Bill c-6 is a bill that sought to amend the Canadian Citizenship Act. It proposed various changes to the Act, some of which will be highlighted here.
The Bill has officially been passed into law on June 19, 2017 but not all changes would come into effect immediately. Some would take effect in Fall of 2017 and early 2018.
Here are the highlights of the recent changes:
- Rather than the previous four out of six years for physical presence in Canada before applying for Citizenship, applicants must now be physically present in Canada for three out of five years (1,095 days).
- Time spent in Canada on a study or work permit or as a protected person before becoming a Permanent Resident now counts as part of time physically present in Canada for Citizenship requirement. There is a maximum credit of 365 days where a day counts as half a day.
- Applicants age range for the language and knowledge requirement for citizenship has changed from 14-64 years to 18-54 years.
- Persons with dual citizenship who are convicted of terrorism offence, spying or treason will no longer have their citizenship revoked at the discretion of the government without due process. Now such individuals will have to be notified in writing and a hearing held if deemed needed.
- Persons serving conditional sentence cannot count this time towards physical presence for citizenship requirement.
- The age requirement for citizenship application has been removed and as a result, minors under 18 can now apply for citizenship without a Canadian parent.
To find out more about the new amendments please send us an email @ assist@okebugwulaw.com.prod.bizcorex.com
