Dual Citizenships Canuks....Rights?

[Can4You]

Is it just me..........or is something out of wack here. Recently, the ARAR case, the Lebonese Canuks, Hong Kong Canuks, and then the lady in IRAN who was murdered.

From my understanding.........often dual citizens travel back to their home countries on the other passport..........and then when they get into trouble or break the laws of that country.......suddenly become a Canadian..and expect us to pay their way out.

ARAR.........no one deserves to be tortured and that is not my issue. But after 9-11 he was in the USA with two passports..........Syrian and Canadian...why can he decide which country he would be sent too........in defense of the Americans they choose to send him to Syria. Is that not their right........? Again I am not making excuses...just trying to find out the facts!!

Same with the Iranian lady.........did she not enter Iran with her Iranian passport..........and then was arrested and began to yell she was Canadian.

So many seem to use Canadian passports as a tax convenience...and there should be some clarification. Especially with the debaucle last summer with Lebanon........and what could happen with Hong Kong...300,000 Canadian passport holders........?????????

Recently we had our Governor General...have citizenship with Canada and France........and only after some pressure gave up her French citizenship...and the Honourable Leader of the Opposition seems to see no problem with him maybe being Prime Minister of Canada but also a French citizenship. Dah!!!!!!!!!

It is nice to honour and respect one's ethnic background but it is also time that having Canadian citizenship is seen as an honour and not just something treated so lightly, as a passport of convenience.

Then the Khadar family...had lost a few of their passports in the last years........and are crying for more........

I know there were comments last summer after the War in Lebadon...how many of those people have now returned.......and how many of them have not paid Canadian taxes? Be interesting to see if there were any investigative reporting in this country?

 

[danmand]

Are you saying that everybody with dual canadian and UK citizenship should be forced to choose?

 

[red]

how those with US and Canadian?

 

[antaeus]

An immigrant taking Canadian citizenship is not required to do anything with their previous citizenry. They become Canadians by passing requirements. How they choose to travel is up to them. The government of Canada maintains the policy that there is only one type of Canadian citizen.

Many countries do not recognize changing citizenship. This was the case of Ms. Kazemi, the Candian photographer in Iran. Supposedly she was picked up for pointing her camera at some civil infrastructure (in most places of the world an arrestable offence), discovered she was Iranian by birth, hence she was treated as a local because to the Iranian officials she always was Iranian and also the reason why they first told Canadian authorities to fuck off as what Iranians do to Iranians don't concern them. I have no idea with which passport she entered, as an ex-Iranian I feel safe guaranteeing you that she never showed an Iranian passport, which is extremely unlikely she had a valid one anyway.

Alot of countries bestow citizenry based on parental citizenship. For example, a baby born in Toronto to a British mother and a German father would, at birth, hold triple citizenship.

Here is an extreme example. Many families have been physically separated via Israel / Lebanon and Jordan. Previously, an Israeli entry stamp on your passport would bar you entry into L or J. Hence, Canadians of dual citizenship would do a passport shuffle in order to see their grandparents etc. and their parents etc.

Have you as a Canadian lived overseas for extended periods? When you do, you find that it's not really "a tax convenience". Depending on circumstance, you still pay, but get almost nothing in return. If you don't pay, you don't get anything in return, i.e. no health coverage, Canada Pension Plan - old age security. Depending where you bank your money (Jersey, Luxembourg, etc.), financial affairs and taxation upon moving back or retiring here are very complicated, and expensive.

 

[papasmerf]

it occurs to me that dual citizens are not able to choose one above the other. If they do they should renounce the other.

 

[Aardvark154]

From my understanding.........often dual citizens travel back to their home countries on the other passport..........and then when they get into trouble or break the laws of that country.......suddenly become a Canadian..and expect us to pay their way out.

