Honourable Senate Leadership and Senators:

This petition is a request to expedite the passage of Bill C-6: An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act

C-6 Bill restore Citizenship Equality per Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedom, and allow Permanent Residents to file Citizenship applications after 3 years of lawful residence inside Canada, which impacts thousands of law abiding families living inside Canada.

Reducing the length of time someone must be physically present in Canada to qualify for Citizenship 
To help immigrants achieve citizenship more quickly, the Government is proposing to reduce the time required to be spent in Canada for citizenship for adults to three years (1095 days) within the five years before applying for citizenship. This will mean applicants can apply one year sooner than they can now. This offers greater flexibility for immigrants who may need to travel outside of Canada for various personal or work reasons.  

Currently, the Citizenship Act requires applicants to be physically present in Canada for four years (1,460 days) within the six years immediately before applying for citizenship.

Allowing time in Canada before Permanent Residency to count toward the physical presence requirement
Under the Citizenship Act, people cannot count time they spent in Canada before becoming a permanent resident towards meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship. 

The changes in C-6 would let non-permanent resident time count toward the new three year physical presence requirement for citizenship, for up to one year. Under this change, each day that a person is authorized to be in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident could be counted as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship.

These changes support the Government’s goal of making it easier for immigrants to build successful lives in Canada, reuniting their families and contributing to the economic success of all Canadians. The time credit will also encourage skilled individuals to come to Canada to study or work, and benefits groups like protected persons and parents and grandparents on visitors’ visas.

Bill C-6 also restore Citizenship Equality. Since June 2015, adult applicants must declare on their citizenship applications that they intend to continue to reside in Canada if granted citizenship. The provision created concern among some new Canadians, who feared their citizenship could be revoked in the future if they moved outside of Canada. The Government is proposing to repeal this provision. All Canadians are free to move outside Canada. This is a right guaranteed in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.