• Page Views 2208
  • Ottawa, ON — A final suite of reforms to strengthen and modernize Canada’s citizenship laws will be fully in force as of June 11, 2015. The changes – part of a package of measures approved by Parliament last year – ensure new citizens can fully and quickly participate in Canada’s economy and Canadian society.

    The first set of provisions that came into force last summer to strengthen Canadian citizenship and speed up application processing times are already paying off. New citizenship applications are being finalized in a year or less, and it is expected that the backlog of older files will have been eliminated by the end of this fiscal year. Individuals who submitted a citizenship application before April 1, 2015 will have a decision by March 31, 2016.

    Among the many benefits of the government’s citizenship reforms, the new provisions will deter citizens of convenience – those who become citizens for the sake of having a Canadian passport to return to Canada to access taxpayer-funded benefits that come with citizenship status, without having any attachment to Canada, or contributing to the economy.

    Key changes include (in force June 11, 2015):
    *Adult applicants must now be physically present in Canada for at least 1,460 days (four years) during the six years before the date of their application, and they must be physically present in Canada for at least 183 days in each of four calendar years within the qualifying period. This is aimed at ensuring that citizenship applicants develop a strong attachment to Canada.
    *Applicants between the ages of 14 and 64 must meet basic knowledge and language requirements. This is aimed at ensuring that more new citizens are better prepared for life in Canada.
    *Citizenship will be automatically extended to additional “Lost Canadians” on June 11th, who were born before
    1947, and did not become citizens on January 1, 1947 when the first Canadian Citizenship Act came into effect. This will also apply to their children born in the first generation outside Canada.
    *Adult applicants must declare their intent to reside in Canada once they become citizens and meet their personal income tax obligations in order to be eligible for citizenship.
    *To help improve program integrity, there are now stronger penalties for fraud and misrep
    resentation (to a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or up to five years in prison). This is aimed at deterring unscrupulous applicants who are prepared to misrepresent themselves, or advise others to do so.
    *The newly-designated Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (IC- CRC) is the new regulatory body for citizenship consultants. Only members of the ICCRC, lawyers or notaries (including paralegals and students at law) can be paid to provide citizenship applicants with representation or advice.
    *New application forms, aligned with the new rules for eligibility, will be available on the CIC website as of June 11, 2015. Any applications received using the old forms and applications received after June 10, 2015 will be returned to the applicant.

    -Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister

    Share

    Related Post

    Related Blogpost

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    New Posts Recently publish post More

    • 29 March 2023
      6 hours ago No comment

      Romnick, Elijah deserving of acting awards

      Elijah Canlas won several best actor awards both here and abroad for “Kalel, 15,” directed by Jun Lana. He is now reunited with Jun in “About Us But Not About Us,” a veritable acting duel between him and Romnick Sarmenta. At the press preview, everyone agrees both Elijah and ...

    • 29 March 2023
      6 hours ago No comment

      With 9 short-listed entries: GMA Network leads PH contingent to 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards

        Media giant GMA Network is set to proudly represent the Philippines at the 2023 New York Festivals TV & Film (NYF) Awards with nine entries making it to the short-listed candidates – again earning the most number of nominees for the country. Spanning three decades of blazing the trail in ...

    • 29 March 2023
      6 hours ago No comment

      Until Branches Bend (PG) ****

        Running Time: 1h 38min   Standing Tall!   By Robert Waldman     How nice it is for a Canadian movie to be eventful. Wonders never cease to amaze me. Why even more impressively Telefilm Canada got it right by helping finance Until Branches Bend. Besides helping local ...

    • 29 March 2023
      6 hours ago No comment

      Death Knot (PG)**

        Running time: 101 min.   Cursed!   By Robert Waldman     Nothing brings people closer than family. Or further apart. See a family put through the ringer in the deadly Death Knot which comes out on Jan. 17. Cornelia Sunny ensures audiences don’t have quite the sunny ...

    • 29 March 2023
      7 hours ago No comment

      Kat Alano reacts after SC junked rape, acts of lasciviousness raps vs Vhong Navarro

        Trigger Warning: Contains mentions of terms related to alleged sexual violence  Former model-VJ Kat Alano shared a cryptic tweet after the Supreme Court‘s Third Division dismissed charges filed against television host-actor Vhong Navarro on Monday. The Division in a 43-page ruling dated February 8 ordered the dismissal of the rape and acts of lasciviousness ...

    %d bloggers like this: