Nothing in the gazette today, and frankly disappointing that self-administered oaths are still not a thing. I hope the sensationalized negative media coverage of the self-oath hasn't prompted the government to water it down or nix it altogether.
A step closer to self administered oath: Online Oath Ceremony without an authorised individual 30 day Consultation
- Thread starter shiremag
- Start date
Seems this amendment may not become act as so much negativity and opposing this regulation
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2023/a-one-click-citizenship-oath-isnt-the-way-to-go/
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2023/a-one-click-citizenship-oath-isnt-the-way-to-go/
Yes, it's unfortunate that there is so much public opposition... We'll have to wait and watch
Some news on changes to citizenship act to allow online ceremony, hope the gazette also be approved
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/fed-gov-t-changes-citizenship-act-to-include-online-ceremonies/article_1c50da34-11ba-11ee-b85e-4f86e6413cb8.html
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/fed-gov-t-changes-citizenship-act-to-include-online-ceremonies/article_1c50da34-11ba-11ee-b85e-4f86e6413cb8.html
Comments under that article are priceless! My favourite so far:
"I wonder how long before an AI entity gets its Canadian citizenship online?"
As the media report referenced by @Rajjagan indicates, Parliament buried some changes to the Citizenship Act in the budget bill. The relevant changes, for the subject here, are focused on granting authority to use electronic means in the administration and enforcement of the Citizenship Act, which will explicitly embrace digital events.
As some may have been speculating, and I too was wondering about, perhaps the widespread and intense opposition to the proposed changes in the regulations, expressed during the public comment period, and perhaps some within the government as well (noting, however, I have not seen anyone report doing an ATI request which would disclose the content of internal commentary), has persuaded the government to not adopt the proposed changes to the regulations governing the oath. Per the impact statement, these changes were expected to come into force last month, in June (2023).
But it is also possible, and my sense is this could indeed be the holdup, that adopting the changes to the regulations has been waiting on the amendments to the Citizenship Act itself, as adopted in the budget bill (C-47) in regards to the "Electronic Administration and Enforcement" of the Citizenship Act, which explicitly grants the Minister the authority/power to administer and enforce the Citizenship Act using electronic means, and specifically gives authority to Citizenship Judges and the Registrar likewise. Note: these changes are buried in an omnibus budget act, Bill C-47, which received Royal Assent just over two weeks ago; see Section 19 in the version of Bill C-47 that got Royal Assent here:
https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-47/royal-assent
at that web page there are links to the divisions in this bill. Again, the relevant changes are in Division 19 and for what may have an impact in adopting the proposed changes to regulations, in regards to the manner and means of administering the oath of citizenship, that's set out in a new "Part VI.1" in the Citizenship Act, to follow after section 28.1 in the Citizenship Act (to see where in the act this will go, see here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/page-6.html#docCont ), beginning with new section 28.2. So far as I am aware, the date this will come into force is yet to be fixed by the Governor in Council.
Caution: there is no guarantee when the Minister will actually implement revised oath procedures AFTER the proposed regulations are adopted (assuming they will be adopted, which is not for sure at this stage), and NO GUARANTEE that whatever revised procedures are implemented that they will allow for taking (entering into) the oath while outside Canada. Much Remains To Be Seen.
As some may have been speculating, and I too was wondering about, perhaps the widespread and intense opposition to the proposed changes in the regulations, expressed during the public comment period, and perhaps some within the government as well (noting, however, I have not seen anyone report doing an ATI request which would disclose the content of internal commentary), has persuaded the government to not adopt the proposed changes to the regulations governing the oath. Per the impact statement, these changes were expected to come into force last month, in June (2023).