Legally the rule for dual nationals is that you must depart country "A" using country "A's" passport and enter country "B" using country "B's" passport. When entering country "C" you can use either passport (a choice often made quite easy because nationals of "A" have visa free entry and nationals of "B" must have a visa). You are a national of both countries when you are in "A", "B" as no jurisdiction and vis versa, when in "C" you can ask both "A" & "B" for Consular assistance.

ARAR.........no one deserves to be tortured and that is not my issue. But after 9-11 he was in the USA with two passports..........Syrian and Canadian...why can he decide which country he would be sent too........in defense of the Americans they choose to send him to Syria. Is that not their right........?

If the facts are as presented, simple answer - YES. Now did the U.S. know he would be tortured, that adds complexity - however before too many people get up on their moral high horse - remember that ethics problem: you are the police you have a terrorist in custody who tells you his has placed a bomb of a type and in a place where thousands or tens of thousands of people will be killed and many crippled for life - do you torture the terrorist? For some it's an "easy question" to answer, however, for others of us its a very troubling and complex question with no easy answer.

It is nice to honour and respect one's ethnic background.

Entirely agree its an advantage in today's world to be bilingual.

Many countries do not recognize changing [actualy renouncing] citizenship. This was the case of Ms. Kazemi, the Canadian photographer in Iran. . . She was Iranian by birth, hence. . . to the Iranian officials she always was Iranian.

It is the renunciation that matters, some "Countries" will not permit you to renounce your nationality, once a national ALWAYS a national. Iran and Greece are two Countries that immediately come to mind. Others Countries do exactly the opposite, by operation of law they renounce/revoke your Citizenship the instant you take another - Ukraine is an example. Many Countries are now permit dual Nationality: Canada, the U.K., France, the U.S.A., and Russia among them. For most voluntary dual nationals it will never pose any difficulty - save in the unlikely event the countries involved go to war - in which case you're going to have to make a choice - p.d.q. For most it is a great convience and in many cases a source of pride.

 

[red]

most of the blame for the arar affair is with the canadian representatives who gave the US the false information.

 

[Quest4Less]

No!

I do not believe in dual citizenship. If you decide to leave your country and live here in Canada then you should become CANADIAN. Yes it is fine to honour your roots and all BUT - if you want the rights and priviliges (sp?) then you should also face the RESPONSIBILITIES!

1) LIVE here - dont just come for a visit and use our health care.
2) LEARN one of our official languages (I don't care which one).
3) LEAVE your political B.S. behind - obey our laws and do not try to change Canada into what YOU LEFT!
4) NO free rides. I don't like ANYONE sitting on their couch drinking beer, spitting out babies, and collecting welfare (Canadian or otherwise).

 

[FOOTSNIFFER]

You Canadians are still debating what it means to be one...

I do not believe in dual citizenship. If you decide to leave your country and live here in Canada then you should become CANADIAN. Yes it is fine to honour your roots and all BUT - if you want the rights and priviliges (sp?) then you should also face the RESPONSIBILITIES!

1) LIVE here - dont just come for a visit and use our health care.
2) LEARN one of our official languages (I don't care which one).
3) LEAVE your political B.S. behind - obey our laws and do not try to change Canada into what YOU LEFT!
4) NO free rides. I don't like ANYONE sitting on their couch drinking beer, spitting out babies, and collecting welfare (Canadian or otherwise).

Immigrants find that native canadians are uncomfortable around them, that canadian 'culture' is sparse and therefore unsatifying (even to canadians, who overwhelmingly patronize american culture), and even when an effort is made to fit in, are patronized by the 'real' canadians. That's why they retreat into their own communities. They come to this country with a real curiosity and are often excited at the prospect of discovering a new land. When they discover that there isn't much 'there' there (as in Oakland), it's a diisappointment. I'm a son of immigrants and have talked to them extensively and this is what they tell me. Canada is a tolerant country, but it's not a very welcoming one. I prefer the american melting-pot model; I lived there for 3 years and found the welcome fantastic.