The latest reports claim that IRCC will expedite Canadian citizenship for certain foreign nationals. According to previous records, Canadian citizens could pass on their citizenship to their children, specifically if the child was born outside Canada, with a limitation to the first generation. Furthermore, if a Canadian citizen was born abroad, they could not, by default, acquire Canadian citizenship through their parents.

The Canadian government intends to modify the rule of first-generation limit or FGL with a new second-generation cut-off if Bill C-71 achieves Royal Assent. This implies that if these alterations to Canada’s Citizenship Act come into action, an increased number of foreign workers who are eligible in this scenario will qualify for Canadian citizenship.
IRCC will likely declare on June 19 (today) the final date per Ontario’s Supreme Court concerning the permanent modifications according to the FGL rule.

With these upcoming changes, IRCC has already planned to introduce interim measures, enabling qualifying foreign nationals to acquire Canadian citizenship.

IRCC will expedite Canadian citizenship for certain foreign nationals – New interim measures

IRCC’s interim measures will be applicable to candidates who have already applied for citizenship proof through urgent processing. They might be affected by FGL through descent.

These measures will apply to candidates in one of the two scenarios as follows:

  • Under the FGL rule, an applicant’s submission of proof of citizenship application could be liable to change. Meanwhile, they could have asked for urgent processing that was on par with the urgent processing criteria. 
  • The applicant acquires a proof of citizenship application under process, wherein IRCC has recognized IRCC’s impact by the FGL rule. Also, if the application was formerly not on the priority list due to the upcoming changes, the applicant must have asked for urgent processing. 

IRCC would review and react to the applicant’s request after verifying their eligibility for urgent processing in both situations. However, if an applicant qualifies for the same, IRCC will notify them about the FGL’s enforcement still active. The immigration department will also offer qualifying applicants a unique option. This means the applicant can access the “discretionary grant of citizenship” with essential details on applying for this grant.

An applicant who applies for this unique grant will have their application processed by the immigration minister or the designated decision officer. Therefore, if an applicant fulfills all eligibility requirements, they will acquire citizenship.

Marc Miller has the opportunity and power to grant citizenship to candidates under special circumstances.

Urgent processing eligibility for applicants

IRCC enables three citizenship certificate group of applicants to proceed with the urgent application processing. To qualify for a citizenship application’s urgent processing, applicants must prove their genuine need for urgent processing for one of the following three reasons:

  • The applicant really requires to acquire the benefits, such as pension, healthcare, Social Insurance Number. However, the benefits are not limited to these only. 
  • If the applicants have to prove their Canadian citizenship to attain a job. 
  • They must travel to and from Canada due to severe illness or death within their family. 

Note: The department doesn’t fully assure that the applicants will receive their citizenship certificates well in time despite their eligibility for urgent processing.

Things to be included within the urgent processing applications for Canadian citizenship

An applicant is supposed to include the following documents in their application while they must qualify for urgent processing under any one of the three conditions:

  • An explanation letter 
  • Supporting documents – Plane ticket, itinerary, proof of payment, a letter from their school or employer, death certificate, or a note from a doctor. 

Online application for urgent processing

Those qualifying for urgent processing of citizenship applications must apply online or on paper if they become eligible. However, IRCC clearly warns individuals not to submit duplicate applications for urgent processing. This means they must not apply online once they submit their applications on paper. If they do so, IRCC will not proceed with their application processing.

The case of lost citizenship certificate – Additional documents required to use as proof of status

If individuals lose their citizenship certificate or it goes mission or is stolen, they may apply to IRCC for a new certificate. Those who don’t seek to reapply for their lost certificate can access certain documents to prove their Canadian citizenship.

Additional proof of Citizenship documents

Besides possessing Canadian citizenship certificates, IRCC accepts the following types of proof demonstrating Canadian citizenship:

  • Citizenship cards
  • Specific Canadian birth certificates (the Canadian government’s webpage will display the exceptions)
  • Naturalization certificates, if they were issued before January 1, 1947. 
  • Birth registration certificates of retention and abroad. If, in either of the two scenarios, the certificate issuance occurred between January 1, 1947, and February 14, 1977. 

Invalid proof of citizenship

Conversely, IRCC deems the following three documents as ineligible for Canadian citizenship proof:

  • Citizenship record letters are applicable to those who apply for a citizenship record search.
  • Commemorative certificates – The citizenship applicants must have received this besides their citizenship card.
  • A few Canadian birth certificates (visit the official webpage of Canada’s government).

NOTE: IRCC will not consider the 419 birth certificates under the Department of National Defense as valid for proof of citizenship.

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].