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According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in 2023, more than 354,000 people will become Canadians citizens in more than 3,000 citizenship ceremonies Across the country.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with Cohen Immigration Law Firm

In 2022, 375,413 people became Canadian citizens, marking a notable increase in the country’s naturalization trend over the previous two years.

To put things in perspective, the number of new Canadian citizens in 2019 was 250,513, 110,989 new citizens in 2020 and 137,133 in 2021.

How does IRCC reduce the citizenship backlog?

IRCC is working to meet its goal of processing 80% of citizenship applications in accordance with service standards. As of January 2022, the percentage of citizenship application backlogs was approximately 46%. By November 2023, IRCC reduced the application backlog to 20%, which is IRCC’s target figure.

IRCC reduced the backlog by:

• Launch of a new platform allowing candidates to take the citizenship test online
• Overview of Virtual Citizenship Ceremonies
• Launch online application processes for most customers wishing to apply for citizenship, keep it simple proof of citizenship or search for citizenship records
• Create an online citizenship application tracker to help clients stay informed about the status of their application and required next steps.
• Hire more employees to speed up processing in our business sectors

What is the pathway from permanent residence to citizenship?

Once in Canada, to become a Canadian citizen, you must meet certain criteria before applying.

To be eligible for Canadian citizenship as a permanent resident, you must:

• Be a permanent resident of Canada;
• Declare taxes if necessary;
• Pass a Canadian citizenship test (if you are between 18 and 54 years old);
• Prove language skills (if you are between 18 and 54 years old);
• Meet Canada’s physical presence requirements

IRCC allows a permanent resident to apply for Canadian citizenship only after physically residing in Canada for three years (1,095 days) out of the five years immediately preceding the citizenship application.

Only the five years preceding the date of the request are taken into account. During this five-year period:

• Each day spent in Canada as a permanent resident counts as one full day.
• Each day spent in Canada before becoming permanent resident as a temporary resident or protected person counts as half a day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship, up to a maximum credit of 365 days.

If the applicant became a permanent resident less than five years ago, the calculation period begins on the date they became a permanent resident.

Time spent serving a sentence in Canada does not count towards the physical presence requirement (i.e. time spent in a prison, penitentiary, reformatory, probation and/or release conditional cannot be counted as physical presence).

The advantage of Canadian citizenship is that unlike permanent residents, Canadian citizens have no residency requirements. Additionally, Canadian citizens also receive Canadian passports and have the right to vote in federal, provincial and municipal elections.

Canadian citizens cannot lose their status unless it was obtained through material misrepresentation.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with Cohen Immigration Law Firm