The table below outlines when new changes will be made under the Canada Citizenship Act with comparisons to the old law. June 19, 2017 – Federal government changes to new rules on applying for Canadian citizenship received Royal Assent today, after clearing the Senate last week.
The wide-ranging bill repeals many of the changes put in place by the previous Conservative government, which the Liberals said created two tiers of Canadian citizenship.
Under the new bill the federal government loses the power to strip citizenship from dual nationals accused of national security offences.
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Summary of new changes under Bill C-6
- Applicants must be permanent residents of and physically reside in Canada for at least 1,095 days (three years) during the five years before the date of their application, and repeals requirement that applicants must be physically present in Canada for at least 183 days in each of the qualifying years.
- Applicants between the ages of 18 and 54 must meet basic knowledge and language requirements. Applicable criteria will be defined under future regulations.
- Repeals a requirement that adult applicants must declare their intent to reside in Canada once they are granted Canadian citizenship.
- Restores consideration of time spent in Canada as a non-permanent resident (non-PR) for most applicants to a maximum of one year of credited time.
- Reduces the period to three years for adult applicants to file Canadian income taxes, if required under the Income Tax Act, to be eligible for citizenship.
- Repeals authority to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual citizens who served as members of an armed force of a country or an organized armed group engaged in armed conflict with Canada.
- Repeals authority to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual citizens who are convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason, or spying offences, depending on the sentence received.
- Authorizes Minister to seize documents used in fraudulent citizenship applications.
- Allow minors the right to apply for citizenship without parents.
Elsewhere, the bill also reduces the time a permanent resident of Canada must physically reside in the country to be allowed to become a citizenship. Previous Conservative changes had raised the bar to four years in six, but that will now be reduced to three years (1095 days) in five.
A further change allows citizenship applicants to count up to a year of time spent in Canada as a non-permanent resident towards their physical presence total.
A requirement that applicants must be physically present in Canada for at least 183 days in each of the qualifying years has been repealed.
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Benefits of Canadian Citizenship
Benefits of Canadian Permanent Residency
Language testing age requirements changes. Previous law required applicants between the ages of 14 and 64 were required to take the test. That age range will now include those between 18 and 54. A Senate amendment had sought to raise the upper limit to 60, but that was rejected in the House of Commons and that has been accepted in the upper house.
The change will also mean citizenship applicants no longer have to declare their intention to reside in Canada as part of the application process.
The passing of Bill C-6 has been dramatically delayed. The original target was to get it into law by July 1 2016.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau based a major part of his 2015 election campaign on removing the concept of a two-tier citizenship system under the slogan ‘a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian’.
Although the Senate began debating the bill in June 2016, it only passed it in amended form in March 2017. The amendments meant it had to be returned to the House of Commons for approval, before a further vote from the Senate rubberstamped the bill in its amended form.
The Liberal government will release information kits announcing the new law will come into force in stages, with some provisions to take effect later this month and the major features, including residence requirements in October 2017.
Below is a table published on the official Canadian government website, outlining when changes will be made, and how the new Canada Citizenship Act compares to the old one.
Immediate Changes (As Of June 19, 2017)
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| 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. | This provision is repealed. 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. |
| Applicants were required to intend to continue to live in Canada if granted citizenship. | This provision is repealed. 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. |
| The 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| The Minister has 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. | Statelessness has been added as a stand-alone ground that can be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship. |
| The Department has reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of citizenship applicants. However, there was no explicit reference to accommodate persons with disabilities in the Citizenship Act. | 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 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. | This requirement now also applies to all applications, including those received before June 11, 2015. |
Changes To Take Effect Fall 2017
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| Applicants had to be physically present in Canada for four out of six years before applying for citizenship. | Applicants must be physically present in Canada for three out of five years before applying for citizenship. |
| 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. | 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 be physically present in Canada for 183 days in four out of the six years preceding their application. | This provision is repealed. Applicants no longer have to meet this requirement. |
| Time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident did not count towards the physical presence requirement for citizenship. | 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. |
| Applicants between 14 and 64 years had to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. | Applicants between 18 and 54 years must meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. |
Changes To Take Effect Early 2018
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| 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. | The Federal Court is the decision-maker in all revocation cases, unless the individual requests that the Minister make the decision. |
| There was no clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents provided under the Citizenship Act. | Clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents is provided under the Citizenship Act. |
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