and a Canadian the information your Husband recieved is WRONG!! the Dumb HR person is probably confusing Citizenship with Permanent Residency.