Answers
Is it legal to travel to Canada to give birth?
Yes. Canadian law does not prohibit a visitor from giving birth in Canada, and a child born on Canadian soil acquires citizenship automatically. What is not permitted is misrepresentation — every question on a visa application must be answered truthfully. Being refused a visa is a separate matter from legality.
What the law actually says
There is no provision in Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and none in the Citizenship Act, that makes travelling to Canada while pregnant unlawful, or that withholds citizenship from a child because of why the parents came. Parliament has debated ending automatic citizenship by birth on Canadian soil more than once and has not done so.
Where people do get into trouble
- Giving a false reason for the trip on a visa application, or in an interview at the border.
- Answering a direct question about pregnancy untruthfully.
- Submitting documents — bank statements, employment letters — that are not genuine.
All three are misrepresentation, which can carry a five-year bar from entering Canada. The legality of the trip does not protect an application that was not honest.
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