Canada’s Citizenhip Act is undergoing some major changes. For the first time in 35 years, the rules will be tightened, the cost is going up, and the Immigration Minister will have increased power.
Chris Alexander, Canada’s former Ambassador to Afghanistan, made the announcement in Ottawa today, that as Minister of Immigration he would be overseeing major changes to the Citizenship Act. The reform is intended to deal with the backlog of over 300,000 applicants and crackdown on fraud.
In the case of fraud, the penalties have increased from $1000 C fine and/or a year in prison, to as much as $100,00 and up to 5 years in prison.
Eligibility for citizenship has increased from three out of four years continuous residence in Canada, to four out of six years. The price to apply has gone up from $100 C to $300 C.
CItizenship judges will now play a ceremonial role; they will no longer have a say in who becomes a citizen. And the Minister of Immigration will now have the power to grant or revoke citizenship.
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