Father born in Canada, became US citizen before my birth

[jkgee]

My father was born in Canada, moved with his family to the US as an infant in 1923. He served in the Canadian Army in World War 2 until medically discharged then joined the American Army and in 1944 became a US citizen. I was born in 1956 and raised in the US my entire life. I have an official Canadian birth certificate of his (though his first name was changed when arriving in US) and US naturalization papers. Am I eligible to get Canadian (dual) citizenship while living in the US?

 

[scylla]

My father was born in Canada, moved with his family to the US as an infant in 1923. He served in the Canadian Army in World War 2 until medically discharged then joined the American Army and in 1944 became a US citizen. I was born in 1956 and raised in the US my entire life. I have an official Canadian birth certificate of his (though his first name was changed when arriving in US) and US naturalization papers. Am I eligible to get Canadian (dual) citizenship while living in the US?

Yes, you should be eligible. Apply for proof of citizenship:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...s/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship.html

 

[jkgee]

Yes, you should be eligible. Apply for proof of citizenship:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...s/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship.html

Thanks!

 

[jkgee]

Yes, you should be eligible. Apply for proof of citizenship:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...s/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship.html

Thanks

 

[jkgee]

My father was born in Canada, moved with his family to the US as an infant in 1923. He served in the Canadian Army in World War 2 until medically discharged then joined the American Army and in 1944 became a US citizen. I was born in 1956 and raised in the US my entire life. I have an official Canadian birth certificate of his (though his first name was changed when arriving in US) and US naturalization papers. Am I eligible to get Canadian (dual) citizenship while living in the US?

Yes, you should be eligible. Apply for proof of citizenship:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...s/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship.html

I have no way of knowing if he renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became an American citizen. He is dead and my mother has dementia. How does that affect this?

 

[scylla]

I have no way of knowing if he renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became an American citizen. He is dead and my mother has dementia. How does that affect this?

If he renounced his Canadian citizenship before you were born, then this means you aren't a Canadian citizen through descent. If you have no way of finding out, then go ahead and apply and see what happens.

 

[jkgee]

My father had a different first name at birth which is on his Canadian birth certificate. I have my (American) birth certificate with his changed first name which is also on his US naturalization form. Will I still run into problems proving my father was a Canadian citizen even with these documents? I have no access to any legal name change documents.

 

[scylla]

My father had a different first name at birth which is on his Canadian birth certificate. I have my (American) birth certificate with his changed first name which is also on his US naturalization form. Will I still run into problems proving my father was a Canadian citizen even with these documents? I have no access to any legal name change documents.

You'll want to include evidence of the legal name change as part of the application. If you don't have access to these documents, that may create issues for your application. Before you submit the application, I would recommend you dedicate time to researching if it's possible to obtain a record of the name change now that he's deceased.

 

[bryndog1950]

Have you investigated what records may be available on sites like Ancestry.com ? It has vital statistics, census records, military records, immigrant/landing records to the U.S., passport applications, etc. Perhaps you can find records that would show your father's changed first name but with a birth date and birth place that matches his Canadian birth certificate. This would at least suggest that it is the same person, especially if these records also showed his parents information and this matched the Canadian certificate.
Is it possible that anyone in your family might have letters or photos from the 1920's that would refer to your father under both names ?
These are just a couple of ideas.
Good luck with your research.

 

[canuck78]

My father had a different first name at birth which is on his Canadian birth certificate. I have my (American) birth certificate with his changed first name which is also on his US naturalization form. Will I still run into problems proving my father was a Canadian citizen even with these documents? I have no access to any legal name change documents.

Is there a reason you are wanting to get citizenship at this stage of your life? We have seen that others are doing so thinking their children or grandchildren will be able to work or immigrate to Canada which is much more involved than people realize. Depending on your reasons for seeking citizenship all the effort necessary to prove that name changes were legal, etc. may not be worth be worth it.