Section 5(4) of the Citizenship Act, RSC 1985, c C-29 states: Special cases (4) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, in his or her discretion, grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada. Policy The IRCC website states: Subsection 5(4) of the Citizenship Act states that despite any other provision of the Act, the Minister may, at his discretion, grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional nature to Canada. Grants under this subsection are only used in very exceptional cases and each case is considered on its own merit. It is important that applicants appreciate the significance of being conferred a grant of citizenship under this provision and that it should not be used as a means of circumventing the normal citizenship process. Jurisprudence In Calleya v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1624, Justice Roy summarized the law on discretionary grants of citizenship. He stated: The purpose of subsection 5(4) is to provide a residual, highly discretionary, ability to grant citizenship. The high threshold and the … Read More
The Citizenship Test
All applicants for Canadian citizenship between 18 and 54 years of age are required to take the Citizenship Test. The citizenship test is generally the final step before the citizenship ceremony. Discover Canada The Citizenship Test assess an applicant’s knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of Canadian citizenship. All questions are based on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (“IRCC”) Discover Canada, which can be read on IRCC’s website here. Discover Canada’s Table of Contents shows that it consists of the following chapters: Notice – Third-party citizenship study guides, tests and questions The Oath of Citizenship Message to Our Readers Applying for Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Who We Are Canada’s History Modern Canada How Canadians Govern Themselves Federal Elections The Justice System Canadian Symbols Canada’s Economy Canada’s Regions Study Questions For More Information and acknowledgements Authorities Memorable Quotes Retesting Applicants who Fail the Citizenship Test Failing the citizenship test does not result in the automatic refusal of a citizenship application. If someone fails the Canadian citizenship test, they will typically be given a second opportunity to retake the test. Citizenship applicants are allowed to retake the test within a few weeks of the initial attempt. If they … Read More
Understanding the Citizenship Revocation Process
Between 1977 and 2010 only 63 people had their citizenship revoked. In July, 2011, Jason Kenney, then the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (“Minister Kenney“), announced that as many as 1,800 Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they obtained their citizenship fraudulently. The 1,800 individuals were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. On September 9, 2012, Minister Kenney announced that the number of people who would likely have their citizenship revoked had risen to 3,100, with an additional 11,000 people under investigation. An Access to Information Act request revealed that most of the Canadian citizens who were the subject of investigations were originally from the following countries. By the end of 2012, the process of revoking these peoples’ citizenship had already begun. Ultimately, after Federal Court litigation and a change in government, citizenship revocations continue at a rate much smaller than it seemed would occur, but more than before. In 2021, 7 people had their citizenship revoked. In 2022, it was 25. Section 10 of the Citizenship Act The authority of the Government of Canada to strip people of their citizenship is legally provided for by s. 10 of the … Read More
Citizenship Certificates
Any Canadian citizen may apply for a citizenship certificate. The application package can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) website here. The current standard processing time is 5 months. If someone lives outside Canada or the United States, and has applied through a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate, it may take an additional 2 to 4 months beyond the estimated processing times to process your application. The CIC website does list ways to expedite processing. We have below reproduced CIC’s internal master checklist for citizenship certificate applications in the hopes that this will help you structure your application in a way that allows CIC to process it as fast as possible. Here are the IRCC New York instructions on processing citizenship matters.
Bringing an Adopted Child to Canada
It is not uncommon for Canadians to adopt children from abroad. Those that wish to do so should be aware that there are many immigration hurdles to overcome. The purpose of this post is to introduce prospective parents of some of the issues.
