Giving birth in Canada as a foreign national is legal, and your child will automatically become a Canadian citizen the moment they are born on Canadian soil. That said, the process involves real immigration obligations, significant financial exposure, and legal risks that require careful planning well before you travel.
At Kingwell Immigration Law, we work with families navigating every stage of this process — from visa disclosure and hospital planning to managing your status after your baby arrives.
If you are thinking about your family’s longer-term future in Canada, speak with our family sponsorship lawyer in Toronto.
Yes. Canada applies the principle of jus soli — the right of soil. Under Section 3(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, any child born on Canadian soil automatically becomes a Canadian citizen, regardless of the parents’ nationality or immigration status.
There are narrow exceptions — for example, children born to foreign diplomats — but these do not apply to the vast majority of births.
That citizenship carries real, lasting benefits. Your child will be entitled to a Canadian passport, access to publicly funded education and healthcare as they grow up in Canada, and the right to live and work in Canada permanently.
Canada also permits dual citizenship, meaning your child can hold Canadian citizenship alongside citizenship in your home country.
What Canadian-born citizenship does not do is change your immigration status as a parent. A Canadian citizen child cannot sponsor a parent for permanent residence until that child turns 18. In the immediate term, you remain subject to the same visa conditions you entered Canada under.
Our team can help you plan around this reality and identify what options are available for your family’s longer-term path.
💡 Additional reading: If my child is born in Canada, can I get citizenship?
Most foreign nationals travel to Canada to give birth on a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), also called a visitor visa, or by using an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) if they are from a visa-exempt country. There is no specific maternity visa. Your visa category does not change the fact that your child will acquire Canadian citizenship at birth.
The critical issue is disclosure. When applying for a visitor visa, you are asked about the purpose of your trip. If you intend to give birth in Canada, you must disclose this on your application.
IRCC officers are trained to identify applications where the stated purpose does not align with the circumstances — including cases where a woman in her third trimester applies for a short tourist visit with no other plausible reason for travel.
Misrepresenting the purpose of your visit — whether on the application or at the port of entry — carries serious consequences.
Under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), a finding of misrepresentation can result in a visa refusal, a five-year bar from entering or applying to Canada, removal from Canada if you are already here, and consequences that follow you into future applications for study permits, work permits, or permanent residence.
If you have questions about what to disclose on your application, contact us before you submit.
Canada’s public healthcare system covers Canadian citizens and permanent residents. If you are visiting on a temporary visa, you are not entitled to publicly funded care and will be billed directly by the hospital as a self-paying international patient. The costs can be substantial.
The following ranges reflect typical costs, though the final amount will depend on the province, the hospital, and whether complications arise:
| Type of Delivery | Estimated Cost (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Vaginal delivery (no complications) | $5,000 – $8,000 |
| Caesarean section | $10,000 – $15,000 |
| Premature birth or NICU care | $20,000 – $50,000+ |
| Extended stay or significant complications | Highly variable |
These figures reflect the delivery itself. Additional charges typically apply for prenatal appointments, anesthesia fees, pediatric screenings, daily room rates, and postnatal follow-up care.
Most hospitals also require a deposit — sometimes several thousand dollars — before admitting a self-paying patient for obstetrical services. A total budget of $25,000 to $50,000 is a reasonable planning figure, with an additional buffer for unforeseen circumstances.
Yes — and securing the right policy is one of the most important steps before you travel. Standard travel insurance frequently excludes pregnancy-related care or places strict limitations on maternity coverage, so you cannot assume your existing policy covers a birth in Canada.
Before purchasing any policy, verify the following:
Securing maternity coverage early — well before your third trimester — gives you more options and fewer exclusions to manage. If you are unsure whether your coverage is adequate, our team can help you identify the right questions to ask before you commit to a policy.
Most airlines restrict travel for pregnant passengers beyond 36 weeks of pregnancy, and some set the limit earlier. This narrows your travel window considerably and means flights, hospital arrangements, and documentation all need to be confirmed well in advance.
Beyond the airline, hospitals have their own intake policies for non-resident patients. Not every hospital will accept self-paying international patients for obstetrical services, and those that do typically require a booking and a deposit before you arrive.
Confirming hospital acceptance in writing and securing a named obstetrician or midwife before you board is not optional — it is the foundation of a sound plan.
Book a consultation with our team if any part of your pre-travel arrangements is in question, so we can help you identify what needs to be resolved before your situation becomes urgent.
Arriving at a Canadian port of entry while visibly pregnant will attract questions from a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer. Officers are assessing whether your entry is consistent with your stated purpose and whether you are likely to remain in Canada beyond your authorized period of stay.
Documents that support your case include proof of private health insurance covering childbirth, proof of sufficient funds to cover medical costs, a confirmed hospital booking with written acceptance as a patient, a return ticket, and evidence of ties to your home country.
