Applying for ESTA - for Japanese/Canadian kids
I'm a Japanese citizen and married to a Canadian and have 2 children. They are both born in Japan. They hold dual citizenship right now. They don't have Canadian passports. They only have Japanese passports and they're using them to travel to the U.S. Only ID they have for Canada is "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship" what they call birth certificate cards.
1. Is "Certificate of Canadian Citizenship" card a national identity card FOR TRAVEL? Is that considered as a travel document?
2. If so, what should I put for the Expiration Year? Those cards don't expire.
3. Since they are both born in Japan, for the question "How did you acquire citizenship / nationality from this country?", which should I choose "By birth" or "Through parents"?
4. For the question "Have you ever been a citizen or national of any other country?" Is "No" correct? (Or Yes, they have been citizens of Canada?)
I e-mailed CBP INFO Center and asked the same questions to make sure but I didn't get sufficient reply. Please help me.
Best Answer
So I answered the questions in the application as below. These questions were asked after filling out all the information from their passports including their birthplace which is Japan.
Q: ARE YOU NOW, A CITIZEN OR NATIONAL OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY?
A: Yes
(Both of my children have dual(Japanese/Canadian) citizenship)
Q:COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP / NATIONALITY
A: CANADA (CAN)
Q: HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE CITIZENSHIP / NATIONALITY FROM THIS COUNTRY?
A: Through parents
Now, other choices were "By birth", "Naturalized" and "Other".
Also, I noticed in the little help window that pops up when you click on a little question mark it said "Please indicate whether you acquired citizenship/nationality by birth, through parents, as a national of another country (born in the territory or possession of another country) or by other means."
Q: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A CITIZEN OR NATIONAL OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY?
A: No
And about 20 minutes after I finished paying for the applications I checked the status and the result was "Authorization Approved".
For me "By birth" is suggestive of "jus soli" and "Through parents" is suggestive of "jus sanguinis". Japan is strictly operated by jus sanguinis with only a few exceptions, yet for Canada it's operated by the rules of both jus soli and jus sanguinis. Since our children were born in Japan obviously they are not Canadian by jus soli. So I've come to the conclusion I should choose "Through parents" with a help of phoog's answer. Thank you.
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Can children get ESTA?
Children- Do children require ESTA? Yes, accompanied, and unaccompanied children (regardless of age) require their own independent ESTA prior to their travels to the United States being a citizen of a visa waiver country.Can I apply for a U.S. visa for my child?
Questions and Answers. Q: Do children need a visa? A: All travelers, including children, need a visa to travel to the United States or must qualify to travel without a visa through a special program, such as the Visa Waiver Program.Can Canadians get an ESTA?
Yes. You must apply for ESTA even if you are only transiting the U.S. In the address field of the application, write "In Transit." I have dual citizenship from both a VWP country and a non-VWP country? If you are flying under the terms of the VWP, with your VWP passport, you must apply for ESTA.Who are eligible for dependent visa in Japan?
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More answers regarding applying for ESTA - for Japanese/Canadian kids
Answer 2
- No
- N/A
- The Canadian citizenship is "through parents." The Japanese citizenship I'm not sure about because I don't know much about Japanese citizenship law. I suspect that "through parents" is correct because had you not been a Japanese citizen I think they wouldn't either, even though they were born in Japan. But I doubt many US officers would understand that, and most would expect you to say "by birth." "By birth" isn't particularly meaningful anyway, and since both options are arguably true for your children it probably doesn't matter which once you choose.
- You've already disclosed their Canadian citizenship, so no, they aren't citizens of any other country. Or, if I misunderstand, and this is the first opportunity you have to mention their Canadian citizenship, then of course the answer is yes.
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