Citizenship to Passport Pilot simplifies the passport process for recent Canadians. IRCC plans to provide 100 citizenship award candidates with the opportunity to apply for a passport as part of the trial program.
Citizenship to Passport Pilot simplifies the passport process
The pilot initiative uses data from the citizenship program to develop a new, simplified passport application form. Following application processing, IRCC will print the passports to divert traffic away from Employment and Social Development Canada locations.
To prepare the path for an integrated model in the future, IRCC anticipates that the pilots will streamline the passport application process.
Some of the qualified individuals received invitations through mail. These emails explain how to fill out the passport application, what extra paperwork is essential, and where to send it. Also, the passport application should be handled within 20 business days after the applicant concludes their Citizenship Oath and the IRCC confirms it.
The program’s goal is to assess if connecting citizenship and passport systems is feasible. IRCC aims to train citizenship workers in passport-related business. This is to ease the load on the spike in passport renewals and to facilitate new Canadians’ easy access to a Canadian passport.
The citizenship and passport programs both had slow processing times in 2022. As a result, it became impossible for either program to satisfy predetermined service criteria. Although the number of applications has significantly decreased, new citizens still face the impacts caused by delays in both systems.
In order to possibly develop the integrated citizenship and passport paradigm, the pilot’s results undergo evaluation. By the end of December 2023, recommendations for a wider rollout will come into the picture.
Eligibility criteria for Canadian citizenship
You must fulfill the following requirements in order to be eligible for Canadian citizenship:
- Become a Permanent Resident.
- Ability to fulfill physical presence requirements in Canada.
- If needed, file your taxes.
- If you happen to be between the age group of 18 and 54 years, clear a Canadian citizenship test.
- Ability to prove your language skills if between 18 to 54 years.
To qualify, you must have met Canada’s physical presence requirements by residing there for at least three of the five most recent years (1,095 days).
Count a portion of the time you spent residing in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person for your physical presence requirement. Additionally, you may count as one-half day each day that you were a protected person or a temporary resident in Canada during the previous five years. Lastly, you can satisfy your physical presence requirement by counting up to 365 days as a temporary resident or protected person.
Those who ace the citizenship exam and interview will receive an invitation to the citizenship ceremony. An applicant must sing the national song of Canada and take the Oath of Citizenship to Canada in either English or French in the presence of a judge during the ceremony. They will eventually receive their citizenship from Canada.
