Yes, we are Canadian Citizens! We just need to send away for our certificates of citizenship.
The rules for Canadian Citizenship have changed.
Bill C3 came into law on December 15th 2025. It contained amendments to the citizenship acts of 1947 and 1977. Specifically the 1947 act said that any child of a Canadian Father would be Canadian, no matter where they were born. The 1977 act partially fixed the gender injustice by saying that any child of a Canadian Father or Canadian Mother would be a Canadian Citizen, but only if they were born after 1977.
This created a “generation of lost Canadians” in children who were born to a Canadian Mother before 1977. This was challenged as unconstitutional in 2023, and the Canadian Government chose not to contest it. Bill C3 effectively says that anyone who can trace their ancestry to a Canadian Citizen is automatically one themselves. For some people it’s complicated because they have to go back generations and the documentation is inconsistent. For us 3 it’s very straight forward. Our Mother was born a Canadian Citizen in Canada and it’s easy to prove and easier to present to the Canadian Governement.
For Robin it might be slightly more complicated because Joy was born in England, but as long as he can prove that Joy was a citizen in the 1950s or prove that Joy was a Canadian Citizen’s daughter he is eligible. Robin needs to run his own Google prompts as listed below.
How I’m getting my Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
There are 2 documents that I need. A UK Birth Certificate for me and mum’s birth certificate from Alberta. Both of these will need notarizing when they’ve been received. I had my passport & drivers license notarized last week before sending to Australia and it cost $40 for both documents from beachesnotary.ca
Long Form UK Birth Certificate
A short form UK Birth Certificate details your name, sex, date of birth, registration district and the registrars signature. These aren’t issued much anymore, but it’s what I currently have.
A Long Form Birth Certificate details all that plus who your parents are too, with their full names and dates of birth. If you apply for a birth certificate on the GRO website it will automatically be a long form one.
It’s quicker to get a “Long Form Birth Certificate” if you have the GRO* Index Reference (General Records Office)
I went to Freebmd.org.uk and searched for myself. I used the info on my regular birth certificate that had my full name but all they wanted was Julian R Mendl. My registration District was Ware and I was registered between July & September 1961, even though I was born in early June. It took a couple of searches to find me, but there I was.
This gave me the GRO Index Reference that I needed to apply for my Birth Certificate from the GRO website. 1961 – Q3, Ware, Vol 4b, Page 486.
The GRO Website is part of the UK GOV website. The link is https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate
You will have to register. It didn’t accept the name and password that I setup in 2024 when applying for my UK Passport.
Once registered it’s easy. I just ordered mine and it took about 4 minutes. It took longer to register for the site because I had to put in name, address etc.
The cost was 12.50 GBP including postage, or about $23.50 Canadian. You put your credit card details in right at the end. There is no opportunity for Google Pay or Apple Pay. They say that they’ll send the certificate in 4 business days, so I should have it in 2 weeks from today.
3 Canadians waiting for roast dinner
So what are the next steps?
I’ve applied for my UK Birth Certificate this morning. It was easy and it cost $23.50.
Once I get it, I’ll need to get it notarized and along with copies of my passport & Ontario Drivers License send it off to Alberta to get a copy of Mum’s birth certificate.
When I have both birth certificates I get them notarized again and then send copies off to Ottawa to get my certificate of citizenship.
Once I have my citizenship certificate I can apply for a Canadian Passport and Old Age Security as well as an Ontario Health Card and SIN
Why did it take so long for me to figure this stuff out?
My circumstances are different to yours. I moved to England 3 years after getting the Landed Immigrant status approved. The Canadian Government told me that I had broken the rules of my status in 1977 and it was only Mum’s tears that got me in the country then. In 2006, before moving back to Canada on a Skilled Worker Visa, I had to sign a form saying I would never claim my Landed Immigrant Status from 1973. When I left Loblaws in 2010 the lawyer told me that the declaration that the Canadian Gov asked me to sign was illegal, but I was still afraid that I could get deported if I pursued it. I didn’t trust the Loblaw lawyer because he worked for Loblaws not me.
A few things changed this year!
Mainly, the law changed. Bill C3 was passed.
I stopped being afraid of being deported. My time in Costa Rica while being refused entry to Canada and going through serious health issues and hospitalization made me rethink things.
Google AI searches helped me navigate through the government websites and validate what it was saying. In the past, I wouldn’t have figured this out without a lawyer. Now I just throw in several prompts and eventually I get the right answers with clear instructions.
- I’m a British Citizen with a Canadian Mother and English Father. Am I a Canadian Citizen?
- I was born in 1961 in England and my birth was registered in Ware, Hertfordshire, UK
- My birth was never registered in Canada
- My Mother was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1928. She was a Canadian Citizen.
Why is all of this on a web page?
Well, I’m trying to update my knowledge of web writing & design as it’s something I might be able to do while retired. I need to be an expert and be able to create content without thinking how.
It get’s confusing and it’s helpful to have it written down. A little journal of what I’m doing.
This is what I’m currently doing.
- Canadian Citizenship Certificate
- Apply for CPP (I paid in so I want I want that back. It won’t be much)
- Apply for OAS (I’ve been living in Ontario for the last 20 years. I’m eligible, but it will be reduced.)
- Apply for a Canadian Validation of Status, which will replace the old pink landed immigrant form. It might be needed if my citizenship certificate takes too long.
- Apply for an Australian Tax File Number
- Apply for my Australian Superannuation (pension) I only worked there for 18 months, but I paid 4% of my salary into a fund and my employer paid 9.5%. I want that fund back in a lump sum, so I can get my teeth fixed and payoff my credit card that has the Costa Rican hospital bills on it.
- Get an estimate for my UK State pension for when I turn 67
- Make sure I have all of the documents ready to apply for Costa Rican residency under their Pensionada Scheme.