Canadian Citizenship

Canadian citizenship may be obtained by persons who have obtained permanent residence and have been resident in Canada for three years in a four-year period. Becoming a Canadian citizen brings certain benefits that permanent residents do not enjoy, such as the right to vote in political elections, the ability to obtain a Canadian passport. Citizenship applications are made within Canada. As part of the application process the applicant will be required to attend a citizenship test where their English or French language ability and their knowledge of Canada will be tested. As a final stage of the process citizenship applicants will be invited to a citizenship ceremony where they will be personally presented with their Citizenship Card by a Citizenship Judge.

Citizenship Applications where the 3-year residency has not been met

Residence in Canada is usually demonstrated by physically residing in the country but in certain cases a person need not have been physically present for the entire three-year period if they can demonstrate they maintained a substantial connection to Canada during their absence. For example, where a person has their family in Canada, their property in Canada, has paid their income tax in Canada, and has been traveling back to Canada on a regular basis, but has spent more than one year in four outside Canada, it may still be possible to apply for citizenship on the basis they have been “de facto” resident in Canada. In each case a Citizenship Judge will review all the facts and make a decision as to whether a person can be considered resident for purposes of their citizenship application even if they have not been physically present in Canada for the entire 3 years in 4.

Citizenship Appeals

In the event that an application for Canadian citizenship has been rejected by the citizenship authorities, an appeal may be made within 60 days to the Federal Court of Canada. The Court will review the Citizenship Judge’s decision and will decide if it was legally made. Issues the Court will consider include whether the Citizenship Judge acted within jurisdiction, whether the decision was fairly made, and whether the decision was reasonable in light of the evidence. If the Court finds that the decision was made in error, it will overturn the negative decision and send the application back for re-consideration by a different Citizenship Judge.

The Law Office of Matthew Jeffery has experience assisting clients in all types of citizenship matters.

Please Contact Us if you require further information.