Thursday 22 June 2017

Bill C-6 Provides Significant Changes to Citizenship Act


Bill C-6 has now received Royal Assent and has been passed into law. Some of the ammedments to the Citizenship Act have significant effect on permanent residents who are seeking to become Canadian Citizens, namely:


  • Applicants must be physically present in Canada for three out of five years before applying for citizenship. (Used to be 4 years our of 6)
  • Applicants may count each day they were physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship, up to a maximum credit of 365 days. (Previously, time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident did not count towards the physical presence requirement for citizenship.)
  • Applicants between 18 and 54 years must meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. (Previously this applied to applicants between the ages of 14 and 64).

The complete breakdown of amendments that Bill C-6 provides to the Citizenship Act can be found here:

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