Changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act Receive Royal Assent

Updated: Jul 09, 2017 | Tags: Canada Entry Requirements, Canada Visa

Canada celebrated Canada Day on 1st July and the newly-amended Bill C-6 has just been granted Royal Assent. This sets out to modify the Citizenship Act and the new amendments show the Canadian Government’s intention to make the citizenship process more efficient, improving the program's integrity, and repealing some of the Act's clauses that lead to dual citizens being treated in a different manner to other Canadian citizens. Some of the proposed changes to the Act will take place immediately now that Royal Assent has been granted, while others will be implemented in the very near future, allowing the required regulatory changes and preparations to be put in place so those applying for citizenship experience a consistent, smooth changeover.

One of the biggest changes is that from now on, there is no longer a requirement for those applying for citizenship to have the intention of continuing to live in Canada after their citizenship has been approved. Consequently, this will give these individuals greater flexibility in the event that they may need to live away from Canada for domestic, personal or employment reasons. Anther major change is that citizenship for dual citizens with a criminal record will no longer automatically be revoked when crimes are against the national interest. Instead, the Canadian criminal justice system will deal with these individuals, just as it does for all other Canadian citizens who commit such crimes.

Other changes to the Citizenship Act are due to take place towards the end of 2017. These will lead to laws and processes becoming more flexible for younger and older people who are applying for Canadian citizenship. For example, the timeframe requirement for permanent residents to have been living in Canada before applying for citizenship will reduce. It will become 3 out of 5 years as opposed to 4 out of 6 years, which was the former requirement. Also, the age range requirements for meeting the language and knowledge standards set for the approval of citizenship will change from 14-64 to 18-54. Finally, the time applicants may spend in the country on a temporary residency basis or when they are in Canada as 'protected persons' will count towards the requirements for their physical presence in the country when it comes to being granted citizenship.

Next year, further changes are expected to take place and these include reinforcing the process for revoking citizenship by making the Federal Court the key decision maker in the majority of instances. This will help to make procedures fairer for all Canadian citizens across the board.

Reactions

Following the announcement of Canada's new citizenship legislation, the Minister of Immigration issued a tweet stating that there was no place in the country for ‘Two-tiered citizenship'. He went on to add that Bill C-6 had been approved to ensure that all Canadian citizens received equal treatment. In fact, his exact words were 'A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian', a phrase previously used by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of his election campaign in 2015. He uttered this phrase on live TV when replying to Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister at that time. Back then, Bill C-24 (the 'Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act') had been introduced by the Harper government in 2014 and many interpreted this as responsible for creating the two-tier citizenship referred to by the current Minister of Immigration in his tweet.

Assessing Eligibility Under the New Canada Immigration Laws

Now that C-6 has been passed as law, it is possible to assess eligibility to apply for Canadian citizenship using the Canada Visa Citizenship Calculator, which can be found at (https://www.canadavisa.com/citizenship-wizard.html). This assumes that the elements expected to come into force as 2017 progresses will actually be implemented, especially the reduction in the number of residency days applicants will need in order to apply for citizenship under this new Canada immigration law.

A Change in Canada Visa Requirements for Antigua and Barbuda

In other news, there has been a change to Canada's acceptance of visa-free access to the country by citizens from Antigua and Barbuda. These countries share longstanding connections with Canada, but the Canadian government has decided Antigua and Barbuda no longer meet Canada’s visa exemption requirements. Although Canada states it is still strongly committed to the partnership with Antigua and Barbuda, citizens from these countries will now need a visa when travelling to Canada. An existing Canada eTA (electronic travel authorization) for Antigua and Barbuda citizens will no longer be accepted and travellers in possession of a Canada eTA won't be able to use this now when travelling to Canada. The Canadian Government is contacting all affected eTA holders by email to let them know that they will now need a visa when coming to Canada.