New residency rules for Canadian Citizenship applications
By Stephen Fogarty • August 30, 2012
Legislation is expected in autumn 2012 to close a loophole which had allowed persons who apply for citizenship to request that days spent outside of Canada be counted to satisfy residency requirements. Under the current rules, a permanent resident may apply for citizenship if he or she has, “within the four years immediately preceding the date of his or her application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada”. The term “residence” was not defined in the law, with the result that some judges were approving citizenship applications by individuals who might work for long periods outside Canada, for example, but otherwise kept significant ties to the country, such as the presence of a home, spouse and children. Read More