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| Rights and
obligations
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12. All citizens have the same rights,
powers, privileges, obligations, duties,
responsibilities and status without regard to
the manner in which their citizenship was
acquired.
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| General
principle
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13. A citizen continues to be a citizen unless
they lose their citizenship in accordance with
this Part.
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| Automatic
loss
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14. A person born after February 14, 1977,
who acquires citizenship because they were
born, outside Canada, of a parent having, at
the time of the person's birth, citizenship
either as a result of the parent's birth outside
Canada after February 14, 1977 or as a result
of the registration under prior legislation, after
that date, of the parent's birth outside Canada
loses citizenship on attaining 28 years of age,
unless the person has applied to the Minister
to retain citizenship and has resided in Canada
for at least 1,095 days during the 6 years
before so applying.
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| Renunciation
of citizenship
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15. (1) The Minister shall, on application,
allow a citizen to renounce their citizenship if
the citizen
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(a) is a citizen of a country other than
Canada or will become one if the
application is accepted;
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(c) is not prevented from understanding the
significance of renouncing citizenship by
reason of having a mental disability; and
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(d) resides outside Canada.
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| Waiver on
compassionat
e grounds
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(2) If the Minister believes that there are
compassionate grounds for doing so, the
Minister may waive the requirement of
paragraph (1)(c) or (d) with respect to any
applicant.
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| Action
leading to
revocation
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16. (1) The Minister may commence an
action in the Federal Court for a declaration
that a person has acquired, retained,
renounced or resumed citizenship by false
representation or fraud or by knowingly
concealing material circumstances.
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| Effect
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(2) A judgment declaring that a person has
so acquired, retained, renounced or resumed
citizenship has the effect of revoking their
citizenship or renunciation of citizenship.
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| Presumption
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(3) For the purposes of this section, a person
shall be considered to have acquired or
resumed citizenship by false representation or
fraud or by knowingly concealing material
circumstances if the person became a
permanent resident by those means and,
because of obtaining that status, they
subsequently acquired or resumed citizenship.
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| Declaration of
inadmissibilit
y
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(4) The Minister may, in the originating
document that commences an action under
subsection (1), request also that the person be
declared inadmissible on security grounds, on
grounds of violating human or international
rights or on grounds of organized criminality
under, respectively, subsection 34(1),
paragraph 35(1)(a) or (b) and subsection 37(1)
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act.
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| Removal
order
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(5) A judgment declaring the person to be so
inadmissible is a removal order against the
person under the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act that is in force when the
judgment is made, without the necessity of
holding or continuing an examination or an
admissibility hearing.
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| Procedure
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(6) In a proceeding before the court under
this section, the court shall
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(a) first hear and decide all matters related
to the declaration requested under
subsection (1); and
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(b) if it decides to grant the declaration
referred to in subsection (2), then hear and
decide all matters related to the declaration
requested under subsection (4), if
applicable, and in this regard
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(i) shall take into account the evidence
already admitted - and consider as
conclusive any finding of fact already
made - in relation to the declaration
requested under subsection (1), and
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(ii) with respect to any additional
evidence, is not bound by any legal or
technical rules of evidence and may
receive and base a decision on any
evidence adduced in the proceedings that
it considers credible or trustworthy in the
circumstances.
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| Definitions
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17. (1) The following definitions apply in
this section.
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``information'
'
« renseigneme
ntsts»
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``information'' means security or criminal
intelligence information and information
that is obtained in confidence from a source
in Canada or from the government of a
foreign state, an international organization
of states or an institution of either of them.
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``judge''
« juge »
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``judge'' means a judge of the Federal Court
who may hear proceedings in relation to
certificates referred under subsection 77(1)
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act.
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| Referral of
certificate
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(2) The Minister and the Solicitor General
of Canada may sign and refer to the Federal
Court for determination under subsection (5)
a certificate stating that, based on
information,
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(a) it is their opinion that a person has
acquired or resumed citizenship by false
representation or fraud or by knowingly
concealing material circumstances; and
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(b) the person would, if they were not a
citizen, be inadmissible under the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act on
security grounds, on grounds of violating
human or international rights or on grounds
of organized criminality.
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| Presumption
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(3) For the purposes of this section, a person
shall be considered to have acquired or
resumed citizenship by false representation or
fraud or by knowingly concealing material
circumstances if the person became a
permanent resident by those means and,
because of obtaining that status, the person
subsequently acquired or resumed citizenship.
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| Judicial
consideration
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(4) The following provisions govern the
determination:
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(a) the judge shall hear the matter;
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(b) the judge shall ensure the confidentiality
of the information on which the certificate
is based and of any other evidence that may
be provided to the judge if, in the judge's
opinion, its disclosure would be injurious to
national security or to the safety of any
person;
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(c) the judge shall deal with all matters as
informally and expeditiously as the
circumstances and considerations of
fairness and natural justice permit;
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(d) the judge shall examine the information
and any other evidence in private within
seven days after the referral of the
certificate for determination;
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(e) on each request of the Minister or the
Solicitor General of Canada made at any
time during the proceedings, the judge shall
hear all or part of the information or
evidence in the absence of the person
named in the certificate and their counsel if,
in the judge's opinion, its disclosure would
be injurious to national security or to the
safety of any person;
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(f) the information or evidence described in
paragraph (e) shall be returned to the
Minister and the Solicitor General of
Canada and shall not be considered by the
judge in making the determination under
subsection (5) if the matter is withdrawn, if
the judge determines that the information or
evidence is not relevant or if the judge
determines that it is relevant but should be
included in the summary;
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(g) the information or evidence described in
paragraph (e) shall not be included in the
summary but may be considered by the
judge in making the determination under
subsection (5) if the judge determines that
the information or evidence is relevant but
that its disclosure would be injurious to
national security or to the safety of any
person;
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(h) the judge shall provide the person
named in the certificate with a summary of
the information or evidence that enables
them to be as fully informed as possible of
the circumstances giving rise to the
certificate, but that does not include
anything that in the opinion of the judge
would be injurious to national security or to
the safety of any person if disclosed;
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(i) the judge shall provide the person named
in the certificate with an opportunity to be
heard on matters relevant to the
determination; and
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(j) the judge may receive into evidence
anything that, in the opinion of the judge, is
appropriate, even if it is inadmissible in a
court of law, and may base the decision on
that evidence.
