Looking to hear stories of people affected by Citizenship Act reforms

[saywisdom]

Personally I don't see how these new reforms will fix the problem of the backlog...
One of the main reasons of the RQ is that Canada doesn't stamp the passports on the exit (control the borders in and out), So it's hard for CIC to check how many days someone spent inside the country.
With the new reforms the applicants will not only need to prove that they have spent 4 years out 6, But also spent 6 months every year on the past 4 years... I think it's going to be more complicated!

 

[harry_aussie]

Personally I don't see how these new reform will fix the problem of the backlog...
One of the main reasons of the RQ is that Canada doesn't stamp passport on the exit (control the border in and out), So it's hard for CIC to check how many days someone spent inside the country.
with the new reforms the applications will not only need to prove that they have spent 4 years out 6, But also spent 6 months every year on the past 4 years... I think it's going to be more complicated!

There you go Saywisdom! You got it right, the problem of RQ can easily be solved by stamping passport on exit. This way an entry and exit record will be available to CIC and the physical residence in Canada can easily be calculated. Commonsense is what lacks in case of CIC.

I will apply for my Australian citizenship soon and it took few minutes for immigration department in Australia to provide me with days of physical residence in Australia. The lady on the other end calculated everything and even told my eligibility date. This is called customer service and high work standards. Thumbs down for Canada in this case.

 

[Swede]

I applied and became a permanent resident with the assurance of Citizenship and Immigration Canada that I will be eligible to apply for citizenship after living in Canada as a permanent resident for 3 years. It is unfair to change the rules for those who are on the path to citizenship. This bill shouldn't apply to current residents if and when it passes.

I want to become Canadian soon in order to feel equal and have full rights. There are many jobs that give priority to Canadian citizens before permanent residents.

I spent more than two years in Canada as a temporary workers before becoming a PR, and this period will no longer be counted under this bill.

Which jobs are those?

 

[ottawaResident]

Personally I don't see how these new reforms will fix the problem of the backlog...
One of the main reasons of the RQ is that Canada doesn't stamp the passports on the exit (control the borders in and out), So it's hard for CIC to check how many days someone spent inside the country.
With the new reforms the applicants will not only need to prove that they have spent 4 years out 6, But also spent 6 months every year on the past 4 years... I think it's going to be more complicated!

You're completely wrong about this. Just because they don't stamp your passport, doesn't mean they don't keep a record in their systems. Your PR card and/or visa is swiped everytime you enter the country. Even when signing the Citizenship application, on the last page you give CIC the permission to contact and extract records from CBSA. Just read the rules.

 

[harry_aussie]

Saywisdom is talking about exit stamps. If CIC or CBSA keep a record of this then why have they made such a hue and cry over documents to prove physical residence in Canada ?. Why RQ's were handed over left and right, can't they just check when a person entered or left Canada to prove residence period or seems like they are too lazy to do their homework. As i mentioned , here in Australia the DIBP would tell you exactly the days spent in Australia for Citizenship purposes over the phone in minutes. This is because border control officers stamp passports on entry and exit to Australia and they feed the same data into their systems as well.Believe me here we don't have to provide all the $hit load of documents to prove physical residence and there is no such crap like RQ.

 

[MasterGeek]

Which jobs are those?

Canadian citizens have priority over permanent residents in the federal public sector jobs

 

[proudcanadian2014]

The media talks about increasing the residency requirement to 4 out of 6 (currently 3 out of 4). The part which seems missing in the news is that under the proposed bill the time spent in Canada before becoming PR will not count towards citizenship requirement. So, People who lived in Canada before becoming PR will be affected twice as much.

Let me explain. Under the current law, each day spent in Canada counts as a half a day (up to 1 year) towards citizenship requirement. International students, temporary workers, and refugees are examples of this group who lived in Canada before becoming PR. If the proposed bill passes, the time spent before PR will not count towards citizenship. So, these people will see an increase in the residency requirement of 1 year (compared to the current law) as well as the elimination of their residence in Canada before becoming PR (up to 1 year). So, it means up to 2 years delays for some people, if the proposed bill passes.

Important points: 1-People who spent time in Canada before becoming PR experienced Canada, its people, nature, and heritage. It is not clear how eliminating those days and not counting them towards citizenship requirement increase their sense of belonging to Canada. 2- The situation is even more dire for some people. People who spent time in Canada before becoming PR sometimes their application for PR took up to 4 years. Imaging a person who lived in Canada for 4 years and now realizes that all his/her time before becoming PR will not count towards citizenship requirement.

I'm a journalist with CBC Radio. I'm looking to connect with people in the Toronto area who are planning to apply for citizenship, who would be affected by the government's reforms. If you have a story to tell, I'd love to speak with you today. Please drop me a line at brendan.ross @ cbc.ca Thanks!

 

[links18]

Natural born Canadians would raise the roof over visible exit controls, such as passport stamping on exit. They are not going to want to see the surveillance state expanded for the convenience of immigrants--especially if the data is going to be shared with the Americans. Of course, that hasn't stopped the current government from entering into various information sharing agreements with the Americans. Starting in June, Canada and the US will share entry/exit data. Canada is also set to start recording data on all international flights out of Canada soon. Government will do this by stealth.....

