Program delivery update – June 21, 2017

Update to program delivery instructions to reflect Bill C-6 amendments to the Citizenship Act

Summary

Bill C-6, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act, received Royal Assent on June 19, 2017. The program delivery instructions related to the topics noted below have been updated to reflect the following amendments to the Citizenship Act that came into force upon Royal Assent:

• repeal of the national interest grounds for revocation;
• repeal of the requirement for citizenship applicants to declare their intent to reside in Canada once granted citizenship;
• provision stipulating that time spent under a conditional sentence order cannot be counted toward meeting the physical presence requirements and that those serving a conditional sentence order are prohibited from being granted citizenship or taking the oath of citizenship;
• provision prohibiting applicants from taking the oath of citizenship if they never met or no longer meet the requirements for the grant of citizenship also applying to applications still in process that were received prior to June 11, 2015;
• inclusion of statelessness as a ground for consideration under subsection 5(4).

Updated instructions

• Renunciation of citizenship under subsection 9(1) of the Citizenship Act
• How residence/physical presence is calculated
• Decision-making without the personal appearance of citizenship applicants
• Functional guidance on citizenship: Table of contents
• Terms and definitions related to citizenship
• Resumption of Canadian citizenship [subsection 11(1)]
• Resumption of Canadian citizenship: Canadian Armed Forces
• Citizenship: Ministerial discretion to waive some of the requirements for a grant of citizenship on compassionate grounds
• Citizenship grants: Adults
• Citizenship grants: Canadian Armed Forces
• Citizenship grants: Minors
• Residence/physical presence
• Residence/physical presence requirements
• Granting citizenship: Overview