|
|
2nd Session, 37th Parliament,
51 Elizabeth II, 2002
|
|
|
|
House of Commons of Canada
|
|
|
|
BILL C-18
|
|
|
|
An Act respecting Canadian citizenship
|
|
|
|
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Short title
|
1. This Act may be cited as the Citizenship
of Canada Act.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Definitions
|
2. (1) The following definitions apply in
this Act.
|
|
``certificate of
citizenship''
« certificat de
citoyenneté »
|
``certificate of citizenship'' means a
certificate of citizenship issued under an
Act of Parliament on or after January 1,
1947.
|
|
``certificate of
naturaliza-
tion''
« certificat de
naturalisation
»
|
``certificate of naturalization'' means a
certificate of naturalization issued under
any Act in force in Canada at any time
before January 1, 1947.
|
|
``certificate of
renunciation''
« certificat de
répudiation »
|
``certificate of renunciation'' means a
certificate of renunciation issued under an
Act of Parliament on or after February 15,
1977.
|
|
``citizen''
« citoyen »
|
``citizen'' means a Canadian citizen.
|
|
``citizenship''
« citoyenneté
»
|
``citizenship'' means Canadian citizenship.
|
|
``citizenship
official''
« fonctionnair
e de la
citoyenneté »
|
``citizenship official'' means a Citizenship
Commissioner, the Registrar of Citizenship
and any other person to whom the Minister
delegates powers, duties or functions under
this Act.
|
|
``common-la
w partner''
« conjoint de
fait »
|
``common-law partner'', in relation to an
individual, means a person who is
cohabiting with the individual in a conjugal
relationship, having so cohabited for a
period of at least one year.
|
|
``Minister''
« ministre »
|
``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's
Privy Council for Canada that the Governor
in Council designates as the Minister for the
purposes of this Act.
|
|
``minor''
« mineur »
|
``minor'' means a person who is less than 18
years of age.
|
|
``permanent
resident''
« résident
permanent »
|
``permanent resident'' has the same meaning
as in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Act.
|
|
``prior
legislation''
« législation
antérieure »
|
``prior legislation'' means any law about
naturalization or citizenship in force in
Canada at any time before the coming into
force of this section.
|
|
| Interpretation
|
(2) For the purposes of this Act,
|
|
|
|
(a) a person born on a Canadian ship, as
defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping
Act, or on a Canadian aircraft, as defined in
subsection 3(1) of the Aeronautics Act, is
deemed to be born in Canada;
|
|
|
|
(b) a person who is registered as an Indian
under the Indian Act and who is not a citizen
is deemed to be a permanent resident on
their registration; and
|
|
|
|
(c) a person resides in Canada if they are
physically present in Canada, and are not,
under an enactment in force in Canada,
|
|
|
|
(i) subject to a conditional sentence order
or a probation order, detained in custody
or confined under an order of a court that
is exercising jurisdiction in relation to an
offence with which the person has been
charged, or
|
|
|
|
(ii) an offender or a person who is under
long-term supervision within the
meaning of subsection 2(1) of the
Corrections and Conditional Release Act
or a prisoner within the meaning of
subsection 2(1) of the Prisons and
Reformatories Act.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Purpose
|
3. The purpose of this Act is
|
|
|
|
(a) to define who is a citizen and how
citizenship may be acquired;
|
|
|
|
(b) to encourage the acquisition of
citizenship by all who qualify;
|
|
|
|
(c) to protect the integrity of citizenship;
|
|
|
|
(d) to reaffirm that all citizens, no matter
how they became citizens, have the same
status;
|
|
|
|
(e) to require strong attachment to Canada
for the acquisition of citizenship;
|
|
|
|
(f) to heighten the awareness of citizens that
the acquisition of citizenship is a significant
event worthy of celebration; and
|
|
|
|
(g) to promote respect for the principles and
values underlying a free and democratic
society.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Persons who
are citizens
|
4. A person is a citizen if the person was a
citizen immediately before the coming into
force of this section or acquires citizenship in
accordance with this Act.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Acquisition at
birth
|
5. (1) A person acquires citizenship at birth
if, after the coming into force of this section,
|
|
|
|
(a) the person is born in Canada; or
|
|
|
|
(b) the person is born outside Canada of a
parent who is a citizen at the time of the
birth.
|
|
| Exception
|
(2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to a
person if, at the time of their birth, neither of
their parents is a citizen or a permanent
resident and one of the parents is
|
|
|
|
(a) a diplomatic or consular officer or other
representative or employee in Canada of a
foreign government;
|
|
|
|
(b) an employee in the service of a person
referred to in paragraph (a); or
|
|
|
|
(c) an officer or employee in Canada of a
specialized agency of the United Nations or
an officer or employee in Canada of any
other international organization to whom
there are granted, by or under any Act of
Parliament, diplomatic privileges and
immunities certified by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs to be equivalent to those
granted to persons referred to in paragraph
(a).
