Normal Family Thinking…Ops
Why in the world did I think planning a dream vacation that requires flying across the world would be simple? Oh, that’s because I was so caught up in just being a normal family that I forgot we still aren’t actually a normal Canadian family.
By that, I mean, we forgot that while Baby MPB’s adoption is finalized, his Canadian citizenship is months away from being finalized, especially because we still have not submitted the second set of required paperwork.
So, why does this matter?
First, his USA passport is set to expire. In adoption situations, prior to finalization, USA passports are only granted for a 1 year term. So, now that his adoption is finalized we are off to our local USA Consulate to get a new passport. This weekend we managed to get USA passport photos done, which was surprisingly difficult since they are not the same size as Canadian passport photos. And I have already scheduled an appointment at the Consulate to submit the passport application. So really, this complication is just annoying and easily fixable.
Second, the not so easy complication – his Canadian immigration. Effective November 2016 all Canadian entering Canada by air on a Canadian passport. This is potentially a very big deal for Baby MPB. Essentially, if we put in his immigration paperwork and it is randomly approved while we are out of the country, Baby MPB will not be allowed back in because he will then be a Canadian citizen without a Canadian passport. And, an international Canadian consulate will not be able to issue him a passport without the citizenship paperwork which cannot be sent to a temporary address out of country. Nor, quite frankly do we want to deal with this while on vacation. So, I called Canadian immigration and actually talked a helpful person after only waiting on hold for about 15 minutes to figure out our best course of action – it turns out the standard wait time for adoption citizenship processing could actually line up with while we are away – so we really could end up in that crummy situation I just described. So, our plan now is to NOT submit the Canadian citizenship paperwork until we are back from our vacation (we have 2 years to submit it, so waiting a few more months really isn’t a big deal). And then not fly anywhere international until his citizenship is granted and we can apply for a Canadian passport. Crazy, right?
And slightly annoyingly, this means we will be traveling on different country passports. I’m really not to sure what that will mean for clearing customs, but I suspect it will probably complicate things. I guess it means we are definitely bringing a copy of the adoption finalization paperwork on our trip just in case we run into problems at the airports.
But, I’ll admit, I’m glad we booked the flights in a moment of normal family thinking where we simply forgot that we may have some complicating factors at play. Because now we cannot use the extra paperwork/red tape processing as an excuse to stay home. The flights are now booked so we are going and we will just deal with any potential airport drama.
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Oh Lord! I understand completely. I have a foster care adoption and I need the birth certificate to get the social security card so we can get the passport. I almost booked an international flight so that family can see the baby, but it will take a good 6 months to process all this stuff after the adoption is finalized. I thought it would be a much faster process. So in the end we are state side for awhile until all of it gets completed. I am glad that you will still be able to go on this trip though. Enjoy!!
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Yup, it’s so much work to leave the country! I am still amazed we got Baby MPB’s paperwork done so we could leave the USA when he was less then 3 weeks old!
I’m still amazed at how much paperwork is required for every step of an adoption. I get it, but I’m still amazed!
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Oy Vey that’s so much hassle to worry about. Bureaucracy is the worst… I hope you will soon be able to put all of this behind you and never have to dredge up paperwork and applications for your family ever again!!
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Bureaucracy is the worse! Soon enough we will be free of the super annoying paperwork, I hope. 🙂
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Yikes! I’m glad you were able to catch it before it was too late, and after you got your tickets!! I saw a news story about a family caught by the change in law with a diabetic kid. What a freaking nightmare (everything worked out and everyone is fine) all for bureaucratic rules.
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That’s the exact story we saw and had a moment of panic because we could easily end up in the same situation (minus the diabetes which would clearly be even more stressful). Anyways, assuming all goes well with the new USA passport the we will have nothing to worry about.
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Oh gosh, what a nightmare! I hope it all gets resolved soon. My husbands family lives in a small town on the border – and so many of his aunts/uncles, Dad and grandparents, were born in the US due to the proximity of the hospital. This was in the 40s/50s/60s…no one thought much of it and considered themselves Canadian since they had always lived and worked in Canada.
And then in the 90s one of them went to get a passport when they passed the rule that you needed passports to visit the US from Canada – and all hell broke loose. Now they are all sorted out but it was a HUGE ordeal. Two of them didn’t even realize they weren’t actually Canadian Citizens (LOL).
Best of luck to you! I swear, more often than not, the government makes things harder than it needs to be!
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Oh my!! This makes my head hurt but I think your attitude going into it is amazing!
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Oh no! That sounds way more complicated than it should be. Even so, I hope you have a wonderful family holiday.
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At least you know NOW! Happy traveling 🙂
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Oh, man, my head is spinning. I knew international adoption was complicated, but wow! Wishing you a drama free trip!
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