oldpanambrat

Also, Canada does have exceptions to the passport requirement so check this link to see if your son can qualify: https://secure.cic.gc.ca/dc-dn/dcc-e...567.1494597078

Main requirement is that you cannot apply for this until 10 days before the flight.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! Regrettably the link is a 404.

andrewesque

If you scroll down on the dual Canadian citizens page that Finkface provided, you'll see a section entitled "Find out if you are eligible for a special authorization to board your flight to Canada," which then has a link to a form to apply. (I think Section 107 tried to link directly to the form, but when I also tried to create a hyperlink it went to a 404, so it must just be a page you can't link directly to.)

For your son to qualify to apply, he'll have to have a passport from a visa-exempt country (so that's fine, as Japan is one), will have to do this no more than 10 days before his flight, and will have to either:

• Had a Canadian passport in the past; or
• Have previously received a certificate of Canadian citizenship

(The last option, "granted Canadian citizenship after having been a permanent resident of Canada," is not applicable as your son was presumably born a Canadian citizen.)

It doesn't state anywhere that the authorization is guaranteed, though (and you won't know until <10 days before the flight) and for any future travel he will definitely have to have a Canadian passport.

From reading elsewhere online it's clear that this special authorization is only meant to be a temporary accommodation and that at some point Canada will require that dual Canadian citizens -- aside from dual American-Canadian citizens -- possess a Canadian passport to enter Canada by air, point blank, no exceptions.

reclusive46

Based on some other forums very few people get the special authorization and the name on the foreign passport has to be the exact same as on the Canadian citizenship document.

Some of the airlines are more compassionate than they can seem at times. If you explain your situation they might be willing to change the flight to the US.

oldpanambrat

Well, as I can plainly see, Canada has made this very hard indeed. As if having my son kidnapped to Japan was not bad enough, Canada puts everything in place to see that the kidnapper is aided in pretty much every respect; I cannot by any stretch of the imagination get my son a passport unilaterally and the Japanese don't care one way or another whether he has a Japanese passport or not, so if his mother simply does nothing, by default there is *no way in Heck* that my son can ever visit the very land of his birth—and he was born right here at the Jewish General in Montreal and has his Quebec birth certificate to prove it—until he is 18, by which time his English will have deteriorated to the point that he can pretty much kiss getting a job in this country goodbye.

I don't want to make this forum a place for my immigration gripes but I find Canada's seemingly arbitrary dual-citizenship volte-face quite extraordinary—unless, one concludes, it is bowing to pressure from the Great White Wind to the south to tighten up its borders.

I mean, who asked Canada to judge whether or not my son is a dual citizen? It is showing a remarkable amount of concern all of a sudden, compared to the 15 years it just seemed not to care less and looked the other way. What exactly, has changed? Are all countries in the world now tarred with the same brush as a few Middle Eastern/Arabic ones merely to provide a so-called "Non profiling" image to non-Canadian observers? Does Japan seriously pose as much of a threat as Somalia? (I withdraw that question owing to its rhetorical unnecessarity!)

Begging everyone's pardon, as *most* of you good North American/British folk probably aren't very bothered by the new rules—but if affects me very, very much and as I said before, it just puts one more nail in my son's future's coffin . . . *sigh* . . . but you've all been very helpful and lord knows what would have happened had he merely shown up on the appointed day with his Japanese passport and expected to fly.

The disappointment on all quarters would have made today's seem trivial by comparison (as it happens, he has no idea any of this is even occurring. Yet).

But I'll muddle through somehow; perhaps Air Canada will have mercy and refund my entire ticket price seeing as how The Government of Canada did not exactly see fit to notify us left-behinds of the New Rules & Regulations.

I will keep you posted.

