CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Minister Pledges to Help Lost Canadians

Wednesday, 30 May 2007

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley, has pledged to help "lost Canadians," those who have lost their Canadian citizenship under a provision of the 1947 Canadian Citizenship Act.

When the act was introduced, many people who were born abroad, but who had lived in Canada as Canadian citizens found themselves no longer considered Canadian citizens. Many of these "lost Canadians" have lived as Canadians for decades, never realizing their loss of status - as they never applied for Canadian Passports or Citizenship Documents.

All people naturalized in Canada on or after January 1, 1947, will be granted Canadian citizenship even, if they had lost it under the original 1947 Act.

All people born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent, on or after January 1, 1947, will also be granted Canadian citizenship provided they are first-generation descendants.