Deepan Budlakoti

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Deepan Budlakoti (born October 17, 1989 in Ottawa) is known for Canada’s decision that he is not a Canadian citizen. His case has drawn support from human rights groups and people who advocated for him, and it has raised questions about citizenship, statelessness, and deportation. Because he does not hold citizenship, his situation has wide-reaching implications.

Budlakoti was born in Ottawa to Indian nationals who had worked at the Indian High Commission. Under Canada’s Citizenship Act, children of diplomats and their staff born in Canada are not automatically Canadian citizens. There was debate over whether his parents were still employed there when he was born; Budlakoti later had an Ontario birth certificate and two Canadian passports.

In 1992 his parents applied for permanent residency and listed him as a dependent; that application was approved.

In 2010 Budlakoti was convicted of weapons trafficking, firearm possession, and cocaine trafficking, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.

While he was in prison, Citizenship and Immigration Canada determined that he had never been a Canadian citizen and issued a removal order. He was released in 2012 while awaiting review of that decision. Without proper identification, he faced difficulties in working, accessing health care, and exercising mobility rights.

In June 2014 the Federal Court considered his case. He argued that his rights to life, liberty, and security of the person under the Charter were violated. The court later dismissed his request for judicial review, saying that having passports does not prove citizenship in this case and that the court could not declare someone to be a citizen. It also found that denial of citizenship is not the same as deportation, and that denying state-funded health care does not automatically violate his rights.

Budlakoti appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, which also dismissed his case. The court said he was not stateless because he could still apply for citizenship in Canada or India, and he had not yet tried either route. The court noted that if he used the special hardship provision, he might still obtain a path to citizenship, but he had not pursued it.

A petition to take the case to the Supreme Court was denied in January 2016.

International attention grew, with Amnesty International criticizing Canada for not addressing statelessness and the right to nationality.

In November 2017, Budlakoti and five others were charged with gun trafficking, drug offences, and related crimes in an investigation by Ontario police and Ottawa-Gatineau police.