 

[saywisdom]

Natural born Canadians would raise the roof over visible exit controls, such as passport stamping on exit. They are not going to want to see the surveillance state expanded for the convenience of immigrants--especially if the data is going to be shared with the Americans. Of course, that hasn't stopped the current government from entering into various information sharing agreements with the Americans. Starting in June, Canada and the US will share entry/exit data. Canada is also set to start recording data on all international flights out of Canada soon. Government will do this by stealth.....

They already started sharing exit information (Only if you leave Canada at land port ) with USA since June 30th, 2013.
This is what I got when I requested the CBCA record.
"Please not that exit information is only recorded for foreign nationals leaving Canada at land port since June 30th,2013.
In addition no exit information is recorded for Canadian citizens, American citizen, commercial truck drivers or minors"

I think the only way to resolve the issue of "physical presence" in Canada is to track all the exits (not only the Land exits)
They can apply such control only for foreign nationals if they don't want bother the Canadian citizen.

 

[sashali78]

I'm a journalist with CBC Radio. I'm looking to connect with people in the Toronto area who are planning to apply for citizenship, who would be affected by the government's reforms. If you have a story to tell, I'd love to speak with you today. Please drop me a line at brendan.ross @ cbc.ca Thanks!

Hi Brendan,

I will be more than willing to speak with you about the new reform and it effects.
I am a former foreign worker, living in Canada for over 3 years and recently transitioned to PR status. I was first affected by Immigration reform Bill C-38 which effectively cancelled my FSW application and prolonged my temporary status in Canada by 3 long years and now I will be severely affected by the reform (2 years extension of residency requirements)
I am also the issuer of "Do not allow the discrimination of former foreign workers by the new Canadian Citizenship Bill C-24" which started today at Change.org.
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/senate-of-canada-house-of-commons-mp-s-do-not-allow-the-discrimination-of-former-foreign-workers-by-the-new-canadian-citizenship-bill-c-24

Please feel free to message me.

Thanks and Best regards,
Alex

 

[proudcanadian2014]

Alex, students who applied under Quebec Skilled Worker or PhD stream will also be affected like temporary workers.
They lived in Canada several years under study permit and then they became PR.
They also filed tax return and integrated in the society during their study.

Hi Brendan,

I will be more than willing to speak with you about the new reform and it effects.
I am a former foreign worker, living in Canada for over 3 years and recently transitioned to PR status. I was first affected by Immigration reform Bill C-38 which effectively cancelled my FSW application and prolonged my temporary status in Canada by 3 long years and now I will be severely affected by the reform (2 years extension of residency requirements)
I am also the issuer of "Do not allow the discrimination of former foreign workers by the new Canadian Citizenship Bill C-24" which started today at Change.org.

Please feel free to message me.

Thanks and Best regards,
Alex

 

[links18]

They already started sharing exit information (Only if you leave Canada at land port ) with USA since June 30th, 2013.
This is what I got when I requested the CBCA record.
"Please not that exit information is only recorded for foreign nationals leaving Canada at land port since June 30th,2013.
In addition no exit information is recorded for Canadian citizens, American citizen, commercial truck drivers or minors"

I think the only way to resolve the issue of "physical presence" in Canada is to track all the exits (not only the Land exits)
They can apply such control only for foreign nationals if they don't want bother the Canadian citizen.

They are going to record outgoing flight passenger information starting in June of this year--Canadian citizens will have their entry/exit information shared with the Americans starting then as well. Its highly controversial.....

http://o.canada.com/news/canada-u-s-to-share-names-from-border-crossings/

 

[sashali78]

Alex, students who applied under Quebec Skilled Worker or PhD stream will also be affected like temporary workers.
They lived in Canada several years under study permit and then they became PR.
They also filed tax return and integrated in the society during their study.

That is true. Thanks for putting my attention to it. I will add it to the petition text.

 

[imadiq]

I am planning to apply for citizenship this year in the coming July and I am sure the new rules will be implemented before July! . So I will wait another years to apply (July 2015) instead of (July 2014)

I am not sure how the new rules will strengthen the Canadian citizenship. we are already integrated with the society , paying taxes, my kids in the school and one of them in high school next year, stable full time Job as registered nurse - community and charitable involvement as well as law abiding member of society who serve the community and enjoy experience of culture diversity in Canada
I have been looking to the day of my citizenship application and see the time when I stand with my family for the Oath to be a full member of Canadian society and feel equal with everyone.

but it seems that will become complicated now and may be next year the government will introduce another bill to make it more complicated and even impossible to apply.

The new rules neither stop people leaving Canada after getting the passport nor stop fraud in applications.

Strengthen citizenship is to ease the process and improve the timeline of citizenship so everyone will feel gratitude toward the country who appreciate the legal immigrants who came from different countries of the world to be a members of Canadian society and serve the community.
and not putting more obstacles toward their integration that will even create a negative effect of unwanted feelings as you just an immigrant who should be always feel and remember for the rest of your life that your are just an immigrant.

 

[eileenf]

If there are immigrants from China who would be willing to speak to the press about the citizenship changes, please contact me.