Are they still going to abolish citizenship fees?

[Oldmacwright]

Hi my wife became a PR over 3 years ago and can now apply for citizenship if we wish. There's no big rush as she has a passport from her own country and the PR card.

I was reading the Liberals are thinking of abolish ing the citizenship fees of $630, but can't find any recent news on this since a year or so ago.

Is this still going to happen do you think? We don't mind waiting it out if it might still happen as $630 is a big save

 

[novascotia27]

Hi my wife became a PR over 3 years ago and can now apply for citizenship if we wish. There's no big rush as she has a passport from her own country and the PR card.

I was reading the Liberals are thinking of abolish ing the citizenship fees of $630, but can't find any recent news on this since a year or so ago.

Is this still going to happen do you think? We don't mind waiting it out if it might still happen as $630 is a big save

Unlikely that would happen anytime soon..but help me understand the reasoning behind this..your wife prefer NOT to apply for Canadian Citizenship to save up $630 bucks? Why? Most current applicants would actually pay more for expedited services if they were available today than to pay nothing at all just to get this process done.

I would advise to apply as soon as she qualifies because the backlog will continue to increase and so is the processing time! In addition, some applicants randomly and unfortunately wait for many more years than the “normal” 12-month processing time for no apparent reason! Don’t wait!

 

[amerkhaled]

Unlikely that would happen anytime soon..but help me understand the reasoning behind this..your wife prefer NOT to apply for Canadian Citizenship to save up $630 bucks? Why? Most current applicants would actually pay more for expedited services if they were available today than to pay nothing at all just to get this process done.

I would advise to apply as soon as she qualifies because the backlog will continue to increase and so is the processing time! In addition, some applicants randomly and unfortunately wait for many more years than the “normal” 12-month processing time for no apparent reason! Don’t wait!

Another thing may be the rules change and Time to apply back to four years.

 

[lifein360]

I wouldn’t wait on that becoming free. Plus as you said - if she’s happy with her current passport then what’s the rush. To be fair it’s not like citizenship is a must. I know people who have been PR for 30 years. It’s fine - you have no real need to upgrade to citizenship

 

[thuong]

Free doesn't mean it's gonna be good. I think there will be more delays because lack of funding or staffs

 

[Oldmacwright]

Unlikely that would happen anytime soon..but help me understand the reasoning behind this..your wife prefer NOT to apply for Canadian Citizenship to save up $630 bucks? Why? Most current applicants would actually pay more for expedited services if they were available today than to pay nothing at all just to get this process done.

I would advise to apply as soon as she qualifies because the backlog will continue to increase and so is the processing time! In addition, some applicants randomly and unfortunately wait for many more years than the “normal” 12-month processing time for no apparent reason! Don’t wait!

She has a British passport, so can travel freely along with the PR card. The only thing she can't do with the PR card is vote here.

We wouldn't want to pay $630 if they intend to abolish the fees soon, waiting another year or 2 is not going to make any difference

 

[Oldmacwright]

I wouldn’t wait on that becoming free. Plus as you said - if she’s happy with her current passport then what’s the rush. To be fair it’s not like citizenship is a must. I know people who have been PR for 30 years. It’s fine - you have no real need to upgrade to citizenship

True, I know someone here that has just stayed PR for 15 years now.

 

[tco23]

If Trudeau pulls this as a kind of platform, that'd be normal, but it's not like any party has to care... if you stay as a PR, then maybe you will never go to another country or you keep renewing the PR card. Unless your previous country will simply cancel your original citizenship and you don't like it, I find it to be advisable in general to simply become a citizen in that country (Canada) where you've lived for years or expect to stay for years.

 

[Oldmacwright]

If Trudeau pulls this as a kind of platform, that'd be normal, but it's not like any party has to care... if you stay as a PR, then maybe you will never go to another country or you keep renewing the PR card. Unless your previous country will simply cancel your original citizenship and you don't like it, I find it to be advisable in general to simply become a citizen in that country (Canada) where you've lived for years or expect to stay for years.

She is basically able to travel anywhere with a British passport and entry back into Canada with the PR card and there is no risk of losing citizenship there, even if she becomes a Canadian citizen she will still maintain British citizenship (dual).

 

[scylla]

Hi my wife became a PR over 3 years ago and can now apply for citizenship if we wish. There's no big rush as she has a passport from her own country and the PR card.

I was reading the Liberals are thinking of abolish ing the citizenship fees of $630, but can't find any recent news on this since a year or so ago.

Is this still going to happen do you think? We don't mind waiting it out if it might still happen as $630 is a big save

IMO it's not going to happen anytime soon.

They said that pre-pandemic and then never made it real once the pandemic hit. The estimates is that this would cost taxpayers around $100M per year. I don't think there would be any appetite for that now and that priority is to direct taxpayer dollars to other areas (e.g. healthcare).

 

[Oldmacwright]

IMO it's not going to happen anytime soon.

They said that pre-pandemic and then never made it real once the pandemic hit. The estimates is that this would cost taxpayers around $100M per year. I don't think there would be any appetite for that now and that priority is to direct taxpayer dollars to other areas (e.g. healthcare).

Ok thanks, that's the kind of answer I was looking for.

 

[novascotia27]

She is basically able to travel anywhere with a British passport and entry back into Canada with the PR card and there is no risk of losing citizenship there, even if she becomes a Canadian citizen she will still maintain British citizenship (dual).

The motivation to apply for Canadian Citizenship is not because you can travel anywhere, it’s simply because is a natural process of living in a foreign country where you became permanent resident regardless of your current country of citizenship. Most people would want to get the Citizenship done with because it is something less to worry about AND with the ever changing rules, regulation, politics it’s better to become Citizen as soon as you qualify for it.