Am i am Canadian citizen or dual citizen?? - Confused

[jarko]

This might be an idiotic question.

I was born in Poland and i came with my family to Canada when i was 3 years old from Poland. I am 19 now and i have lived in Canada ever since. Am i still treated as a dual citizen?? I mean i got my Canadian citizenship when i was little. But i dont know if i am a citizen of Poland??

Sorry these thing are confusing me.

 

[Infanteer]

Ask your parents or a consular official.

 

[1feral1]

Check it out, and if Poland has national service (manditory military service), and its obvious you are of military age, its also best to get advice on travel, as even if you go there on holiday, and as a dual citizen of both Canada and Poland you might be obligated to do your time in the Army before they let you leave (even if you are a serving member of the CF). Its happened in other European countries before, so make sure you check things out, and most importantly, get it all in wriiting.

Hope this helps ya out.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[drebk]

well, I know this doesn't answer your question, but it demonstrates the National Service that Wes is talking about, My Friend, X, was born in China and is a dual citizen (Canadian and Chinese), he went to China on vacation on winter holidays, he was conscripted by the Chinese Army, and they didn't let him out until just after graduation, needless to say, he didn't graduate, having not completed his provincial exams etc. so its a pretty serious matter, always good to check before you travel ;-). (understandably, China might not be the most democratic and reasonable country, but I'm not making any political statements either way) just letting you know what happened to a friend of mine.

 

[1feral1]

Italy and Greece are famous for doing the same, and as I said in another post somewhere on here, some countries class you as a citizen even if you were born in Canada for example, as long as both parents (and some just the father) are citizens of their homeland. Its complicated, and one must really be aware. Many European countries have national service.


Cheers,

Wes

 

[condor888000]

In some countries say you're a citizen if at least one of your grandparents held citizenship. Ireland is one, i don't know any others...

 

[b.scheller]

Coming also from Poland, with the exact same situation. I can tell you this much, you will not be drafted into the Polish army; should you travel to Poland any time soon. Even if they send you a draft letter,  you dont have to comply since you are a citizen of Canada. Any problems with the ministry of defense can always be solved at the Canadian Embassy. Of course, should you chose to serve in the Polish army. You may have some problems coming back to Canada after the iniitial 13 months. I'm not sure whether Canada has these laws, but in most nations. It is illegal to serve in a foreign service. 

I know that the Israeli army (in which my uncles from my grandfathers brother side served in) has laws that if you are Jewish, upon your arrival in Israel. If your stay is over 9 months long, you are subjected to service with the IDF.

 

[1feral1]

I never heard of that law before, and I have travelled to Canada 4 times in 10yrs. However maybe in some eastern European countries, or former Com-Bloc nations etc, this would not suiprise me, and in some cases may be fact.

I also know of South African, UK, Kiwi and US citizens too who serve in foreign armies, who have never had that problem.

Any guru input would be appreciated.

Regards,

Wes

 

[Redeye]

Coming also from Poland, with the exact same situation. I can tell you this much, you will not be drafted into the Polish army; should you travel to Poland any time soon. Even if they send you a draft letter,   you dont have to comply since you are a citizen of Canada. Any problems with the ministry of defense can always be solved at the Canadian Embassy. Of course, should you chose to serve in the Polish army. You may have some problems coming back to Canada after the iniitial 13 months. I'm not sure whether Canada has these laws, but in most nations. It is illegal to serve in a foreign service.  

I know that the Israeli army (in which my uncles from my grandfathers brother side served in) has laws that if you are Jewish, upon your arrival in Israel. If your stay is over 9 months long, you are subjected to service with the IDF.

Check your means, as most of this information sounds totally incorrect.  Holding Canadian citizenship does not exempt you from the national service requirements of any other nation of which you hold citizenship.  Most nations, however, will allow you to defer your service for a variety of reasons including living overseas, in most cases indefinetely.  A very good friend of mine who was a French citizen simply registered with the French embassy each year that he was aware of his service obligations but was deferring them.  So long as he did so he was able to travel freely.

When you go to a nation of which you hold citizenship, your Canadian citizenship is useless if you have broken local laws, including those about compulsory service.  It says so right in the back of your Canadian passport.  In these sorts of situations there is very little Canadian consular officials can do to assist you.

Service in a foreign army is not illegal for Canadian citizens, either.  Not sure where you got that idea.