In some cases, the authorities might consider refusing the application without a hearing. In this scenario, the officers would need to give the applicant sufficient time for responding and for presenting additional information or evidence. Hence, when the officers find that applicants do not appear to meet the renunciation requirements, they would need to give the applicant ample opportunity for responding before the authorities render the final decision.
It is worth highlighting that the letters that citizenship officers typically send would need to:
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Identify the officer’s concerns and,
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Provide the applicant with ample opportunity for submitting information that proves that they meet the prescribed renunciation requirements
Typical examples of additional information that the applicants could consider providing include:
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Information that indicates that the applicant is a citizen of a country other than Canada
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Information that indicates that the applicant will become a citizen of a country other than Canada
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Information that indicates that the applicant is residing outside Canada
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Information that supports a request for a waiver and,
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Information that indicates that the applicant does not have a mental disability which prevents the applicant from understanding the significance of renouncing citizenship
On receiving the submissions from the applicants, the officers would need to review these submissions. Thereafter, the officers would need to render their final decisions. Some submissions might concern applicants who do not meet the requirements specified in paragraphs 9 (1) (d) or (e). In this scenario, the officers would need to send the entire file to the Case Management Branch (CMB) for assessing the waiver and rendering the final decision on the application. For more details on this, the officers would need to refer to the section titled ‘Waivers for Renunciation of Citizenship Under Section 9’ given on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
Note:
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Citizenship officers would need to bring the files forward for enabling staff to receive the correspondence and match it to the file accordingly
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This would ensure that the applicants have ample opportunities for responding
The Hearings
The Minister has the authority to require applicants to provide any additional information or evidence relevant to their applications. In addition, the Minister can specify the date by which the applicant needs to submit these documents. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in section 23.1 of the Citizenship Act, which the authorities amended via the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act in 2014.
As a result, the Minister could require applicants to appear in person or by any means of telecommunication for the Minister to examine them. For this, the Minister would typically specify the time and the place – or the time and the means – for the appearance.
Officers would need to consider whether procedural fairness considerations justify a hearing. This is especially so when they are determining whether or not a hearing is required. In particular, they would do this when they are acting as the delegates of the Minister. For more details on this, officers would need to refer to the section titled ‘Interviewing Applicants’ given on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
The Process for Contacting the Applicant to Appear for a Telephone Hearing
In most cases, the renunciation process does not require a hearing. As such, officers could complete the process entirely via mail. However, in some cases, the citizenship officers might request applicants for attending a hearing. This is especially so when they assess applications made under the provisions specified in subsection 9 (1).
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In case the applicant resides in Canada
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The officer would need to make arrangements with officers at the nearest local office for a hearing
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Thereafter, they would need to send a notice to the applicant to appear in person at the nearest local office for a telephonic hearing
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Officers of the local office would need to verify the applicant’s identity and provide a room for the hearing
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In case the applicant resides outside Canada
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The officers would need to make arrangements with consular officers for conducting hearings at the nearest consular missions
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Thereafter, they would need to send a notice to the applicant to appear in person at the nearest consular mission for a telephonic hearing
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Officers of the consular office would need to verify the applicant’s identity and provide a room for the hearing
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Note:
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Officers will need to arrange for in-person hearings if they deem it necessary