Citizenship Applications
To submit a Canadian citizenship application, an individual generally needs to meet the following requirements: have permanent resident status in Canada; meet a physical presence in Canada test. Specifically, they must have lived in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years before they apply; demonstrate language proficiency, unless they are exempt due to age; not have a recent criminal record or be under investigation for a crime; have filed Canadian income taxes, if required; and pass a citizenship test. Physical Presence A person is required to be physically present in Canada for at least 1095 days during the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application. Time spent in Canada before become a permanent resident may be used. Each day spent physically in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person within the last five years, before becomming a permanent resident, will count as one half day, with a maximum of 365 days towards one’s physical presence. Language Requirement All applicants 18-54 years of age must submit proof that demonstrates adequate knowledge of English or French. Acceptable proof includes: Results from a third-party language test. CELPIP-G IELTS TEF Proof of having attended a secondary or post-secondary education … Read More
Suspending Citizenship Applications Due to Cessation Hearings
Until recently, the Government of Canada adopted a very aggressive approach regarding the initiation of cessation applications against permanent residents who are protected persons. The reason is because since 2012 people who lose their protected person status for any of the following reasons also lose their permanent resident status: the person has voluntarily re-availed himself or herself of the protection of their country of nationality; the person has voluntarily reacquired their nationality; the person has acquired a new nationality and enjoys the protection of that new nationality; and the person has voluntarily become re-established in the country that the person left before claiming refugee status in Canada. Several permanent residents with citizenship applications in processing have been affected by cessation applications. In Godinez Ovalle v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), the Federal Court rather bluntly told both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) and the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) that they were out of line, and even called their approach “inhumane.” Ultimately, however, the Federal Court of Appeal in 2017 determined that IRCC can indeed suspend the processing of citizenship applications while cessation proceedings are underway.
What is the Citizenship of the Children of Diplomats Born in Canada?
Canadian citizenship law provides that a person is generally a Canadian citizen if they are born in Canada. Since 1952, however, there has been an exception to those who are born in Canada if neither of the child’s parents are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and if either parent was, at the time of the child’s birth: a diplomatic or consular officer or other representative or employee in Canada of a foreign government; an employee in the service of one of the people listed above; or an officer or employee of a specialized agency of the United Nations or an officer or employee in Canada of any other international organization who benefits from diplomatic privileges and immunities in Canada. (While the precise wording has changed over time, the above restrictions have remained more or less consistent.) Diplomatic Immunity is Critical In Vavilov v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration Canada), 2017 FCA 132, the Federal Court of Appeal answered the following certified question: Are the words “other representative or employee of a foreign government in Canada” found in paragraph 3(2)(a) of the Citizenship Act limited to foreign nationals who benefit from diplomatic privileges and immunities? The Federal Court of Appeal answered in the affirmative. In doing so, … Read More
Bill C-6 – How the Liberals are Changing Canadian Citizenship Law
On February 25, 2016, the Liberal Government of Canada introduced Bill C-6, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act (“Bill C-6”). Bill C-6 was highly anticipated as during the 2015 election campaign the Liberal Party of Canada (the “Liberals”) made repealing portions of the then Conservative Government of Canada’s Bill C-24, The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, one of the key pillars of their election platform. Specifically, the Liberals promised to repeal the provisions of Bill C-24 that provided the Canadian government the ability to revoke the citizenship of certain citizens for national security concerns, to re-allow international students to count as half-days the time that they spent in Canada studying towards the residency requirement to apply for citizenship, and to eliminate the requirement that new Canadian citizens declare that they intend to reside in Canada. The overall theme that the Liberals stressed during the campaign was that they would make it easier for “hard-working” immigrants to become Canadian citizens. Bill C-6 goes beyond the Liberals’ specific promises listed above while remaining true to their campaign theme. Bill C-6 amends many additional aspects of Canada’s Citizenship Act, including reducing the time that it … Read More
Revocation and Statelessness after Budlakoti
Some of the more controversial sections of Bill C-24, The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act (“Bill C-24”), are its revocation provisions. Bill C-24 will create a new s. 10(2) of the Citizenship Act which will state that: Revocation by Minister — convictions relating to national security (2) The Minister may revoke a person’s citizenship if the person, before or after the coming into force of this subsection and while the person was a citizen,(a) was convicted under section 47 of the Criminal Code of treason and sentenced to imprisonment for life or was convicted of high treason under that section; (b) was convicted of a terrorism offence as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code — or an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would constitute a terrorism offence as defined in that section — and sentenced to at least five years of imprisonment; (c) was convicted of an offence under any of sections 73 to 76 of the National Defence Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life because the person acted traitorously; (d) was convicted of an offence under section 78 of the National Defence Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life; (e) was convicted of an offence under section 130 of the National Defence Act in respect of … Read More