Chris Alexander, Citizenship and Immigration Minister

“A final suite of reforms to strengthen and modernize Canada’s citizenship laws will be fully in force as of June 11, 2015. The changes — part of a package of measures approved by Parliament last year — ensure new citizens can fully and quickly participate in Canada’s economy and Canadian society.

“The first set of provisions that came into force last summer to strengthen Canadian citizenship and speed up application processing times are already paying off. New citizenship applications are being finalized in a year or less, and it is expected that the backlog of older files will have been eliminated by the end of this fiscal year. Individuals who submitted a citizenship application before April 1, 2015 will have a decision by March 31, 2016.

“Among the many benefits of the government’s citizenship reforms, the new provisions will deter citizens of convenience — those who become citizens for the sake of having a Canadian passport to return to Canada to access taxpayer-funded benefits that come with citizenship status, without having any attachment to Canada, or contributing to the economy.”

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