Birth Certificate

Question:

I have a question about using secondary proof for my birth certificate. I am a Canadian citizen born in Hong Kong. My birth place and date are both on the first page of my passport and I have a Canadian citizenship card. I wonder if both of these are sufficient secondary evidence. I’ll be trying to retrieve my birth certificate from HK but I’m not sure how long it would take. Would you suggest that I send in my application with this secondary evidence first. If they request for more evidence later, I should have my birth certificate ready then.

Answer:

In addition to the passport and citizenship card, you could also include a notarized letter written by your parents (together or separate letters) stating that you were born to them on such and such date and place. One of the applicants (using our packet) has done this in the past and had no RFE. You need not have to delay your application while you retrieve your original certificate.