Starting Wednesday, Citizenship and Immigration will shut the files of those who fail to attend multiple scheduled citizenship tests or interviews. Applications submitted on or after April 17, 2009 will also be considered dormant and closed if applicants fail to provide proof of residency after receiving two notices to do so from the government.
Andrea Khanjin, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said about 54,000 citizenship applicants have failed to show up for their citizenship test in the last three years alone. She estimates about 12,000 files will be closed in short order.
“Those who take their citizenship seriously will not have to wait in line behind those that don’t bother showing up to their citizenship test, interview, or who don’t respond to a residence questionnaire,” she said.
“The citizenship application process has been bogged down for too long by those that do not take Canadian citizenship seriously.”
Acceptable excuses for not attending a citizenship test or interview include being away to care for a dying parent or personal illness.
Anybody who still wishes to obtain citizenship but has their file closed will have to reapply from the beginning and pay the new fee which, according to the last budget, is poised to increase substantially.
According to the government, the citizenship application backlog stood at 349,249 by the end of last year. The average processing time for a citizenship application is now 25 months for a routine application and 35 months for more complicated applications.
The recent budget included $44 million over two years to speed up processing times for citizenship applications.
Permanent residents are eligible to apply for citizenship after residing in Canada for three of the previous four years.
Original Article
Source: ottawacitizen.com
Author: Tobi Cohen
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