Canada’s latest news on citizenship indicates that the federal immigration department will undertake significant amendments to the citizenship law in 2014. According to the National Post, potential changes may include extending the residency period and re-evaluating the automatic citizenship granted to children born in Canada.
Currently, permanent residents must reside in Canada for at least 3 years (1,095 days) within the 4 years prior to applying for citizenship to be eligible. The new regulations may extend this period. Industry insiders predict that the residency requirement may be extended to 6 years with 4 years of residency.
Another aspect of the citizenship law amendment is expected to review the long-standing provision of "automatic citizenship for those born in Canada" to combat the abuse of this policy, where individuals enter Canada on a tourist visa to give birth, resulting in their newborns automatically acquiring Canadian citizenship.
The Immigration Department's work report for 2012 to 2013 shows that the number of citizenship applications received this year is far below the planned target. The department planned to approve approximately 215,000 citizenship applications, but only 106,000 were actually approved.
By the end of 2012, there were over 349,000 backlogged citizenship applications in Canada, with an average processing time of 25 to 35 months. Immigration consultants suggest that citizenship applications should incur costs borne by the applicants, similar to permanent residency applications. The recent federal budget is also exploring the possibility of doubling the current citizenship application fee from $200. 