Holding dual citizenship with Canada – what you need to know

With the world entering a new order characterized by increased geopolitical instability over that seen in recent decades, people around the world have been pursuing dual citizenship, both for increased direct benefits and as a way of hedging their bets.

As a dual citizen, you can benefit from the protections of both nationalities, including passports and foreign embassy/consular services.

Whether you’re currently pursuing dual citizenship or have already become a dual citizen, there are important factors to keep in mind.

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Travel on the right passport

Having more than one passport doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily decide which one to use.

It is often the case that when you enter a country of which you are a citizen, you’re required to present your passport for that country.

For example, if you’re a dual US/Canadian citizen, the United States requires that you present your US passport when seeking entry to the US.

Declare your citizenship accurately

When seeking entry to a country, in many cases, you’ll be required to declare your citizenship.

As most people are not dual citizens, officials may expect you to declare only a single citizenship.

Where possible, you should declare any and all citizenships in the interest of a full and accurate disclosure.

Allowed doesn’t mean celebrated

In some cases, even if you are legally allowed to hold dual citizenship, government officials, or even members of the general public, may look down on dual citizens as demonstrating a lack of patriotism or national loyalty.

Before proclaiming your dual citizenship far and wide, consider the social and reputational implications of disclosing in cases in which disclosure is not legally required.

Dual citizens can suffer discrimination

In theory, being a dual citizen would allow you to benefit fully from your citizenship status accorded by both nations.

In practice, this may not always be the case.

Some countries may allow dual citizenship, such that you can hold both citizenships without needing to renounce one, but may then block your access to consular services from your other citizenship.

On the other hand, some countries may limit their own consular or embassy support that they provide to you on account of your having another citizenship.

Ultimately, simply being able to hold both citizenships does not guarantee that you’ll be able to take full advantage of the rights and privileges that would normally be accorded to you were you to hold each citizenship individually.

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Citizenship can carry obligations

Being a citizen of more than one country gives you both the rights and the obligations of both countries.

Stated another way, having citizenship in one country does not grant you the right to ignore any legal restrictions you are subject to from your other nationalities.

For example, US citizens are required to file annual US income tax returns worldwide, regardless of their country of residency and regardless of whether they will owe any taxes.

Citizens of countries with mandatory military service, such as Taiwan, Korea, and Israel, will remain subject to compulsory military service.

Residency is separate from citizenship

Citizenship gives you the right to enter and to reside in any country of which you are a citizen.

But keep in mind that many entitlements and benefits that citizens frequently obtain from their nations are not granted on the basis of citizenship alone, but also require residency.

For example, as a Canadian citizen, you have the right to enter and to reside in Canada. But Canadian citizenship does not grant you the right to publicly-funded healthcare coverage.

Most public healthcare coverage in Canada is granted through provincial and territorial health insurance programs, which have specific residency requirements depending on the province or territory.

For example, to receive coverage through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), you must generally reside in Ontario for at least 153 days per year.

To receive the full retirement income benefits through the federal Old Age Security (OAS) program, you must have lived in Canada for at least 40 years after having turned 18; to receive any OAS benefits at all, you must have lived in Canada for 10 years since turning 18, if currently living in Canada, or at least 20 years since turning 18, if you're living outside Canada.

Citizenship is political, and change affects all things political

In the new global era of increased geopolitical instability, nationalism, and protectionism, many nations are shifting further and further toward a “privilege” model of citizenship rather than a “rights” model of citizenship.

For example, Canada’s most recent citizenship bill, Bill C-3, was previously amended by committee to require citizens by descent to pass language proficiency and exam requirements comparable to those faced by permanent residents and naturalized citizens, and while these provisions were later stripped by elected representatives, the vote stripping those amendments passed only by a narrow margin.

Countries elsewhere around the world have seen public outcries calling for officials to arbitrarily strip citizenship from certain controversial figures.

And although the measure did not pass, US Senator Bernie Moreno recently tabled a bill with the intention of outlawing dual citizenship.

Dual citizens must keep in mind that the situation they are currently afforded by their dual citizenship status is not immutable, but is subject to any future decisions on the part of their nations’ governments, and governments are often beholden to the whims of public sentiment.

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