| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Crown servants working abroad and their commitment to defending the values and interests of Canada. This is why the government has amended the Citizenship Act to fast-track citizenship for permanent residents and foreign nationals serving in the CAF on exchange.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
Canadian citizenship comes with rights and responsibilities. The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act includes a number of amendments to the Citizenship Act to reinforce the value of Canadian citizenship.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
On April 26, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will issue a new set of Ministerial Instructions to immigration officers regarding the processing of applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
This graphic shows Canada's current citizenship revocation system as compared to a streamlined revocation process that is proposed under the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
As a result of a $44 million investment in Economic Action Plan (EAP) 2013 to reduce processing wait times, and the changes proposed in the Blueprint for Citizenship Improvements and the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, processing times would be less than one year by 2015-16. The chart below shows how CIC's backlog of grant applications would be eliminated by 2015-16, allowing for just-time processing of applications and reducing processing.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
Economic Action Plans 2012 and 2013, and the Speech from the Throne have all committed to exploring ways to reform business immigration programs to ensure that immigrant investors make a real contribution in exchange for the security and pathway to citizenship that Canada provides.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
As a part of the amendments to the Citizenship Act, the Government of Canada is proposing a number of changes to make the citizenship program more efficient so that qualified applicants can obtain citizenship more quickly.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
Canadian citizenship comes with rights and responsibilities. Bill C-24 proposes a number of amendments to the Citizenship Act to reinforce the value of Canadian citizenship. The amendments support the government's commitment to the successful integration of new citizens into our labour market and our communities, ensuring that they are better prepared to assume the responsibilities of citizenship and have a strong attachment to Canada.
| Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
| backgrounders
Proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act would reinforce the value of citizenship and strengthen the integrity of the system. Crooked citizenship consultants have facilitated hundreds of individuals in obtaining citizenship through fraudulent means. As of October 2013, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was investigating several large-scale cases of residence fraud involving more than 3,000 Canadian citizens and 5,000 permanent residents (PRs). There are also reports that nearly 2,000 individuals linked to these investigations have withdrawn their citizenship applications. The proposed measures in Bill C-24 would help combat citizenship fraud and uphold the integrity of Canada's citizenship program.
