A New Law Has Been Passed To Make It Easy For Immigrants In Canada To Qualify For Citizenship Quickly
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Ahmed Hussen, has made it clear that the new amendments to the Citizenship Act will make it easy for immigrants in Canada to qualify for citizenship quickly. The long awaited Bill C-6, an act proposing changes that would make it easier for permanent residents to become Canadian citizens, has just received the Royal Assent.
A lot of the changes to the Citizenship Act will take effect immediately, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.
Canadian Citizenship Law Changes that take effect immediately upon Royal Assent on June 19, 2017
Presently, dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law. Previously, Canadian citizenship could be revoked from dual citizens convicted of treason, spying and terrorism offences, depending on the sentence received, or who were a part of an armed force of a country or organized group engaged in conflict with Canada.
Prior to the new changes to the Citizenship Act, applicants were required to intend to continue to live in Canada if granted citizenship. Citizenship applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship. This provides more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons.
Minors can now apply for citizenship without a Canadian parent, as the age requirement for citizenship has been removed under subsection 5(1). A person having custody of the minor or empowered to act on their behalf by court order, written agreement or operation of law, can now apply for citizenship on behalf of the minor, unless that requirement is waived by the Minister. Before this new law, the Immigration Minister had the discretion to waive certain requirements under subsection 5(1) of the Citizenship Act so a minor could obtain citizenship without a Canadian parent.
Individuals serving a conditional sentence will not be granted citizenship, take the Oath of Citizenship, or be able to count this time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship. No provision existed to prevent individuals serving a sentence in the community (a conditional sentence order) from being granted citizenship, taking the Oath of Citizenship or counting this time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship.
Statelessness has been added as a stand-alone ground that can be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship. Under the old law, the Minister had the discretion to grant citizenship to a person to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship, or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.
The requirement to take into consideration reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of a citizenship applicant who is a disabled person is now included in the Citizenship Act. The Department had reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of citizenship applicants. However, there was no explicit reference to accommodate persons with disabilities in the Citizenship Act.
This requirement now also applies to all applications, including those received before June 11, 2015. The requirement for applicants to maintain the requirements for citizenship from the time they apply for citizenship until taking the Oath of Citizenship only applied to applications received on or after June 11, 2015.
Canadian Citizenship Law Changes that take effect in fall 2017 upon Royal Assent
Applicants must be physically present in Canada for three out of five years before applying for citizenship. Applicants had to be physically present in Canada for four out of six years before applying for citizenship.
Applicants must file Canadian income taxes, if required to do so under the Income Tax Act, for three out of five years, matching the new physical presence requirement. Applicants had to file Canadian income taxes, if required to do so under the Income Tax Act, for four out of six years, matching the physical presence requirement.
This provision is repealed. Applicants no longer have to meet this requirement. Applicants had to be physically present in Canada for 183 days in four out of the six years preceding their application.
Applicants may count each day they were physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship, up to a maximum credit of 365 days. Time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident did not count towards the physical presence requirement for citizenship.
Applicants between 18 and 54 years must meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. Applicants between 14 and 64 years had to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship.
Canadian Citizenship Law Changes that take effect in early 2018 upon Royal Assent
The Federal Court is the decision-maker in all revocation cases, unless the individual requests that the Minister make the decision. Under the old law, the Minister was the decision-maker for most cases of citizenship revocation on the grounds of false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances. The Federal Court was the decision-maker for citizenship revocation cases involving false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances related to security, human or international right violations, and organized criminality.
Clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents is provided under the Citizenship Act. There was no clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents provided under the Citizenship Act.
Source: canada.ca
3 Comments
Evangeline Ignacio
please give emphasize also for our papers. Weve been waiting for the remedical and update of the imigration. We want our family to be reunited.
Candida Balagasay dela Fuente
I've been here in Canada since May 05, 2009 to present and never went home for more than 8 years, and l will be turning 54 next Sept. 10, 2018. Do l need to take the examination for Citizenship?
Thanks and God speed...
Rose Marie Tolentino
I'm staying here in Canada for almost 7 years now I'm 57 years old do I still need to take an exam to be a Canadian citizen?