An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2014, c. 22)
Full Document:
Assented to 2014-06-19
R.S., c. C-29CITIZENSHIP ACT
7. (1) The portion of subsection 9(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Renunciation of citizenship
9. (1) Subject to subsection (2.1), a citizen may, on application, renounce his citizenship if he
(2) Section 9 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Exception
(2.1) No application for renunciation may be made if the Minister has provided the applicant with a notice referred to in subsection 10(3) or has commenced an action under subsection 10.1(1) or (2) for a declaration in respect of the applicant until the Minister provides the applicant with his or her decision under subsection 10(5) or a final judgment has been rendered in that action, as the case may be.
Marginal note:Processing of application suspended
(2.2) If an application for renunciation is made and the Minister subsequently provides the applicant with a notice referred to in subsection 10(3) or commences an action under subsection 10.1(1) or (2) for a declaration in respect of the applicant, the processing of that application is suspended until the Minister provides the applicant with his or her decision under subsection 10(5) or a final judgment has been rendered in that action, as the case may be.
(3) Subsection 9(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Certificate of renunciation
(3) If an application under subsection (1) is approved by the Minister, the Minister shall issue a certificate of renunciation to the applicant and the applicant ceases to be a citizen after the expiration of the day on which the certificate is issued or any later day that the certificate may specify.
8. Section 10 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Revocation by Minister — fraud, false representation, etc.
10. (1) Subject to subsection 10.1(1), the Minister may revoke a person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship if the Minister is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has obtained, retained, renounced or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.
Marginal note:Revocation by Minister — convictions relating to national security
(2) The Minister may revoke a person’s citizenship if the person, before or after the coming into force of this subsection and while the person was a citizen,
(a) was convicted under section 47 of the Criminal Code of treason and sentenced to imprisonment for life or was convicted of high treason under that section;
(b) was convicted of a terrorism offence as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code — or an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would constitute a terrorism offence as defined in that section — and sentenced to at least five years of imprisonment;
(c) was convicted of an offence under any of sections 73 to 76 of the National Defence Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life because the person acted traitorously;
(d) was convicted of an offence under section 78 of the National Defence Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life;
(e) was convicted of an offence under section 130 of the National Defence Act in respect of an act or omission that is punishable under section 47 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to imprisonment for life;
(f) was convicted under the National Defence Act of a terrorism offence as defined in subsection 2(1) of that Act and sentenced to at least five years of imprisonment;
(g) was convicted of an offence described in section 16 or 17 of the Security of Information Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life; or
(h) was convicted of an offence under section 130 of the National Defence Act in respect of an act or omission that is punishable under section 16 or 17 of the Security of Information Act and sentenced to imprisonment for life.
Marginal note:Notice
(3) Before revoking a person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship, the Minister shall provide the person with a written notice that specifies
(a) the person’s right to make written representations;
(b) the period within which the person may make his or her representations and the form and manner in which they must be made; and
(c) the grounds on which the Minister is relying to make his or her decision.
Marginal note:Hearing
(4) A hearing may be held if the Minister, on the basis of prescribed factors, is of the opinion that a hearing is required.
Marginal note:Notice of decision
(5) The Minister shall provide his or her decision to the person in writing.
Marginal note:Revocation for fraud — declaration of Court
10.1 (1) If the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that a person obtained, retained, renounced or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances, with respect to a fact described in section 34, 35 or 37 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act other than a fact that is also described in paragraph 36(1)(a) or (b) or (2)(a) or (b) of that Act, the person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship may be revoked only if the Minister seeks a declaration, in an action that the Minister commences, that the person has obtained, retained, renounced or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances and the Court makes such a declaration.
Marginal note:Revocation for engaging in armed conflict with Canada — declaration of Court
(2) If the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that a person, before or after the coming into force of this subsection and while the person was a citizen, served as a member of an armed force of a country or as a member of an organized armed group and that country or group was engaged in an armed conflict with Canada, the person’s citizenship may be revoked only if the Minister — after giving notice to the person — seeks a declaration, in an action that the Minister commences, that the person so served, before or after the coming into force of this subsection and while they were a citizen, and the Court makes such a declaration.
