Author: Stephen Smith
Canada’s federal government has increased the number of citizenship judges it employs from five to 14 just months after it relaxed the requirements for obtaining Canadian citizenship.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced the appointment of nine new judges and the re-appointment of one judge to a new term on May 17.
Prior to Thursday’s appointments, Canada only had five citizenship judges.
“The appointments will ensure operations needs are able to met across the country,” IRCC spokesperson Carl Beauchamp told CIC News in an email.
In October 2017, new citizenship rules took effect that reduced the number of residency years an individual had to accumulate before he or she could apply for Canadian citizenship from four years out of six to three years of five.
The changes also allow permanent residents who spent time in Canada as a foreign worker, international student, or protected person before transitioning to permanent residence to count each day spent in Canada on temporary status as half a day of residency, up to a maximum of 365 days.
The government also removed the requirement that applicants had to be physically present in Canada for 183 days or more in four out of the six years preceding their application.
Source: https://www.cicnews.com/2018/05/canada-increases-number-of-citizenship-judges-from-5-to-14-0510665.html#gs.PWzoKog
