Citizenship Act
Transitional Provisions
Prohibition on Taking Oath of Citizenship
Consequential Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Coming into Force
First Session, Forty-second Parliament,
64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-6
An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act
AS PASSED
BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
JUNE 17, 2016
90785
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Citizenship Act to, among other things,
(a) remove the grounds for the revocation of Canadian citizenship that relate to national security;
(b) remove the requirement that an applicant intend, if granted citizenship, to continue to reside in Canada;
(c) reduce the number of days during which a person must have been physically present in Canada before applying for citizenship and provide that, in the calculation of the length of physical presence, the number of days during which the person was physically present in Canada before becoming a permanent resident may be taken into account;
(d) limit the requirement to demonstrate knowledge of Canada and of one of its official languages to applicants between the ages of 18 and 54; and
(e) authorize the Minister to seize any document that he or she has reasonable grounds to believe was fraudulently or improperly obtained or used or could be fraudulently or improperly used.
It also makes consequential amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:
http://www.parl.gc.ca
1st Session, 42nd Parliament, 
64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-6
An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
R.‍S.‍, c. C-29
Citizenship Act
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
1 (1) The portion of paragraph 5(1)‍(c) of the Citizenship Act before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:
(c) is 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
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
(2) Subparagraph 5(1)‍(c)‍(i) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(i) been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years immediately before the date of his or her application, and
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
(3) Subparagraph 5(1)‍(c)‍(ii) of the Act is repealed.
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
(4) Subparagraph 5(1)‍(c)‍(iii) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(iii) met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of three taxation years that are fully or partially within the five years immediately before the date of his or her application;
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
(5) Paragraph 5(1)‍(c.‍1) of the Act is repealed.
2014, c. 22, s. 3(1)
(6) Paragraphs 5(1)‍(d) and (e) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(d) if under 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada;
(e) if under 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, demonstrates in one of the official languages of Canada that he or she has an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship; and
(7) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Length of physical presence — calculation
(1.‍001) For the purpose of subparagraph (1)‍(c)‍(i), the length of physical presence is calculated in the following manner:
(a) for every day during which the person was physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act before becoming a permanent resident, the person accumulates half of a day of physical presence, up to a maximum of 365 days; and
(b) for every day during which the person has been physically present in Canada since becoming a permanent resident, the person accumulates one day of physical presence.
2014, c. 22, s. 3(2)
(8) Subsection 5(1.‍1) of the Act is repealed.
2014, c. 22, s. 3(5)
(9) Subsection 5(2) of the Act is amended by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (a) and by repealing paragraphs (c) and (d).
2014, c. 22, s. 3(6)
(10) Paragraph 5(3)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) in the case of any person, the requirements of paragraph (1)‍(d) or (e);
2014, c. 22, s. 3(6)
(11) Paragraph 5(3)‍(b) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by repealing subparagraph (iii).
2014, c. 22, s. 3(6)
(12) Subsection 5(3) of the Act is amended by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (b) and by repealing paragraph (b.‍1).
(13) Section 5 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3): 
Disabled persons
(3.‍1) For the purposes of this section, if an applicant for citizenship is a disabled person, the Minister shall take into consideration the measures that are reasonable to accommodate the needs of that person.
(14) Subsection 5(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Special cases
(4) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, in his or her discretion, grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.
2014, c. 22, s. 7(2)
2 Subsections 9(2.‍1) and (2.‍2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
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) 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.
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) 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.
2014, c. 22, s. 8
3 Subsection 10(2) of the Act is repealed.
2014, c. 22, s. 8
4 Subsections 10.‍1(2) and (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Effect of declaration
(3) A declaration made under subsection (1) has the effect of revoking a person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship.
2014, c. 22, s. 8
5 Sections 10.‍3 and 10.‍4 of the Act are repealed.
2014, c. 22, s. 8
6 Section 10.‍6 of the Act is replaced by the following:
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 10.‍5(1).
2014, c. 22, s. 9(2)
7 Subsection 11(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (d), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by repealing paragraph (e).
2014, c. 22, s. 12(1)
8 Paragraph 14(1)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) subparagraph 5(1)‍(c)‍(i), in the case of an application for citizenship under subsection 5(1);
2014, c. 22, s. 17
9 (1) The portion of section 21 of the English version of the Act before paragraph (c) is replaced by the following:
Periods not counted as physical presence
21 Despite anything in this Act, no period may be counted as a period of physical presence for the purpose of this Act during which a person, under any enactment in force in Canada,
(a) has been under a probation order;
(b) has been a paroled inmate; or
(2) Paragraph 21(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) has served a term of imprisonment.
