QPL Articles
Bill C-6 and changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act
By Jonathan Ablett | June 21, 2017
Bill C-6, an act amending Canada’s Citizenship Act, has received Royal Assent and is now law. Under the new legislation, permanent residents of Canada may apply for citizenship sooner than previously.
However, it should be noted that some of the measures contained in the legislation will not come into force until later this year or early 2018, while some measures came into force immediately.
Under the new law, immigrants will now have to accumulate 1,095 days, or three years, within a five-year period before being eligible for citizenship, instead of the 1,460 days required within six years under the previous act.
C-6 will also:
- Allow permanent residents who had spent time in Canada on temporary status, such as on a work or study permit, to count up to 365 days of this temporary status towards the residency requirement
- Remove the ‘intent to reside’ provision, which previously required new citizens to state that they intended to reside in Canada.
- Eliminate the government’s ability to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens who hold dual citizenship on national security grounds, which the now-governing Liberals had said created a two-tiered citizenship system when in opposition
- Permit children under the age of 18 to apply for citizenship without the support or consent of their parents.
- Give individuals who lost their citizenship on the grounds that it was obtained fraudulently the right to appeal that decision in Federal Court.
See more at cicnews.com/