Last June, Bill C-6 received Royal Assent resulting in major changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act. At the time, not all the changes made in the bill came into force. Immigrants waited with bated breath for the announcement from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada which would bring the changes germane to their citizenship application process into force.
They did not have to wait any more because yesterday, at an event in Brampton, Ontario, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister, Ahmed Hussen announced the effective date for all the changes made to the Citizenship Act to come into effect.
According to him, the changes will take full effect on October 11, 2017. He stated that the new requirements will make the path to join the “Canadian family” easier and more flexible. In his words,
“As a country that’s committed to the settlement and integration of newcomers successfully so they can restart their lives and make contributions to our society, we have to ensure the path to citizenship for permanent residents”.
This news is music to the ears of immigrants in Canada, especially immigrants who came into Canada on a study or work visa. It heralds a more relaxed atmosphere for permanent residents in Canada by removing the barriers to citizenship which were put in place by the Harper government. In fact, reports have shown that due to the stringent rules put in place by the Harper government, Canada faced a downward trend in citizenship applications prompting concerns about disengaged immigrants with rates dropping from 79% to 26% between 2000 and 2008 newcomers.
With these new changes coming into effect next week, many more permanent residents can finally submit their application for citizenship under the new rules. The ICRC website will be updating the Citizenship application documents on its website on October 11 as well.
As an immigrant to Canada, how will these changes affect me? The most important changes, i think, are the reduction of the physical presence requirement from four out of six years to three out of five years. I can now, as a permanent resident, work abroad, visit family and go on vacations without worrying about the physical presence requirement of 183 days in a year which was in force under the previous Act. Aside from that, I am also able to count some part of the time I have spent in Canada on a temporary visitor – work or study permit – towards my physical presence requirements. This basically means that I can be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship two years after getting my permanent residence status. Isn’t that great news? I think it is!
For a better understanding of the differences between the old and the new Citizenship Act, I have set out below the major changes made under the Act.
| Old Act | New Act |
| Applicant had to be physically present in Canada for four out of six years prior to the application | Applicant is required to be physically present in Canada for three out of five years prior to the application |
| Applicant had to be physically present in Canada for 183 days in four out of the six years prior to the application | This provision has been repealed under the new Act. Permanent residents can now go abroad to study, work or visit family without losing access to citizenship eligibility. |
| Applicant’s time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident did not count towards the physical presence requirement | Under the new Act, Applicants can count each day they were physically present in Canada as a temporary resident (worker or student) or a protected person prior to their permanent resident status as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship, up to a maximum of 365 days. |
| The applicant is required to file Canadian income taxes for four out of six years | The applicant must file Canadian income taxes for three out of five years |
| Language and knowledge requirements are demanded from applicants between 14 and 64 years. | The minimum age was increased to 18 years and the maximum age was decreased to 54 years in respect of the applicants required to satisfy the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. |
| Applicants were required to show their intention to continue to live in Canada if granted citizenship | This provision has now been repealed. |
| Revocation of citizenship of dual citizens convicted of treason, spying and terrorism offences | This provision has been repealed |
| Applicants were required to amass 1,460 days of residence in Canada within a six year period, all of it on permanent status. | Applicants can now amass 1,095 days of residence in Canada over a five-year period and for applicants who have spent time in Canada on a work or study status, they may count one day out of every two days spent in Canada on eligible temporary status to a maximum of 365 days towards their eligibility. |
Yesterday was a pretty good day for immigrants and aspiring immigrants to Canada. In other news, the IRCC issued 2,801 Invitation to Apply (ITAs) yesterday to qualifying candidates with a score of 438 and above in the Express Entry pool. You can read the Ministerial Instructions here.
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