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 … Read More
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.
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 … 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 … 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 … Read More
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 … 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 … 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 … Read More
CIC to Begin Sharing Information on Citizenship Applicants with the Canada Revenue Agency
On February 28, 2015, the Government of Canada announced in the Canada Gazette that it would begin enhanced information sharing between Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) and the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“). To many representatives who have been stunned at how many people can seemingly get away with reporting different information to the two government departments … Read More
The Citizenship Test
All applicants for Canadian citizenship between 18 and 54 years of age are required to take the Citizenship Test. (As previously noted on this blog, on February 6, 2014, the Government of Canada introduced the The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which will soon change the age requirement to all applicants aged 14-64. As will be shown in … Read More