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Last Updated on October 5, 2017
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October 4, 2017 – Canada’s federal government has announced the second wave of changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act under Bill C-6 will come into effect on Wednesday, October 11, 2017.
Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen made the announcement in Brampton, Ontario, at a press conference.
Important changes include the reduction of the physical presence requirement for permanent residents to qualify for citizenship, from four years in six to three years in five.
“Many permanent residents will be able to apply for citizenship earlier,” Hussen said.
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The minister also announced the removal of the requirement to be in Canada 183 days in each of the qualifying years, allowing permanent residents more freedom to travel outside the country.
Further changes taking effect on October 11 will include time spent as a temporary resident (i.e. work or study) counting towards the physical presence requirement. Temporary residence will be able to accumulate a half day for each full day they have spent in Canada towards their citizenship application, up to a maximum of a year.
Hussen also announced that the age range for language and knowledge testing would be returned to between 18 and 54. The previous Conservative government had widened the gap to between 14 and 64, but the minister said he felt this put an unnecessary burden on young people.
The final change brings the income tax filing requirement into line with the physical presence requirement. Citizenship applicants will now need to file income taxes in three out of the last five years.
Summary of Changes Taking Place on October 11th
| 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. |
The new changes are the second wave to take place after Bill C-6 was given Royal Assent on June 19, 2017.
The first wave, which happened immediately upon the passing of the bill, included the removal of citizenship revocation powers, the declaration of intent to reside requirement and a move to allow minors to apply for Canadian citizenship.
Summary of Changes That Took Place in June 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. |
Meanwhile, a third wave of changes are planned to take place in early 2018, the foremost of which is to return power to the Federal Court in all citizenship revocation cases. Currently, the immigration minister can revoke citizenship on the grounds of false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances.
Early 2018 will also see authority for citizenship officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents.
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. |
“The whole point of these changes is to make sure unnecessary barriers to citizenship are removed,” Hussen said on Wednesday.
“We want all permanent residents to become citizens. Obtaining citizenship is the last but most crucial step to integration.”
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