Cheers

Nick

MSPeconomist

If he can't easily visit you in Canada, can you go to Japan to see him and spend time with him? Perhaps you could travel together to an area of Japan that he doesn't know (and take advantage of his fluency to help on the trip) or go to another Asian country that he can enter with his Japanese passport and where you can go easily with your Canadian passport? Singapore and South Korea might be easy options. Farther afield (and probably more expensive) would be to visit Australia or New Zealnad together, which would have the advantage of being English speaking countries (as is Singapore and to some extent, Hong Kong still).

oldpanambrat

Unfortunately my budget has diminished to the extent that just his air ticket strains my wallet. Travelling around, within Japan or without, would be just out of the question.

I spent two weeks with him in Osaka (Nara) last August but that trip cost in the neighbourhood of $6,000 (with my hotel and our meals, gifts etc.) so even the option of my going there has now become impossible.

But he will be 18 in 2020 so after that I will no longer be at the mercy of his mother . . . It's a miserable set of circumstances but we must all play as well as we can with the hand we are dealt. And so shall I!

eyeballer

Are you sure the consulate in Osaka is closed? It's still listed here: https://travel.gc.ca/assistance/emba...s/japan.gc.ca#

It does say "Limited informational and notary services." so they may not issue passports there, but maybe reach out to them and make your case? They may be able to aid in the process? If not, at least reach out to the Tokyo embassy and see if they can help.

airoli

Sorry about the trouble.

As others have mentioned, fly him to the US (Boston, New York etc.) and simply drive down there to pick him up. Then return to Montréal, get him set up with a passport here, and you are done.

A ticket from Japan to the US is likely less expensive than one to Canada, due to more competition between the markets.

gglave

If he's OK with a change of plane, you could fly him to Burlington, VT, which is reasonably close -



Or, as others have said, research nonstop-options to US eastcoast airports.

Boston's about a five-hour drive.

gglave

I would suggest you reach out to your MP to see what they can do.

The degree to which they'll go to bat for a constituent varies from MP to MP (mine is excellent), but some of them live for this sort of stuff.

eigenvector

Since you still have a few months, I would concur with trying to get your MP involved. There seem to be some special circumstances in play as your son is a minor and unable to get a Canadian passport of his own accord. It may be possible to either arrange for him to complete the formalities for a Canadian passport in Osaka, or to have the Canadian government issue the special dispensation exempting him that was mentioned earlier. It seems to me that it is possible to apply to the Canadian embassy in Tokyo by mail for a passport as long as his mother will sign the application. You may want to contact the Canadian embassy in Tokyo directly to see if it is possible.

Don't give up until you have exhausted all the potential avenues. Good luck.

OSSYULYYZ

A BSO cannot deny entry to a Canadian Citizen. Because your child is a Canadian Citizen, BSOs will have to allow him entry at YVR. The only trick is to get him onto the plane. The airline staff have to be 100% certain that he won't be turned back. That is what the ETA system was introduced for.

airoli

The airline's check-in system will not be able to issue a boarding pass if the passenger has a Japanese passport on the PNR but not an ETA. There is no discretion for staff to override this.

Finkface

But again, this is a nervous 15 year old. Even if he somehow manages to get on the plane, does the OP really want to subject him to the secondary immigration ordeal he would likely be given upon trying to enter without a Canadian passport? We know he can't ultimately be refused but we also know CBSA can make your life very unpleasant if they choose to during the process. It's one thing for all of us who know our rights and are well travelled but I doubt OP wants to chance this with his 15 year old son.

mromalley

Another vote for getting your MP involved asap. Hopefully, it is a Liberal (not for any political purposes but for ease of access for you)

Call the riding office and tell them you have a situation regarding your son's passport. Ask if you can come in and talk to someone. Lay out the whole story. I would write it down in advance and read it a few times, to make sure it is as complete as possible. Start at the beginning, have as many dates as you can fill in. All the documentation, regarding your son's birth, any court documents you have regarding custody, support etc.

The Minister for this portfolio is Ahmed D. Hussen. Start with your MP first though. Once you have the passport thing figured out. Then come back either here or in the AC forum and we can help you figure out your son transiting through YVR.

And please make sure you sign your son up for Aeroplan, might as well the miles for the trip.