Canada Amended its Citizenship Act, effective June 19, 2017

Effective June 19, 2017, Canada has made major amendments to its Citizenship Act.

The immediate changes include:

• Elimination of the requirement that new citizens continue to reside on a full-time basis in Canada after receiving citizenship; 
• Elimination of provisions that allowed authorities to revoke the Canadian citizenship of dual citizens convicted of crimes “against the national interest.” With this change, dual citizens will be treated the same as non-dual citizens under the Canadian justice system.

Additional changes, slated for later this year, include:

• Reduction of the required time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship. The amended rules will reduce the required period of time from four out of six years to three out of five years;
• Revision of the age range for the language and citizenship knowledge requirements from 14 to 64 years of age to 18 to 54 years of age; and
• Allowing time spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person to count toward the required permanent residency period. Each day in Canada as a temporary resident will be counted as a half day of permanent residency in calculating the required residency period.

The official announcement detailing the changes can be found on the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website.

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