But it is also possible, and my sense is this could indeed be the holdup, that adopting the changes to the regulations has been waiting on the amendments to the Citizenship Act itself, as adopted in the budget bill (C-47) in regards to the "Electronic Administration and Enforcement" of the Citizenship Act, which explicitly grants the Minister the authority/power to administer and enforce the Citizenship Act using electronic means, and specifically gives authority to Citizenship Judges and the Registrar likewise. Note: these changes are buried in an omnibus budget act, Bill C-47, which received Royal Assent just over two weeks ago; see Section 19 in the version of Bill C-47 that got Royal Assent here:
https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-47/royal-assent
at that web page there are links to the divisions in this bill. Again, the relevant changes are in Division 19 and for what may have an impact in adopting the proposed changes to regulations, in regards to the manner and means of administering the oath of citizenship, that's set out in a new "Part VI.1" in the Citizenship Act, to follow after section 28.1 in the Citizenship Act (to see where in the act this will go, see here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/page-6.html#docCont ), beginning with new section 28.2. So far as I am aware, the date this will come into force is yet to be fixed by the Governor in Council.
Caution: there is no guarantee when the Minister will actually implement revised oath procedures AFTER the proposed regulations are adopted (assuming they will be adopted, which is not for sure at this stage), and NO GUARANTEE that whatever revised procedures are implemented that they will allow for taking (entering into) the oath while outside Canada. Much Remains To Be Seen.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-what-we-all-lose-when-we-lose-the-citizenship-ceremony/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/one-click-citizenship-ceremony-consultations-1.6865181
With articles like this coming frequently I doubt it will ever happen.
It's been a while.... Did anyone follow up on this? @dpenabill Are you still following this or does it look like a lost cause?
Now they started accepting oath outside canada , many are able to request outside oath and mine was approved based on health reason . So it’s up to the office now to grant outside oath on request
I am not sure what the "cause" is that you reference.
What I pursue here is oriented to figuring out what the rules are, how they apply, how they work, and how individuals can best navigate the system. Sure, sometimes what we don't know seems overwhelming and the effort to sort things out can feel like a lost cause.
A prominent example here is the status of the proposed changes in regulations governing the administration of the oath, as reported in the Gazette last February (see https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2023/2023-02-25/html/reg1-eng.html?step=success ), which were expected to take effect in June this year. So far those changes, which among other things were intended to allow for self-administration of the Oath of Citizenship, have not shown up in the version of the Citizenship Regulations published at the Justice Laws Website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-93-246/FullText.html which purport to be current to October 31, 2023. So no update yet about this piece of the puzzle.
Meanwhile I -- and I think this has been covered above, or at least in other related threads, the statutory changes in the Citizenship Act were in fact adopted in June, so the additional provisions governing "Electronic Administration and Enforcement" have been law since June 22, 2023, which includes Sections 28.2, 28.3, and 28.4, in the Citizenship Act (see https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/page-6.html#docCont ), including in particular the provision specifically governing power to use electronic means given to citizenship judges and the Registrar. So the underlying statutory authority allowing the Minister to proceed with implementation of a digital oath procedure, which could be self-administering, is in place.
Meanwhile II -- and this too has probably been covered above, or at least in other related threads, the more relevant PDIs are:
Video oath ceremony (virtual citizenship ceremony)
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/citizenship-ceremony/video.html (last modified September 15, 2023)
Oath of Citizenship
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/ceremony/oath.html (last modified July 8, 2021)
Some Observations:
The implementation of self-administered oaths is probably more about infrastructure and internal procedures, which per the impact analysis in the Gazette would be expected to improve efficiencies that could result in shorter processing timelines, BUT otherwise not have much effect on individual applicants. That is, in terms of what applicants see, there may not be much to see.
My sense is that most of the attention and interest in this is related to allowing individuals to complete the oath process while they are outside Canada. Perhaps that will be more broadly allowed when the bureaucratic part of these changes is complete (that is, in regards to what is practically put into effect) BUT frankly that seems like a long shot (notwithstanding isolated anecdotal reports based on exceptional circumstances). In any event, as detailed in the PDI for video oath ceremonies (link is above), which was fairly recently updated (just a bit more than two months ago), IRCC is still requiring applicants to be IN Canada when they participate in the oath ceremony (again with some exceptions, which so far does not appear to be at all routine, more likely continuing to be only in exceptional circumstances).