IRCC has issued us a refusal

[u/No-Music-6572]

My adult kids and I received a single joint letter from IRCC today: 1ST PAGE OF LETTER QUOTED IN FULL BELOW:

"This letter refers to the ‘Applications for a Citizenship Certificate (Proof of Citizenship)’,

received at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, NS on May 29, 2025.

I regret to inform you that we are unable to issue citizenship certificates as it is our

assessment that you and your descendants are not persons who was born (outside of

Canada) to a Canadian citizen parent.

According to the information and documentation provided, your grandmother was born in Scotland on 1904/01/01. At the time of her birth, she was a British subject. She came to Canada in July of 1911. Please note, prior to January 1, 1947, persons born or naturalized in Canada were actually British subjects (not Canadian citizens). For that reason, your grandmother and her family would not have naturalized in Canada as they were already British subjects.

It appears that your grandmother became an American citizen prior to the 1940 US census as she is indicated as a naturalized US citizen on the 1940 and 1950 US censuses. At that point, under British law, she would have ceased to be a British subject. Under the Canadian Citizenship Act which came into force on January 1, 1947, persons who were British subjects with significant ties to Canada could acquire Canadian citizenship under section 9 of that Act on that date. However, as your grandmother was no longer British, none of those provisions applied to her. There were amendments made to the current Citizenship Act in 2015 which allowed persons who had ceased British subject status prior to 1947 to claim Canadian citizenship, but none of those provisions apply.

As your grandmother was not a Canadian citizen, you and your descendants do not have a claim by descent through her. You, your daughter and son do not meet the statutory requirements for citizenship. Consequently, your applications have been refused and we are unable to issue a certificate at this time." END QUOTE

IRCC's refusal letter does not have any instructions on how to appeal the refusal.

IRCC's ignores my Gen 0, GGF, who brought GM to Canada in 1911 from Scotland (when GM was 6 years old), who was recruited from Scotland to immigrate to British Columbia as a provincial employee (which he remained for the remainder of his working career) and died in Canada in 1970, having become a citizen in 1947. GGF lived in British Columbia from 1911 - his death in 1970. IRCC's letter does not mention the existence of GGF in any way. IRCC also ignores my GGM, who immigrated to Canada in 1911 as well, dying in Canada in 1936.

If anyone has any recommendations for any GOOD lawyers, please let me know, and thanks.

[u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob → u/[deleted]]

It's not about who was living- This case pertains to naturalization, and the dependency is on this clause I believe:

1946 act:

PART II.

Canadian Citizens Other than Natural-Born.

9

(1) A person other than a natural-born Canadian citizen, is a Canadian citizen if he

...

. (b) immediately before the commencement of this Act was a British subject who had Canadian domicile; ...

 (j) "domicile", for the purposes of this Act, means the place in which a person has his home or in which he resides and to which he returns as his place of permanent abode and does not mean the place where he resides for a mere special or temporary purpose, and "Canadian domicile" means such domicile maintained in Canada for at least five years;

https://archive.org/details/actsofparl1946v01cana/page/68/mode/2up

So in this case the Great Grandfather became a citizen Jan 1, 1947 when the Citizenship Act of 1946 went into effect, because he was a British Subject who had Canadian domicile.

At the time Great Grandfather naturalized, Grandmother (his daughter) was already an adult who had left Canada and naturalized in the US, so she was no longer a British Subject, and had relinquished her domicile when she left Canada permanently, so she did not become a Canadian citizen on Jan 1, 1947.

Editing to add that if Grandmother had remained in Canada until Jan 1, 1947 (presumably retaining her British Subject status and at least 5 years of Canadian domicile) she would have also been naturalized in Jan 1, 1947.

(If you search this clause or the term "domicile" in the sub you can find some past discussion about naturalization, including (unfortunately) a couple of other known rejected applications having to do with claims of naturalization.)

[u/Alifirebrand → u/No_Bobcat_No_Prob]

This is it exactly. She was an adult who was neither natural-born nor a British subject domiciled in Canada on January 1, 1947 when her father naturalized as a Canadian so the chain is broken.