Marginal note:Effect of declaration
(3) Each of the following has the effect of revoking a person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship:
(a) a declaration made under subsection (1);
(b) a declaration made under subsection (2).
Marginal note:Proof
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister need prove only that the person has obtained, retained, renounced or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.
Marginal note:Presumption
10.2 For the purposes of subsections 10(1) and 10.1(1), a person has obtained or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances if the person became a permanent resident, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances and, because of having acquired that status, the person subsequently obtained or resumed citizenship.
Marginal note:Effect of revocation
10.3 A person whose citizenship is revoked under subsection 10(2) or paragraph 10.1(3)(b) becomes a foreign national within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Marginal note:Restriction
10.4 (1) Subsections 10(2) and 10.1(2) do not operate so as to authorize any decision, action or declaration that conflicts with any international human rights instrument regarding statelessness to which Canada is signatory.
Marginal note:Burden of proof
(2) If an instrument referred to in subsection (1) prohibits the deprivation of citizenship that would render a person stateless, a person who claims that subsection 10(2) or 10.1(2) would operate in the manner described in subsection (1) must prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the person is not a citizen of any country of which the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe the person is a citizen.
Marginal note:Inadmissibility
10.5 (1) On the request of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Minister shall, in the originating document that commences an action under subsection 10.1(1), seek a declaration that the person who is the subject of the action is inadmissible on security grounds, on grounds of violating human or international rights or on grounds of organized criminality under, respectively, subsection 34(1), paragraph 35(1)(a) or (b) or subsection 37(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Marginal note:Party
(2) When a declaration is sought under subsection (1), the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness becomes a party to the action commenced under subsection 10.1(1).
Marginal note:Removal order
(3) A declaration that the person is inadmissible on one of the grounds referred to in subsection (1) is a removal order against the person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that comes into force when it is made, without the necessity of holding or continuing an examination or an admissibility hearing under that Act. The removal order is a deportation order as provided for in regulations made under that Act.
Marginal note:Procedure
(4) If a declaration is sought under subsection (1), the Court shall first hear and decide all matters related to the declaration sought under subsection 10.1(1). If the Court denies the declaration sought under subsection 10.1(1), it shall also deny the declaration sought under subsection (1).
Marginal note:Evidence
(5) If a declaration sought under subsection (1) is not denied under subsection (4), the Court
(a) shall assess the facts — whether acts or omissions — alleged in support of the declaration on the basis of reasonable grounds to believe that they have occurred, are occurring or may occur;
(b) shall take into account the evidence already admitted by it and consider as conclusive any finding of fact already made by it in support of the declaration sought under subsection 10.1(1); and
(c) with respect to any additional evidence, is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence and may receive and base its decision on any evidence adduced in the proceedings that it considers credible or trustworthy in the circumstances.
Marginal note:Single judgment
(6) The Court shall issue a single judgment in respect of the declarations sought under subsections (1) and 10.1(1).
Marginal note:No appeal from interlocutory judgment
10.6 Despite paragraph 27(1)(c) of the Federal Courts Act, no appeal may be made from an interlocutory judgment made with respect to a declaration referred to in subsection 10.1(1) or (2) or 10.5(1).
Marginal note:No appeal unless question stated
10.7 An appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal may be made from a judgment under section 10.1 or 10.5 only if, in rendering judgment, the judge certifies that a serious question of general importance is involved and states the question.
9. (1) Paragraph 11(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) is not the subject of an order made under section 10, as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 8 of the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, a decision made under section 10, a declaration made under section 10.1 or an order made under section 18 of the former Act;
(b.1) is not the subject of a declaration made under section 20;
Marginal note:2001, c. 27, s. 229
(2) Subsection 11(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by replacing paragraph (d) with the following:
(d) has become a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, has, subject to the regulations, no unfulfilled conditions under that Act relating to his or her status as a permanent resident and has, since having ceased to be a citizen and become a permanent resident,
(i) been physically present in Canada for at least 365 days during the two years immediately before the date of the application, and
(ii) met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of the taxation year immediately before the year in which the application is made; and
(e) intends, if granted citizenship,
(i) to continue to reside in Canada,
(ii) to enter into, or continue in, employment outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province, otherwise than as a locally engaged person, or
(iii) to reside with his or her spouse or common-law partner or parent, who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and is employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province, otherwise than as a locally engaged person.
