Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will give 100 citizenship award candidates the opportunity to apply for a passport as part of the trial program. Citizenship to Passport Pilot.
The pilot initiative uses data already gathered by the citizenship program to develop a new, simplified passport application form. Following application processing, IRCC will print the passports in order to divert traffic away from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) locations.
In order to prepare the path for an integrated model in the future, IRCC anticipates that the pilots will streamline the passport application process.
To some of the qualified individuals, invites have already been delivered through email. In these emails, it is explained how to fill out the passport application, what extra paperwork is needed, and where to send it. The passport application should be handled within 20 business days after the applicant completes their Citizenship Oath and the IRCC receives it.
Background of the pilot
The program’s goal is to assess if connecting the citizenship and passport systems is feasible. To ease the load on the spike in passport renewals and to facilitate new Canadians’ easy access to a Canadian passport, IRCC aims to train citizenship workers on the passport line of business.
The citizenship and passport programs both had slow processing times in 2022, which made it impossible for either program to satisfy predetermined service criteria. Although the number of applications has significantly decreased, new citizens are still being affected by delays in both systems.
The results of the pilot will be assessed to potentially develop the integrated citizenship and passport model. Recommendations for broader roll out will be made by the end of December 2023.
What are the Canadian citizenship eligibility criteria?
In order to be eligible for Canadian citizenship, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be a permanent resident
- Meet Canada’s physical presence requirements
- File your taxes (if necessary)
- Pass a Canadian citizenship test (if you are between the ages of 18-54)
- Prove your language skills (if you are between the ages of 18-54)
You must have met Canada’s physical presence requirements by residing there for at least three of the five most recent years (1,095 days) in order to qualify.
You may count a portion of the time you spent living in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person toward your physical presence requirement. You may count as one half day each day that you were a protected person or a temporary resident in Canada during the previous five years. You can satisfy your physical presence requirement by counting up to 365 days as a temporary resident or protected person.
Applicants who complete the citizenship test and interview will be invited to a citizenship ceremony. At the ceremony, an applicant is required to sing the Canadian national anthem and say the Oath of Citizenship to Canada in either English or French before a judge. Once complete, they will be granted their Canadian citizenship.
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