October 4, 2017
Canada Implements New Legislation – Bill C-6
This morning, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen spoke to the Government of Canada’s decision to repeal Bill C-24 and implement new legislation – Bill C-6. He confirmed the following changes would take effect October 11th, 2017 for Canadian Citizenship applicants:
- Applicants must physically be present in Canada for at least 3 out of 5 years prior to applying for Canadian Citizenship.
- The language and knowledge requirements for Citizenship will now only be required for those who fall between the ages of 18 to 54 years old.
- Applicants will no longer be required to be physically present in Canada for a minimum number of days within each year.
- Temporary residents who spent time in Canada within the 5 years prior to applying for Citizenship can now count some of this time towards their physical presence requirements. Each day spent in Canada as a temporary resident will only count as half a day in Canada and can only be used to equate to a maximum of 1 year towards your physical presence count.
Citizenship applicants who meet the new requirements must wait until October 11, 2017 before applying for citizenship. This is the date in which the new changes come into effect, and when new application forms will be accessible.
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