(3) Section 11 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Marginal note:Canadian Armed Forces — permanent resident
(1.1) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who, within the year immediately preceding the date of the application, completed six months of service in the Canadian Armed Forces. However, that paragraph does apply to the permanent resident if he or she was released other than honourably from the Canadian Armed Forces.
Marginal note:Canadian Armed Forces — person attached or seconded
(1.2) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to a person who is or was attached or seconded to the Canadian Armed Forces and who, within the year immediately preceding the date of the application, completed six months of service with the Canadian Armed Forces.
(4) Subsections 11(1.1) and (1.2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Canadian Armed Forces — permanent resident
(1.1) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who has, subject to the regulations, no unfulfilled conditions under that Act relating to his or her status as a permanent resident and who
(a) during the two years immediately before the date of the application, completed six months of service in the Canadian Armed Forces; and
(b) has met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of the taxation year immediately before the year in which the application is made.
However, paragraph (1)(d) does apply to the permanent resident if he or she was released other than honourably from the Canadian Armed Forces.
Marginal note:Canadian Armed Forces — person attached or seconded
(1.2) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to a person who is or was attached or seconded to the Canadian Armed Forces and who, during the two years immediately before the date of the application, completed six months of service with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Marginal note:2008, c. 14, s. 13(4)
10. Part IV of the Act is replaced by the following:
PART IVEVIDENCE OF CITIZENSHIP
Marginal note:Application for evidence of citizenship
12. (1) The Minister shall — on application by a person — determine, including by way of an electronic system, whether they are a citizen and, if they are,
(a) subject to any regulations made under paragraph 27(1)(i), issue a certificate of citizenship to them; or
(b) subject to any regulations made under paragraph 27(1)(i) or (i.1), provide them with some other means to establish their citizenship.
Marginal note:Providing evidence of citizenship on acquisition
(2) After a person acquires citizenship as a result of an application under section 5 or 5.1 or subsection 11(1), the Minister shall
(a) issue a certificate of citizenship to the person; or
(b) provide the person with some other means to establish their citizenship.
Marginal note:2008, c. 14, s. 9
11. Section 13 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Applications
13. An application is to be accepted for processing under this Act only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) the application is made in the form and manner and at the place required under this Act;
(b) it includes the information required under this Act;
(c) it is accompanied by any supporting evidence and fees required under this Act.
Marginal note:Suspension of processing
13.1 The Minister may suspend the processing of an application for as long as is necessary to receive
(a) any information or evidence or the results of any investigation or inquiry for the purpose of ascertaining whether the applicant meets the requirements under this Act relating to the application, whether the applicant should be the subject of an admissibility hearing or a removal order under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or whether section 20 or 22 applies with respect to the applicant; and
(b) in the case of an applicant who is a permanent resident and who is the subject of an admissibility hearing under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the determination as to whether a removal order is to be made against the applicant.
Marginal note:Abandonment of application
13.2 (1) The Minister may treat an application as abandoned
(a) if the applicant fails, without reasonable excuse, when required by the Minister under section 23.1,
(i) in the case where the Minister requires additional information or evidence without requiring an appearance, to provide the additional information or evidence by the date specified, or
(ii) in the case where the Minister requires an appearance for the purpose of providing additional information or evidence, to appear at the time and at the place — or at the time and by the means — specified or to provide the additional information or evidence at his or her appearance; or
(b) in the case of an applicant who must take the oath of citizenship to become a citizen, if the applicant fails, without reasonable excuse, to appear and take the oath at the time and at the place — or at the time and by the means — specified in an invitation from the Minister.
Marginal note:Effect of abandonment
(2) If the Minister treats an application as abandoned, no further action is to be taken with respect to it.
Page Details
- Date modified: