June 3, 2013
New Rule for the Canadian Citizenship Test
In an effort to reduce the backlog of applications for Canadian citizenship, the federal government will soon implement a new rule that allows those who fail the citizenship test the chance to retake the test. Whereas before, failing the test meant appearing at a hearing before a judge which could take up to 29 months to schedule.
Those who fail the test the first time will be able to retake the test within four to eight weeks, giving them ample time to brush up on their knowledge of Canada.
The current citizenship application fee of $200 could as much as double in the future to aid in the cost of processing, but it would also cover the cost of the second test. If an applicant fails both times and then fails to prove to the judge that they should be granted citizenship, they would have to begin the application process anew.
In addition to the availability of a second test, the government will also approve family members based on individual merit, rather than as a group. Previously, it was all or nothing in terms of success; if one family member failed the knowledge of language test, none of those listed on the application would be able to proceed to the next step.
With these improvements as well as a fiscal commitment from the government of $44 million to be spent on increasing efficiency, citizenship applications will be processed much more quickly.
Roughly 200,000 permanent residents become Canadian citizens each year.
Click here to learn more about applying for citizenship.