C-3 through Japanese Canadian descent
Hi all! I posted the following in the mega thread on the Canadian citizenship sub, and was recommended by one of the moderators to ask this sub for possible sources of archives or historical records. So far I’ve gotten ahold of census records, ship records, border records, gazette, a voter roll, and death registry.
This is my situation, if anyone has any ideas for where to dig for more information, I’d really appreciate it! Also, if anyone is a Japanese Canadian descendent, I’d love to hear your experiences.
Hello
I recently found out about the citizenship by descent changes in bill C-3 and I’m wondering if through my lineage, I would be successful at an attempt. I’ve only been deep diving for about a week so this is all fairly new to me and I’d really appreciate the insight of those that are knowledgeable in this space. Reading through the experiences of those that have posted theirs has been immensely helpful.
Gen 0:
- born in Japan
- moved to Canada (age 21) in 1907 and remained for 15 years until 1922
- became a British subject in 1913 (records found on Canada’s archival website state he naturalised as a British subject in 1913)
- went back to Japan in 1922 for a period of 3 years
- returned to Canada in 1925
- remained there until he died in 1971
Gen 1:
- born in Japan in 1923 and was left behind in Japan when gen 0 returned to Canada in 1925
- raised by another family and remained in Japan until his death in 2012 (His birth was never registered in Canada, although his birth certificate states gen 0 as the father)
Gen 2: born in Japan in 1963
Gen 3 (me): born in Japan in 1994
Gen 0 became a Canadian citizen in 1947, when Canadian citizenship laws were established. I saw on another thread that an applicant was rejected because their anchor relative became a Canadian citizen after the next generation was born, but there was no way my anchor relative could have become a Canadian citizen before 1923 when gen 1 was born, as Canadian citizenship didn’t exist then. The most he could have been was a British subject, which he was.
Also, as for records found from the Canadian archives, do they need to be apostilled or notarised in some way? Or is it deemed legitimate as it comes from the Canadian archives? Will ship records, dispossession records (he was Japanese and many of us were interned in the 1940s in the wake of pearl harbour), naturalisation (to Canadian in 1947) and a record of his death suffice for proof of his connection to and time spent in Canada?
Thank you! I appreciate the help <3