Filipiniana News – March 2018
RHYME & REASON
After Bill C-6 was enacted on 19 June 2017, the changes to
Canada's citizenship law underwent incremental changes which have all become
fully effective by February 2018.
Please find below a summary of these changes.
The changes which took effect on 19 June 2017 include the following:
1. Removal of the
citizenship revocation provisions for dual citizens who are convicted of
treason, spying, terrorism and related offences. This was meant to remove the resulting
two-tiered citizenship from the previous system in that dual citizens were
being treated differently than non-dual citizens. Under this recent amendment, all Canadians
who violate criminal laws, whether dual citizens or not, are expected to face the Canadian criminal
justice system instead of being stripped of Canadian citizenship.
2. Removal of the
requirement to confirm intent to live in Canada when granted citizenship. This is meant to provide flexibility for
those who may need to live outside of Canada for work and other legitimate
reasons without fear of being denied or stripped of their Canadian
citizenship.
3. Minors (persons
below 18 years old) can independently qualify for Canadian citizenship. This will allow minors to become Canadian
citizens even of their parents do not qualify or are not ready to apply
for Canadian citizenship.
4. Persons serving a
conditional sentence cannot anymore be granted or take the oath of citizenship
nor be allowed to count this time to satisfy the physical presence
requirement.
5. Citizenship
officers are required to consider reasonable measures to accommodate persons
with disabilities who are applying for Canadian citizenship
6. Statelessness has
been added as a ground to consider for a discretionary grant of
citizenship.
Meanwhile, the following changes took effect on 11 October
2017:
1. The physical
presence requirement has been reduced to three years within the last five years
from submitting the citizenship application.
This will replace the previous physical presence requirement of four
years within the last six years plus 183 days in four of the last six years.
2. The requirement to
file income tax returns is now required only for three years within the last
five years to match the new physical presence requirement.
3. A half-day credit will be given for each day
of physical presence in Canada as a valid temporary resident (student, worker,
visitor) or protected person for a maximum period of one year. This will allow many permanent residents to
qualify for Canadian citizenship after only two years from receipt of their
permanent resident status if they have been temporary residents for at least
two years previously. This was also in
place for many years before it was removed
by the previous government.
4. The language and
knowledge test will only be required from applicants between the ages of 18 and
54 years old (instead of the previous 14 to 64 years old).
The last batch of changes in Bill C-6 which took effect on
15 January 2018 are:
1. The Federal Court will be the decision-maker
in all citizenship revocation cases, unless the individual applicant requests
that the Minister make the decision.
2. Express authority has been given for citizenship
officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents.
Canadian Citizenship Processing Fee Changes
As a whole, the changes have been welcomed by many,
especially the removal of punitive and discriminatory features in the present
Canadian citizenship rules. However,
there are still some who feel that the changes did not go far enough.
For instance, the Canadian citizenship processing fee of
$530 still applies for adult applicants.
The same $530 fee used to apply also to unaccompanied minor applicants
but this was changed retroactively in February 2018 when IRCC announced the all
minor citizenship applicants (whether applying on their own or with their
parents) on or after 19 June 2017, will
only need to pay $100 for the citizenship processing fee.
For adults however, the $530 processing fee plus a right of
citizenship fee of $100, add up to a whopping $630 fee per applicant which is
more than triple the previous cost of citizenship applications of $200 only a
few years back.
As a result, the hefty fees may still deter many who may
qualify for Canadian citizenship from applying simply because they cannot
afford to pay. As a result, this again
creates another type of two-tiered membership in Canadian society based on
financial capacity. That is, those who
have the means are able to enjoy full privileges of citizenship (e.g. Federal
employment, political participation or passport entitlement) while those who do
not are denied the same benefits.
While there are those who feel that Canada's
citizenship requirements are too lenient and easy to obtain, there are still
many who are being unjustifiably denied this right for reasons beyond their
control. Thus, there are long-term
residents of Canada who have established their lives here and have lost any and
all connection to their countries of origin, who may still face the prospect of
being deported if they will commit an act that is a ground for losing their
permanent residency.
These recent changes show that IRCC is willing and
able to adopt changes towards making citizenship laws more accessible and
inclusive. Allowing a fee exemption for
those who really cannot afford the citizenship fee may just be another small
change that could make a huge difference in some people's lives.
The above are meant for
information purposes only and not as legal advice. To seek legal advice about your particular
situation, please consult a trusted immigration legal professional.
The author is a Filipino-Canadian
immigration lawyer and may be reached at deanna@santoslaw.ca
or tel. no. 416-901-8497.
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