Like Tree2Likes

Obama asked to intervene in IRS assault on Canadian residents

Closed Thread
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
  1. #11

    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    2,711
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Why? Most countries pass nationality through parentage not place of birth. The US is quite unusual in that being born there is sufficient to have US citizenship.
    not really, me thinks. from my experience, most countries pass nationality neither through parentage or place of birth, but rather whether you as the parent chose to register your child with that country (either by getting a passport or by registering as a citizen). i find it a bit odd that a kid becomes a US citizen even if the parents are abroad, hold multiple passports and never do anything active to 'make' the kid a US citizen. the kids could not even vote for obama (contrary to their dork father)
    Last edited by cookie09; 08-10-2011 at 01:15 PM.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Back in the US of A, home of the free...
    Posts
    862

    Yes he is a dual US/Canadian Citizen by law.

    Land Law

    Blood Law


    Quote Originally Posted by LolaG:
    So does this mean my son, who was born in the U.S. 18 years ago, have to renounce being a US citizen? He lived there for the first 6 months, then we moved back to Canada. (both parents are Canadian citizens). We have never applied for a U.S. Passport. To me, this reads as desperate times, call for desperate measure from the IRS.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    4,151

    Cookie- Eh? In most countries you don't get citizenship by birth unless one of your parents holds citizenship of that country. If you're visiting, unless US or Eritrea, and give birth the child has no rights to citizenship at all and will take the citizenship of the parents.

    Last edited by jaykay; 08-10-2011 at 01:25 PM.

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    2,711
    Quote Originally Posted by jaykay:
    Cookie- Eh? In most countries you don't get citizenship by birth unless one of your parents holds citizenship of that country. If you're visiting, unless US or Eritrea, and give birth the child has no rights to citizenship at all and will take the citizenship of the parents.
    sorry i should have been more precise. of course parentage is the main line. what i meant to say is that usually parentage only gives you the choice to register with that country, rather than that country becoming your default country.

    i.e. in my personal situation, my kid can chose to be a european citizen, a HK-Chinese citizen or a PRC-only citizen. we chose to have him getting both the HK-Chinese and the European citizenship of the particular country where i am from. however that was purely our choice to chose any of these 3. as far as i know, none of these three force you to become a citizen of their countries, except in cases of statelessness

  5. #15

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    4,151

    Yes understood. My kids also have HK-Chinese and British citizenship. However if my wife were not Chinese then they would not be entitled to Chinese nationality from birth despite being born here. That's normal.


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205
    Quote Originally Posted by cookie09:
    sorry i should have been more precise. of course parentage is the main line. what i meant to say is that usually parentage only gives you the choice to register with that country, rather than that country becoming your default country.

    i.e. in my personal situation, my kid can chose to be a european citizen, a HK-Chinese citizen or a PRC-only citizen. we chose to have him getting both the HK-Chinese and the European citizenship of the particular country where i am from. however that was purely our choice to chose any of these 3. as far as i know, none of these three force you to become a citizen of their countries, except in cases of statelessness
    That's not my understanding - my reading of the Chinese Nationality law is that a child born in China (including Hong Kong) to one or more parent who is Chinese will automatically be regarded by the Chinese authorities as a Chinese Citizen (of Hong Kong if that's where the child is born) unless Chinese Citizenship is explicitly renounced.
    Last edited by PDLM; 08-10-2011 at 05:30 PM.

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    6,745

    I just wonder where is it written that HK Chinese can hold another citizenship, unlike mainland Chinese ?


  8. #18

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205
    Quote Originally Posted by Morrison:
    I just wonder where is it written that HK Chinese can hold another citizenship, unlike mainland Chinese ?
    In the "Explanations" below the Articles of the law here: GovHK: Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China
    Morrison likes this.

  9. #19

    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    2,711
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    That's not my understanding - my reading of the Chinese Nationality law is that a child born in China (including Hong Kong) to one or more parent who is Chinese will automatically be regarded by the Chinese authorities as a Chinese Citizen (of Hong Kong if that's where the child is born) unless Chinese Citizenship is explicitly renounced.
    well, interesting point. it wasn't my understanding, but then again i do not have any evidence.

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Midlevels / USA (MD) / London
    Posts
    2,219
    Quote Originally Posted by LolaG:
    So does this mean my son, who was born in the U.S. 18 years ago, have to renounce being a US citizen? He lived there for the first 6 months, then we moved back to Canada. (both parents are Canadian citizens). We have never applied for a U.S. Passport. To me, this reads as desperate times, call for desperate measure from the IRS.
    He is a US citizen and must follow the laws for US citizens, which include:

    * Filing taxes every year (note: if he made < $91,000 he probably owes nothing).
    * Filing an FBAR report of foreign bank accounts under his control (if > $10,000US)
    * Registering for selective service with the military when he turns 18.
    * He must enter the US with a US passport. He should not enter the US with any other passport.

    These are the rules that apply to all US citizens, and unless you get your son to follow the procedures for renouncing citizenship he's got some paperwork to catch up on. You may want to contact the US embassy for more details.

    You are not alone in this. Because of the rural nature of the border in some spots some Canadian women who have complications during the birth will be rushed to hospitals on the US side where they deliver the baby only to find out the child is an American citizen.

    http://www.komonews.com/news/10216201.html

    http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/departm...rn_outside.asp

    US citizenship by birth was included in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution after the Civil War as a way of ramming home the idea that slaves, who were originally denied citizenship by birth, would be consider American citizens with the rights to vote, assemble, etc. It is under debate at the moment as many "illegal" aliens will run over the border from Mexico, often at the first signs of labor pains, and deliver a baby no the US side so that they are a US citizen.

    Bruce Lee was a US citizen in a similar way--his parents were touring the US at the time he was born.
    Last edited by penguinsix; 08-10-2011 at 09:00 PM.