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Citizenship judge

sugababa

Member
Jun 5, 2019
11
2
Hello,
I bought ("invested in Canada") PR here a few months ago, never stayed in Canada that much.
I honestly don't want to stay in Canada; just get a passport and out.
Anyways, does anyone know or have experience with going before citizenship judges and not having to meet the 3 year residency requirement?

I hear you need to meet the residency requirement by way of having strong ties to Canada.

My fiance is Canadian, and I have 2 companies here, what are my chances of blowing off the 3 years?
Appreciate if anyone has had experience or knows of someone that successfully didn't have to stay the 3 years
thanks
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
95,862
22,119
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Hello,
I bought ("invested in Canada") PR here a few months ago, never stayed in Canada that much.
I honestly don't want to stay in Canada; just get a passport and out.
Anyways, does anyone know or have experience with going before citizenship judges and not having to meet the 3 year residency requirement?

I hear you need to meet the residency requirement by way of having strong ties to Canada.

My fiance is Canadian, and I have 2 companies here, what are my chances of blowing off the 3 years?
Appreciate if anyone has had experience or knows of someone that successfully didn't have to stay the 3 years
thanks
You need to meet the residency requirement by physically living here. What you're proposed has zero chance of succeeding. However obviously your choice to waste an application fee to try.
 

sugababa

Member
Jun 5, 2019
11
2
But I believe Citizenship judges are there mostly for issues with residency requirements, and many have been able to pass applicants without the 3 year requirement!
 

jddd

Champion Member
Oct 1, 2017
1,516
565
But I believe Citizenship judges are there mostly for issues with residency requirements, and many have been able to pass applicants without the 3 year requirement!
Many? Really? Where’d you get your statistics from? Narnia?
 
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k.h.p.

VIP Member
Mar 1, 2019
8,801
2,250
Canada
To go back to your question, the Citizenship Act explains how the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (now Immigration, Refugee Protection, and Citizenship) shall grant citizenship:

Grant of citizenship

5 (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who

(a) makes application for citizenship;

(b) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(c) is a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, has, subject to the regulations, no unfulfilled conditions under that Act relating to his or her status as a permanent resident and has

(i) been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years immediately before the date of his or her application, and

(ii) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(iii) met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of three taxation years that are fully or partially within the five years immediately before the date of his or her application;

(c.1) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(d) if 18 years of age or more but less than 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada;

(e) if 18 years of age or more but less than 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, demonstrates in one of the official languages of Canada that he or she has an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship; and

(f) is not under a removal order and is not the subject of a declaration by the Governor in Council made pursuant to section 20.[/CODE]
So, per s.5(c)(i) and (iii), you must have both been physically present in Canada for 1095 days in the previous five years, you must also have met all tax filing requirements.

Further on, the Act describes scenarios where the Minister may grant citizenship in exceptional circumstances:

Marginal note:Waiver by Minister on compassionate grounds

(3) The Minister may, in his or her discretion, after having reviewed a person’s particular circumstances, waive on compassionate grounds,

(a) in the case of any person, the requirements of paragraph (1)(d) or (e);

(b) in the case of a minor,

(i) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(ii) the requirement respecting length of physical presence in Canada set out in paragraph (1)(c),

(iii) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(iv) the requirement respecting the taking of the oath of citizenship, or

(v) the requirement respecting who may make an application in respect of a minor set out in paragraph (1.04)(a); and

(b.1) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1]

(c) in the case of any person who is prevented from understanding the significance of taking the oath of citizenship by reason of a mental disability, the requirement to take the oath.

Marginal note:Disabled persons

(3.1) For the purposes of this section, if an applicant for citizenship is a disabled person, the Minister shall take into consideration the measures that are reasonable to accommodate the needs of that person.

Marginal note:Special cases

(4) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, in his or her discretion, grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.[/CODE]
So basically, the Minister can only waive for anyone the language or knowledge requirements.

The Minister can, on compassionate grounds, waive physical presence requirement for minors.

The Minister can, on compassionate grounds, the oath requirement for disabled persons.

The Minister can only grant citizenship to anyone to "alleviate cases of statelessness" or to alleviate "special and unusual hardship" or "to reward services of exceptional value to Canada." Investor class PR is not "special services of exceptional value to Canada."

The only thing that a citizenship judge can do regarding the physical presence calculation is determine if you meet it if it is unclear. See:

Consideration by citizenship judge

14 (1) If an application is accepted for processing and later referred to a citizenship judge because the Minister is not satisfied that the applicant meets the requirements of the following provisions, the citizenship judge shall determine whether the applicant meets those requirements within 60 days after the day on which the application is referred:

(a) subparagraph 5(1)(c)(i), in the case of an application for citizenship under subsection 5(1);

(b) paragraph 5(5)(d), in the case of an application for citizenship under subsection 5(5); and

(c) subparagraph 11(1)(d)(i), in the case of an application for resumption of citizenship under subsection 11(1).
If you have an appointment with a citizenship judge, it's likely because the Minister's delegate felt you did not meet the physical presence requirements and the Minister is required to have a judge determine if you do.

In a hearing before a citizenship judge, the judge is not empowered to consider your "ties to Canada." A citizenship judge is only empowered to determine if you meet the physical presence requirement. And you don't, if you've applied without meeting it and are basically hoping to waive money at the judge, get a passport, and disappear.

So, basically, the Minister's delegate is prepared to reject your application based on physical presence but they've referred it to a judge because the Minister is about to reject your application.

Even if you somehow manage to convince the judge to exercise ultra vires powers to "grant" you citizenship, that decision is not final until after the judge reports their determination to the Minister. The Minister can then send your case to a review panel for double-checking, and even that review panel's decision can be appealed to the federal court.

Basically, what I hope is about to happen to you is that a citizenship judge is going to tell you no.

Because they have no statutory authority to waive the physical presence requirements.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
95,862
22,119
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010

sugababa

Member
Jun 5, 2019
11
2
Citizenship judge passed my resolution thankfully, and i was exempted from duration requirement, and can continue to do my important work abroad. IRCC was updated, awaiting oath session.