Baby born during trans-Atlantic flight

[Ryan N]

Baby born during trans-Atlantic flight
January 1, 2009 - 7:57AM

Northwest Airlines Flight 59 picked up an extra passenger on Wednesday when it was en route from the Netherlands to the United States.

Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for Logan International Airport in Boston, said a woman went into labour and gave birth to an apparently healthy girl over the Atlantic during the eight-hour flight from Amsterdam.

Mr Orlandella said a doctor and a paramedic who were on the flight assisted in the birth.

He said the plane landed without incident and the mother and baby were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.

He said he did not know the nationality of the mother, but said that for customs purposes the baby was considered a Canadian citizen because she was born over Canada's airspace.

AP

[Gareth Forwood]

Originally Posted by Ryan N

He said he did not know the nationality of the mother, but said that for customs purposes the baby was considered a Canadian citizen because she was born over Canada's airspace.

I always thought citizenship would be based on either the nationality of the airline, or the destination/origins...

Lucky the doctor and paramedic were on board

[Ash W]

Originally Posted by Gareth Forwood

I always thought citizenship would be based on either the nationality of the airline, or the destination/origins...

Lucky the doctor and paramedic were on board

It is based on the citizenship of the parents. Ie if two aussies have a child on the US, the child is Australian not American.

In this case read carefuly the words in the last sentence.

[Ryan N]

So once they find out the mother's nationality, the baby would not be a Canadian citizen anymore.

[Andrew P]

Originally Posted by Ryan N

So once they find out the mother's nationality, the baby would not be a Canadian citizen anymore.

Ugandian, so the child is not a Canadinan citizen

if the same thing happened over Australian airspace the child would NOT get Australian citizenship, unless one parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident

Banjo

[NickN]

Wonder what they named the kid after his relatively unusual point of entry into the world.... and how he passed customs after landing with no passport

[John C]

Incorrect.

It depends on the country.

In the US, a child born in the US of Australian parents is a US citizen, entitled to a US passport and all that it conveys.

Further to that, the child is NOT an Australian citizen and needs to be naturalised upon return to Australia.

as for the child born in flight, it was my understanding that it is a citizen of the country which is being overflown, unless it is in international waters, at which point it reverts to the carriers country of origin - but I am not sure on that.

[Andrew P]

Originally Posted by John C

Incorrect.


Further to that, the child is NOT an Australian citizen and needs to be naturalised upon return to Australia.

incorrect, sought off

the child can become an Australian citizen in the USA, after the parents apply for Citizenship by Descent at an Australian Embassy or Consulate

Banjo

[Ryan N]

Looks like the baby may be eligible for Canadian citizenship after all.

Citizenship available for baby born in Canadian airspace
January 2, 2009 - 10:41AM

A Ugandan woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl on a plane from Amsterdam to Boston while flying over Canadian airspace, making the child eligible for Canadian citizenship, US media reported on Thursday.

Little Sasha was born Wednesday at 1400 GMT to the applause of other amazed Northwest Airlines passengers, as their plane flew over Halifax, Canada.

The mother, whose name was withheld by the airline, was assisted in giving birth by two doctors who were passengers on board, The Boston Globe said.

"She (Sasha) looked perfect. She opened her eyes and she was very happy," Dr Natarajan Raman told the daily.

"Even though we didn't have a labour room delivery set up, everything went perfect."

At 2.7 kilograms (6.7 pounds), Sasha was born five minutes after her mother went into labour and about 90 minutes before the Boeing 757 landed in Boston, where child and mother were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital as a precaution.

US officials said that since Sasha was born over Canadian airspace, she should be a Canadian citizen.

Calls to Canada's immigration ministry were not returned.

AFP

[NickN]

So does that mean if this lady happened to claim some sort of asylum on the basis that her child was technically a Canadian citizen she would be more than likely to receive asylum status?

What would happen if a pregnant refugee delivered a child while the plane was over Australia, the child would automatically be an Australian citizen and the refugee mother would still be a citizen of say Iraq. Could they force her to go back and leave the child behind or would they allow her citizenship?

You would think that it would be more sensible that the child automatically becomes a citizen of the parents home nation, whichever that may be.