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| Determination
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(5) The judge shall, on the basis of the
information and evidence available,
determine
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(a) whether, on the balance of probabilities,
the person named in the certificate has
acquired or resumed citizenship by false
representation or fraud or by knowingly
concealing material circumstances; and
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(b) if the judge determines that the person
has so acquired or resumed citizenship,
whether the certificate is reasonable with
respect to the matters referred to in
paragraph (2)(b).
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| Revocation of
citizenship
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(6) A determination under paragraph (5)(a)
that a person has so acquired or resumed
citizenship has the effect of revoking the
citizenship of the person.
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| Quashing of
certificate
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(7) The judge shall quash the certificate if
the judge does not make the determination
referred to in subsection (6).
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| Removal
order
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(8) A determination under paragraph (5)(b)
that the certificate is reasonable with respect
to the matters referred to in paragraph (2)(a)
is a removal order against the person under the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
effective when the determination is made,
without the necessity of holding or continuing
an examination or an admissibility hearing.
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| Determination
final
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(9) A determination under subsection (5) is
final and may not be appealed or judicially
reviewed.
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| Annulment
order
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18. (1) If the Minister is satisfied that a
person has, after the coming into force of this
section, acquired, retained, renounced or
resumed citizenship in contravention of
section 28 or by using a false identity, the
Minister may, by order, declare that the
acquisition, retention, renunciation or
resumption of citizenship is void.
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| Notice of
intention
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(2) The Minister shall not make an order
unless the Minister, at least 30 days before
making it, notifies the person who is to be the
subject of the order.
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| Content of
notice
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(3) The notice must include a summary of
the grounds for the proposed order and state
that the person may, within 30 days after the
day on which it was sent, make written
representations to the Minister.
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| Informing
person on
annulment
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(4) The Minister shall, without delay,
inform the person who is the subject of the
order that the order has been made and advise
them of their right to apply for judicial review
under section 18.1 of the Federal Court Act.
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| Limitation
period
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(5) The Minister may not make an order
under subsection (1) more than five years after
the day on which the citizenship was acquired,
after the application under section 14 to retain
citizenship was received or after the
citizenship was renounced or resumed, as the
case may be.
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| Grant to
former citizen
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19. (1) The Minister shall, on application,
grant citizenship to a person who has lost their
citizenship - other than because of a
revocation order under prior legislation, a
revocation under subsection 16(2) or 17(6) or
an annulment order under subsection
18(1) - and who
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(a) is a permanent resident; and
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(b) in the two years immediately before
applying for citizenship, has resided in
Canada as a permanent resident for at least
365 days.
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| Treated as
present in
Canada
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(2) 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.
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| Citizenship
for certain
women
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20. A woman who notifies the Minister, in
writing, that she elects to become a citizen
shall be granted citizenship, effective from the
day on which the Minister receives the notice,
if the woman
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(a) because of a law in force in Canada at
any time before January 1, 1947, had, by
reason only of her marriage or the
acquisition by her husband of a foreign
nationality, ceased to be a British subject;
and
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(b) would have been a citizen, if the
Canadian Citizenship Act, chapter C-19 of
the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, had
been in force immediately before her
marriage or the acquisition by her husband
of a foreign nationality.
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| Report of
Minister
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21. (1) If the Minister is satisfied that there
are reasonable grounds to believe that a person
has demonstrated a flagrant and serious
disregard for the principles and values
underlying a free and democratic society, the
Minister may submit a report to the Governor
in Council recommending that the person not
be granted citizenship or allowed to take the
oath of citizenship.
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| Notice of
intention
|
(2) The Minister shall not submit a report
unless the Minister, at least 30 days before
submitting it, notifies the person who is to be
the subject of the report.
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| Content of
notice
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(3) The notice must include a summary of
the grounds contained in the report and state
that the person may, within 30 days after the
day on which the notice was sent, make
written representations to the Minister.
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| Order of the
Governor in
Council
|
22. (1) Despite any other provision of this
Act, the Governor in Council may, if satisfied
that the Minister's report is well-founded, by
order, prohibit the granting of citizenship to
the person who is the subject of the report or
the taking of the oath of citizenship by that
person.
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| Effect
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(2) The Minister is, on the making of the
order, deemed to reject any application for the
grant or resumption of citizenship made by the
person who is the subject of the order.
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| Order final
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(3) The order is final and, despite any other
Act of Parliament, is not subject to appeal to
or review by any court.
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| Effective
period
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(4) The order is effective for five years after
the day on which it is made.
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| Conclusive
proof
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(5) Despite anything in this Act or any other
Act of Parliament, the order is conclusive
proof of the matters stated in it.
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