Audit of the Citizenship Program

Appendix B: Roles and Responsibilities Regarding Citizenship Program Delivery^{Footnote 7}

A summary of roles and responsibilities with respect to the delivery of the Citizenship Program are as follows.

Centralized Processing Region

Call Centre

Case Processing Centre in Sydney

Receive and process proof, search and renunciation applications coming from Consular offices abroad and from within Canada.
Receive and process resumption, adult and minor grant applications and forward them to local offices for decision and ceremony.
Process and finalize non-concurrent minor grant applications for children under 14 years of age.
Receive and process Part 1 of the adoption application.

Regional Offices

Monitor and manage processing volumes and results related to the Citizenship Program within their region.
Manage local offices within their region.

Local Offices

Receive and process citizenship application referred by CPC-S.
Schedule applicants for the knowledge test, interview, hearing with a citizenship judge when required and, ceremony.
Evaluate the documentation and information gathered in support of a citizenship application to ensure applicants meet residency, criminality and security requirements.
Interview citizenship applicants and administer language assessments as necessary.
Ensure completeness and adequateness of the information in the files referred to a citizenship judge in order to allow him to make a decision.
Grant citizenship to adults and minors if they meet all the citizenship requirements.
Organize citizenship ceremonies where applicants take the oath and become citizens.

International Region

Missions Overseas

Provide general information to clients outside Canada on how to apply for a search, proof or renunciation of citizenship.
Accept search, proof and renunciation applications abroad on behalf of CIC and forward them to CPC-Sydney.
Do follow-ups with clients on their application in process where required.
Provide country-specific expertise, especially with regard to document authenticity.
Can administer the oath of citizenship for certain persons (mnor/resumption/discretionary grant).
Do not provide grant services since applicants are expected to reside in Canada.
Verify identity documents as part of the application process prior to submitting proof applications to CPC-S for processing.

Registrar of Canadian Citizenship

Manages the functions as delegated by the Minister in the Citizenship Act and Regulations.
Authorizes delegation to citizenship officers for grants and proofs once the mandatory training is completed and the officer has passed the test.
Approves changes to GCMS, new forms and changes to existing forms.
Operations sector central point of contact with the Citizenship Commission.

Citizenship Program Delivery and Promotion Division

Manages and coordinates Citizenship Program delivery.
Provides functional guidance and advice on the Citizenship Program.
Develops operational guidelines and manuals, and is responsible for the content of citizenship forms.
Develops and provides training on delegation of authority to citizenship officers.
Develops and provides training on the Citizenship Program to consular staff at missions abroad.
Provides functional guidance and advice on citizenship and reaffirmation ceremonies as well as related promotional activities.
Promotes the Citizenship Program through partnerships, outreach and initiatives such as enhanced ceremonies.
Responsible for the content of citizenship publications and works with communications on the development of promotional items.
Chairs COC (working group level).
Assists in developing and implementing program enhancements through the identification of vulnerabilities and discrepancies between the legislation, policy, program procedures and program tools.
Works in collaboration with the policy sector to design program changes as a result of policy direction and then leads program implementation.

Program Integrity Division

Guides program integrity activities (including risk management, anti-fraud measures and quality assurance) across the Citizenship Program
Manages the implementation of the Citizenship Fraud Action Plan.
Works with the program areas at NHQ and in the regions to assess program vulnerability and to develop and implement tools to address this.

Case Management Branch

Manages and processes contentious or special category files such as revocations and client or ministerial appeals of a citizenship judge’s decision to approve a case.
Case Review Unit within Case Management Branch is responsible to process special/complex cases related to proofs, renunciations and resumption of citizenship, security briefs, notices of clients with potential residency concerns, war crime, recall of certificates, revocation, waivers of citizenship requirements under subsection 5(3), discretionary grants of citizenship under subsection 5(4), proceedings under section 29 (citizenship offences). Appeals and judicial review cases are managed by Litigation Unit within Case Management Branch.

Citizenship and Multiculturalism Branch

Manages legislative amendments, new policy and program development, intergovernmental and stakeholder relations, and research and development of new policy frameworks.

Information Management and Technologies Branch / GCMS

Develops and maintains the GCMS, which acts as CIC’s electronic processing and database for citizenship services.

Citizenship Commission

An administrative body within CIC consisting of all citizenship judges working across Canada.
Judges review applications for resumption, renunciation and adult grant and provide independent quasi-judicial decisions for citizenship.
Judges assess applicants to ensure they meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act and Regulations and conduct hearings.
Judges preside over Citizenship ceremonies and administer the oath of citizenship and, stress the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens.
Judges promote citizenship.
Judges make recommendations on discretionary grants of citizenship pursuant to subsection 5(4).
Judges refer cases to the Minister to waive citizenship requirements under subsection 5(3) on compassionate grounds.