On June 19, 2017, Bill C-6 was passed and significant changes were made to the Citizenship Act. However, many of the changes were not implemented immediately, and instead are now coming into effect as of Fall 2017.
The most significant changes expected to come are related to calculating the amount of time a Permanent Resident is required to be in Canada before they can apply for citizenship. For example, the amount of time a Permanent Resident will be required to be physically present in Canada is now 3 years instead of 5. As well, a portion of time spent in Canada before Permanent Residence status was acquired will now count towards calculating those residency requirements.
Another change to the Citizenship Act will reduce the age range for language and knowledge requirements to 18-54 years old.
Although the government has not announced a formal date on which these changes will come into effect, it is expected to be before Christmas 2017.