Attempting to conceal your intentions at the border creates misrepresentation risk under IRPA, with consequences that can affect your entire immigration history.
If a CBSA officer refuses your entry at the port of entry, your immediate options are limited — but refused entry is not necessarily the end of the road. If the refusal was made in error or without proper consideration of your circumstances, legal recourse is available, including a request for reconsideration or, in appropriate cases, an application for judicial review at the Federal Court of Canada.
Our firm has represented clients at the Federal Court and can assess whether a legal challenge is available in your situation.
This is one of the most commonly overlooked risks when planning a birth in Canada. Your visitor visa has a fixed expiry date that does not pause while you wait for your child’s documents to be processed.
After your child is born, the hospital issues a Statement of Live Birth. You then register the birth with the relevant provincial authority to obtain an official birth certificate — in Ontario, this is done through ServiceOntario.
Only after receiving the birth certificate can you apply for your child’s Canadian passport. Processing times vary across provinces and can take weeks to months. If your status expires before this process is complete, you have options — but you must act before your status lapses, not after.
If your expiry date is approaching and your child’s documents are not yet ready, contact our team promptly — the sooner we hear from you, the more options we have to protect your status.
Once your child is born in Canada, the documentation process begins immediately and follows a clear sequence:
A Canadian-born child cannot sponsor a parent for permanent residence until that child turns 18. However, a Canadian citizen child is not legally irrelevant to a parent’s immigration path, and the right legal strategy at the right time can make a meaningful difference.
In Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) applications under section 25 of IRPA, decision-makers must consider the best interests of any child directly affected by the application.
A Canadian-born child with established ties to Canada — through education, relationships, or community — can carry real weight in an H&C submission. Similarly, where a parent is facing removal from Canada, the presence of a Canadian-born child is one of the humanitarian considerations that an officer or tribunal must weigh.
This does not guarantee any outcome. But presenting those factors effectively — with the right legal strategy and evidence — is exactly the kind of work our team is here to do.
💡 Additional reading: If my child is born in Canada, can I get permanent residency?
Misrepresentation in a Canadian immigration application is one of the most serious findings under IRPA. Under section 40, it is not limited to outright lies — it includes omissions, misleading statements, and situations where an officer concludes you withheld material information. Intent is not required for a finding to be made.
In the context of planning a birth in Canada, misrepresentation risk arises in two primary ways: applying for a visitor visa without disclosing your intention to give birth in Canada, and telling a CBSA officer at the border that you are on a tourist visit when you are in your third trimester with a hospital booking already confirmed.
A finding of misrepresentation can result in:
⚠️ Hypothetical scenario: A woman applies for a visitor visa without disclosing her pregnancy, enters Canada at six months, gives birth, and later applies for a work permit. If IRCC identifies the prior visit and the circumstances of her delivery, a misrepresentation finding from the original visa application could affect how every subsequent application is assessed — including well after the five-year bar expires. A single disclosure failure can cast a long shadow.
If you are uncertain about what to disclose or concerned that something already submitted could be interpreted as misrepresentation, the sooner you speak with our team, the more options we have to protect you.
The birth of a Canadian citizen child opens real possibilities for your family’s future in Canada. Between managing your immigration status, completing your child’s documentation, and identifying the right path forward, there is a great deal to get right in a short period of time — and the consequences of getting it wrong can follow you for years.
At Kingwell Immigration Law, we guide families through every stage of this process. Whether you need advice before you travel, help managing your status while you are in Canada, assistance with a Temporary Resident Permit application, or representation if something has gone wrong — including refused entry or a misrepresentation concern — we are here to find a clear path forward with you.
Your child may be born a Canadian citizen — but your immigration strategy still matters. Call 416.988.8853 or book a consultation to build a clear, lawful path forward for your family.
As a foreign national, you are billed directly for all medical care. NICU stays typically cost between $20,000 and $50,000 or more, depending on the duration and complexity of care, which is why securing private insurance that explicitly covers newborn emergencies before you travel is essential.
Until your authorized period of stay expires — typically the date stamped in your passport on arrival, or six months from entry if no date was specified. If your child’s documents are not ready by then, you must apply to extend your stay through IRCC before your status lapses, not after.
Your child needs their own Canadian passport. Canadian citizens — including newborns — cannot travel on a parent’s passport. Obtain the provincial birth certificate first, then apply for the passport through IRCC. Factor several weeks of processing time into your departure plans.
Your child keeps the citizenship they were born with. Citizenship rights in Canada are not revoked retroactively, and as of the time of writing, Canada’s jus soli provisions remain in force under the Citizenship Act.
Yes. You are responsible for the accuracy of your application regardless of who prepared it. The Federal Court has consistently held that errors made by a representative do not shield the applicant from a misrepresentation finding under section 40 of IRPA.
