On June 11, new requirements were made mandatory for Canadian citizenship. In many cases it has become more difficult to obtain citizenship.

The new requirements for Canadian Citizenship have been in force since June 11, 2015.

One of the most important changes is the requirement that an individual must now be physically in Canada for 4 years over a 6-year period. The old rule was physical presence in Canada for 3 years out of a 4-year period.

To quote the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander, “We are eliminating long backlogs, and streamlining our own processes. At the same time, we are ensuring Canadian citizenship is highly valued and stays that way. Promise made, promise kept when it comes to strengthening the value of Canadian citizenship.”

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Source: Here are the new requirements for Canadian citizenship | rabble.ca

The following is the opinion of an immigration consultant working for RS Immigration Corporation in Burnaby, Canada that has chosen to remain anonymous. It may or may not reflect the opinion of RS Immigration Corporation.

The current processing time for a Canadian Citizenship application, as per the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, is 2 years. That is a long time to wait for approval. Therefore, backlog reduction is a good reason to lengthen the citizenship physical presence in Canada rule. However, with the most recent changes, fewer people are applying for Canadian Citizenship and have chosen to remain permanent residents in Canada. What does more permanent residents in Canada mean?

Permanent residents have many of the same privileges as Canadian citizens, except for voting rights. How will more permanent residents within Canada effect the long term? Only time will tell.

The physical presence requirement for Permanent residence in Canada remains unchanged at 2 years in a 5 year period.”