|
|
| Exception
|
(3) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a
person if their parent's citizenship was
acquired by being born, outside Canada, of a
father or mother whose own citizenship was
acquired as a result of being born after
February 14, 1977, outside Canada.
|
|
| Deserted child
|
(4) If a person who appears to be less than
seven years of age is found in Canada as a
deserted child, they are deemed to be a person
described in paragraph (1)(a), unless, within
seven years after the finding, it is proved that
the person was not born in Canada.
|
|
| Child born
after death of
parent
|
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) and
subsection (2), if a child is born after the death
of one of its parents who was a citizen
immediately before his or her death, the child
is deemed to have been born immediately
before the death of that parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| General
principle
|
6. A person in respect of whom the Minister
makes a grant of citizenship acquires
citizenship
|
|
|
|
(a) in the case of a person referred to in
section 9, 11 or 20 or a person who is less
than 14 years of age, on the making of the
grant; and
|
|
|
|
(b) in any other case, on taking the oath of
citizenship.
|
|
| Adults
|
7. (1) The Minister shall, on application,
grant citizenship to a person who
|
|
|
|
(a) is at least 18 years of age;
|
|
|
|
(b) is a permanent resident and has, during
the six years immediately before applying
for citizenship, resided in Canada for at
least 1,095 days, calculated in the following
manner, namely,
|
|
|
|
(i) one day for every day during which the
person has resided in Canada as a
permanent resident, and
|
|
|
|
(ii) one half of a day, up to a maximum of
365 days, for every day that the person
has resided in Canada as a protected
person or a temporary resident under the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
|
|
|
|
(c) has an adequate knowledge of one of the
official languages of Canada; and
|
|
|
|
(d) has an adequate knowledge of Canada
and of the responsibilities and privileges of
citizenship.
|
|
| Waiver on
compassionat
e grounds
|
(2) If the Minister believes that there are
compassionate grounds for doing so, the
Minister may waive
|
|
|
|
(a) in the case of any person, the
requirements of paragraph (1)(c) or (d);
|
|
|
|
(b) in the case of a minor, the requirement
|
|
|
|
(i) respecting age set out in paragraph
(1)(a),
|
|
|
|
(ii) respecting length of residence in
Canada set out in paragraph (1)(b), or
|
|
|
|
(iii) respecting the taking of the oath of
citizenship; and
|
|
|
|
(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.
|
|
| Treated as
present in
Canada
|
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a
day on which an applicant for citizenship was
a permanent resident residing with their
spouse or common-law partner who was a
citizen engaged, other than as a locally
engaged person, for service or employment
outside Canada in or with the Canadian Forces
or the public service of Canada or of a
province is to be treated as a day on which the
applicant was physically present in Canada.
|
|
| Minors
|
8. The Minister shall, on application, grant
citizenship to a permanent resident who is a
minor at the time of the application and is the
child of a citizen.
|
|
| Adoptees
|
9. (1) The Minister shall, on application,
grant citizenship to a person who, after
February 14, 1977, was adopted by a citizen
while the person was a minor child and whose
adoption
|
|
|
|
(a) was in the best interests of the child;
|
|
|
|
(b) created a genuine relationship of parent
and child;
|
|
|
|
(c) was in accordance with the laws of the
place where the adoption took place and the
laws of the country of residence of the
adopting citizen; and
|
|
|
|
(d) was not intended to circumvent the
requirements under any enactment for
admission to Canada or citizenship.
|
|
| Persons
adopted as
adults
|
(2) The Minister shall, on application, grant
citizenship to a person who, after February 14,
1977, was adopted by a citizen while the
person was 18 years of age or older if
|
|
|
|
(a) the adoptive parent stood in the place of
a parent in relation to the person before the
person attained the age of 18 years; and
|
|
|
|
(b) the adoption meets the criteria set out in
paragraphs (1)(b) to (d).
|
|
| Direction by
Governor in
Council
|
10. In order to alleviate a situation of special
and unusual hardship or to reward services of
an exceptional value to Canada, the Governor
in Council may, after being informed by the
Minister of the situation or the services, direct
the Minister to grant citizenship, without
delay, to any person.
|
|
| Statelessness
- bloodline
connection
|
11. The Minister shall, on application, grant
citizenship to a person who
|
|
|
|
(a) is born outside Canada after the coming
into force of this section;
|
|
|
|
(b) has a birth parent who was a citizen at
the time of the birth;
|
|
|
|
(c) is less than 28 years of age;
|
|
|
|
(d) has resided in Canada for at least 1,095
days during the 6 years immediately before
applying for citizenship;
|
|
|
|
(e) has always been stateless; and
|
|
|
|
(f) has not been convicted of an offence
against national security.
|
|