From: stella@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Ricky Suave Stella)
Newsgroups: alt.visa.us
Subject: Re: How about alt.visa.can?
Date: 31 Jul 92 14:33:45 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

bauwens@acs.ucalgary.ca (Luc Bauwens) writes:

>In article <Jul.30.12.19.53.1992.3736@gandalf.rutgers.edu> stella@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Ricky Suave Stella) writes:
>>
>>Canada accepts double citizenship (not multiple) with some countries, ie
>>Argentina and recently the US.  It will not accept dual citizenship with
>>Italy (where you are Italian by blood and not where you are born)
> 
>I think you got it upside down.  Canada does not care about other
>citizenship that you might carry.  They don't even ask.  I know of
>a case of a person with four citizenship; my kids got three.

No.  What happens is that they don't know what other citizenships you might
carry because they don't ask you.  And if you don't tell them they don't 
know and it's fine.  

But I knew someone that did ask this.  In this case, this person was Italian
Argentinian.  He wanted to become Canadian. And when asked what country he
was citizen from, he said both.  So the Canadian officer told him that he 
was going to loose the Italian but not the Argentinian.  Why? You can't hold
both Italian and Canadian.

Another example of this was when I became Italian.  When I applied for it, I
did it in Toronto's Italian Consulate.  First thing I was aske was "you are 
not Canadian, are you?" I asked why and they told me they coudn't issue me
an Italian passport without loosing my Canadian citizenship.

It used to be the case with the US until not too long ago, when they agreed
to accept dual citizenships.


>>It doesn't allow multiple permanent residencies.  Only one.  And the 
>>requirements of not loosing it are much tougher than on any other country.
>>You must be in Canadian territory for at least 180 days of any particualr
>>year.

>But what about being in Canada but maintaining permanent residence
>elsewhere?

Same thing here.  I was a landed immigrant until I got my permanent residency
here in the US.  And when I came in, the Immigration officer looked (like they
always do) every page of my passport, and saw the stamp where it read
"landed immigrant"  (I did take away the big colorfull paper with my picture)
So she goes "wait, you are Canadian resident, aren't you?" For what I say,
well yes, and she went you can't be permanent resident of two coutries at the
same time.  Of course I said, oh, but I'm not keeping the Canadian one...

Technically, you can get away with it provided you can fullfill both countries
requirements (180 days in Canada, a once a year visit to the US) but if they
catch you'll have to choose on the spot.   We are talking legal issues here, 
and not what you can get away with...

>And BTW, the 180 days is, except if you obtain a Returning Resident
>Permit (I was in the US for 5.5 years on a Returning Resident
>Permit and had no trouble at all).

True.  There's always an exception to the rule...

QUESTION: do years under a return resident permit count towards citizenship?
If you are a foreign student, at least the US considers you resident of your
own country, like if you would be still living there...

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Ricardo Stella                                 stella@gandalf.rutgers.edu
 RUCS-US Manager - IML-SERC                     stella@remus.rutgers.edu
 Hill 118 - (908)932-2491        ...suave...    Rutgers University, NJ