New born baby - Citizenship rule

Question

Parents are Canadian PR holders migrated from India to Canada.

Planning for next baby in Canada.

Does new born baby get Canadian citizenship, on the day of birth?

Answer 1

Canada's Citizenship Act says

3 (1) Subject to this Act, a person is a citizen if

(a) the person was born in Canada after February 14, 1977;

So yes, the child will be a Canadian citizen from the moment of his or her birth.

Answer 2

Canada has unrestricted Jus Soli, and thus any child born in Canada is automatcally a citizen by birth. This is irrespective the parent's immigration status or nationalities.

Answer 3

If your child is born in Canada, your baby is probably a citizen just by being born.

You say planning for next baby in Canada; does that mean you have a newborn just born outside of Canada?

Canada has both Jus soli (right of soil) and Jus sanguinis (right of blood).

Since you are permanent residents and not citizens, Jus sanguinis does not apply. Therefore you need to rely on Jus soli. This means you need to be careful both of your paperwork is perfectly in order and up to date before the birth and well past the expected delivery date. Any problem with your PR status could translate to you not having the right to be on Canadian soil at the time of birth, which could result in your baby not being seen as having jus soli and therefore not a citizen.

It only takes a minor slip from either 1 parent so be sure everything is ready.

For clarity, I recommend referencing the Citizenship Act, but below are the parts that are most relevant for you:

Part I Section 3

Persons who are citizens

3. (1) Subject to this Act, a person is a citizen if

   (a) the person was born in Canada after February 14, 1977;

   (b) the person was born outside Canada after February 14, 1977 and at the time of his birth one of his parents, other than a parent who adopted him, was a citizen;

   (c) the person has been granted or acquired citizenship pursuant to section 5 or 11 and, in the case of a person who is fourteen years of age or over on the day that he is granted citizenship, he has taken the oath of citizenship;

   (c.1) the person has been granted citizenship under section 5.1;

Not applicable to children of foreign diplomats, etc.

(2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to a person if, at the time of his birth, neither of his parents was a citizen or lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence and either of his parents was

(a) a diplomatic or consular officer or other representative or employee in Canada of a foreign government;

(b) an employee in the service of a person referred to in paragraph (a); or

(c) an officer or employee in Canada of a specialized agency of the United Nations or an officer or employee in Canada of any other international organization to whom there are granted, by or under any Act of Parliament, diplomatic privileges and immunities certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to be equivalent to those granted to a person or persons referred to in paragraph (a).

Please note that while the law reads that jus soli does not apply when "at the time of his birth, neither of his parents was a citizen or lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence", the unfortunate reality is that this clause has been applied in several cases where 1 parent was a lawfully admitted PR, and another was either was found to be in the country unlawfully (regardless of whether or not they were lawfully admitted), or has lost their PR status.

As both CIC policies and immigration regulations have changed in recent years, many do not realize there are more ways than ever to lose PR status in Canada, as seen in this vaguely worded statement from CIC:

You must not engage in an act that would make you inadmissible to Canada such as committing a serious crime. Other acts that could lead to a permanent resident losing your status include security, human or international rights violations, organized criminality and misrepresentation.

Permanent residents are not afforded the same protections and privileges under Canadian law as Canadian citizens and may be subject to removal if they commit criminal acts.

Please note that misrepresentation is applied very broadly and includes directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding facts, and/or being sponsored by someone who has. The courts in Canada has ruled in several cases that this includes misrepresentations made by a third party (such as a immigration lawyer or your company) even where the either the third party or the individual was not aware of the misrepresentation.