R.‍S.‍, c. 30 (3rd Supp.‍), s. 11(1)
10 (1) The portion of paragraph 22(1)‍(a) of the English version of the Act before subparagraph (iii) is replaced by the following:
(a) while the person, under any enactment in force in Canada,
(i) is under a probation order,
(ii) is a paroled inmate, or
R.‍S.‍, c. 30 (3rd Supp.‍), s. 11(1)
(2) Subparagraph 22(1)‍(a)‍(iii) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(iii) is serving a term of imprisonment;
2014, c. 22, s. 19(2)
(3) Subsection 22(1) of the Act is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (e.‍2) and by replacing paragraphs (f) and (g) with the following:
(f) if, during the 10 years immediately before the person’s application, the person ceased to be a citizen under paragraph 10(1)‍(a), as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 8 of the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, or under subsection 10(1) or 10.‍1(3).
11 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 23.‍1:
Seizure
23.‍2 The Minister may seize and detain any document that is provided to him or her for the purposes of this Act if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that it was fraudulently or improperly obtained or used or that the measure is necessary to prevent its fraudulent or improper use.
12 Subsection 27(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (i.‍1):
(i.‍2) prescribing the procedures to be followed in relation to a document that may be seized under section 23.‍2, including in relation to its seizure, storage, return and disposition;
2014, c. 22, s. 26
13 The portion of paragraph 27.‍2(c) of the Act before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:
(c) with regard to the requirements of paragraphs 5(1)‍(d) and (e),
Transitional Provisions
Presence in Canada — pending applications
14 Paragraphs 5(1)‍(c) and 14(1)‍(a) of the Citizenship Act, as they read immediately before the day on which subsection 1(1) comes into force, apply to a person whose application for citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 but before the day on which that subsection comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which that subsection comes into force.
Presence in Canada — pending applications (subsections 1(1) and (2))
15 If subsection 1(1) comes into force before subsection 1(2), then paragraph 5(1)‍(c) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which subsection 1(2) comes into force, applies to a person whose application for citizenship is made on or after the day on which subsection 1(1) comes into force but before the day on which subsection 1(2) comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which subsection 1(2) comes into force.
Intention to reside in Canada — citizenship granted
16 Paragraph 5(1)‍(c.‍1) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which subsection 1(5) comes into force, is deemed never to have applied to a person whose application for citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 and who was granted citizenship before the day on which that subsection comes into force.
Intention to reside in Canada — pending applications
17 Paragraph 5(1)‍(c.‍1) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which subsection 1(5) comes into force, does not apply to a person whose application for citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 but before the day on which that subsection comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which that subsection comes into force.
Knowledge of Canada and official language — pending applications
18 Paragraphs 5(1)‍(d) and (e) of the Citizenship Act, as enacted by subsection 1(6), apply to a person whose application for citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 but before the day on which that subsection comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which that subsection comes into force.
Knowledge of Canada and official language (minors) — pending applications
19 Paragraphs 5(2)‍(c) and (d) of the Citizenship Act, as they read immediately before the day on which subsection 1(9) comes into force, do not apply to a person whose application for citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 but before the day on which that subsection comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which that subsection comes into force.
Citizenship deemed not to have been revoked
20 A person whose citizenship was revoked under subsection 10(2) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which section 3 comes into force, is deemed never to have had their citizenship revoked.
Intention to reside in Canada — citizenship granted (resumption)
21 Paragraph 11(1)‍(e) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which section 7 comes into force, is deemed never to have applied to a person whose application for resumption of citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 and who was granted citizenship before the day on which that section comes into force.
Intention to reside in Canada — pending applications (resumption)
22 Paragraph 11(1)‍(e) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the day on which section 7 comes into force, does not apply to a person whose application for resumption of citizenship was made on or after June 11, 2015 but before the day on which that section comes into force and has not been finally disposed of before the day on which that section comes into force.
Persons serving term of imprisonment — pending applications
23 Paragraph 21(c) and subparagraph 22(1)‍(a)‍(iii) of the Citizenship Act, as enacted by subsections 9(2) and 10(2), respectively, apply to a person whose application has not been finally disposed of before the day on which section 9 comes into force.
Prohibition on Taking Oath of Citizenship
Prohibition — taking oath
24 Subsection 22(6) of the Citizenship Act applies to a person who made an application under subsection 5(1) or (2) or 11(1) of that Act before June 11, 2015 and who is required under that Act to take the oath of citizenship to become a citizen but has not done so before the day on which this section comes into force.
2001, c. 27
Consequential Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
2014, c. 22, s. 42
25 Subparagraph 40(1)‍(d)‍(iii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is replaced by the following:
(iii) subsection 10.‍1(3) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.‍2 of that Act.
2014, c. 22, s. 43
26 Paragraph 46(2)‍(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) subsection 10.‍1(3) of the Citizenship Act, other than in the circumstances set out in section 10.‍2 of that Act.
Coming into Force
Order in council
27 (1) Subsections 1(1), (3) and (7) and section 8 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Order in council
(2) Subsections 1(2) and (4) come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Order in council
(3) Subsections 1(6), (9) and (10) and section 13 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Order in council
(4) Sections 11 and 12 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons