Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which became Canadian law today, includes a number of important changes making the citizenship program more efficient so that qualified applicants will obtain citizenship more quickly. It is expected that by 2015–2016, these changes will bring the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under a year and that the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent.
Under the old model, obtaining citizenship was a three-step process that involved duplication of work: Citizenship officers reviewed the files and prepared them for a citizenship judge, who approved or rejected the application, returned it to the officer, who then granted citizenship on behalf of the Minister or recommended an appeal of the judge’s decision.
Under the new model, the process will be streamlined into one single-step. Citizenship officers will decide all aspects of a citizenship application. On a transitional basis, cases where the officer believes the applicant does not meet the residence requirement will be referred to citizenship judges. Citizenship judges will also remain responsible for the important role of presiding over citizenship ceremonies and administering the oath of citizenship, which is the final step before citizenship is granted.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will also have stronger authority to define what constitutes a complete application and what evidence applicants must provide. The ability to require up-front proof that certain requirements are met and to return incomplete applications will significantly improve the processing of applications and ensure resources are focused on complete applications.
Decision making for discretionary grants of citizenship moves from the Governor in Council to the Minister, streamlining the process. Moving the decision-making authority to the Minister improves applicant service by eliminating an extra step. Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand already have similar approaches.
The Act also amends the review process for decisions on citizenship applications. Until now, an appeal of a citizenship judge’s decision would go to the Federal Court but no higher. Now, decisions by citizenship officers, who have authority to decide certain cases under the Act, can be judicially reviewed and challenged in a higher court.
Under the Citizenship Act, judicial review of citizenship decisions will be subject to leave of the Federal Court. The Federal Court decision can then be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, where the Federal Court certifies a serious question of general importance. Further appeals are available to the Supreme Court of Canada with leave.
These changes increase processing efficiency and support ongoing efforts to modernize citizenship processing. Under the old system, the Act did not provide the explicit authority to declare an application abandoned in situations where an applicant fails to appear for the citizenship test or an appointment with an officer. The changes provide clear authority to determine that an application has been abandoned if the applicant fails to comply with a request for information or to attend an interview. The abandonment power would apply to all applications, at any stage after processing has begun, up until the oath is taken.
