You are here: Home / Archives for citizenship

Language Proficiency Rule to be Changed

October 15, 2011

The Canadian government wants to change the way language proficiency is tested for those who apply to become citizens.

In a gazette Notice of Intent issued, Citizenship and Immigration Canada – the federal department in charge of immigration issues – says that in future it would like applicants to prove their proficiency in either of the two official languages – English and French – when they submit their citizenship application.

At present, language proficiency is tested during the citizenship application process. It is tested through the 20 multiple choice questions. If the applicant fails the test, then he or she has to appear before a citizenship judge to answer questions.

How to Prove Proficiency

But under the new proposals, applicants will have to prove, upfront, their fluency through one of the following three methods:

  • The results of a third party test
  • Evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French, or
  • Evidence of achieving the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens level 4 (both these organizations set Canadian standards for language proficiency).

The CIC says that this is not an increase in the level of language proficiency, but rather change the way language proficiency for applicants between the ages of 18 to 54 is assessed.

The change has not become a rule, and the CIC wants public input. Those interested in expressing their views can do so within the next 30 days by accessing the contact information through this site.

The CIC has already made proficiency proof through written exams mandatory for those wanting to apply to immigrate to Canada.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Filed Under: Immigration, News Tagged With: , , , ,

Why More Immigrants Are Failing Canadian Citizenship Tests?

December 1, 2010

It appears a combination of factors – from language issues to a higher pass mark and a new, highly variable questionnaire – are the cause of the sudden increase in the failure rates of those sitting for exams to become Canadian citizens.

Documents have revealed that since the new tests were introduced in March 2010, failure rates have shot up to 30 percent, up from the four-to-eight percent before the new tests.

At first, it would appear nothing has changed in the test itself. The government had introduced a new, 63-page booklet, titled Discover Canada, last October as a guide to the test. The guide replaced the one that had been used since 1995, and was the subject of some controversy after it was reported that references to gay relationships were removed from the drafts.

Despite these controversies, there are no changes in the facts about Canada.

And the citizenship test, which all the immigrants who are between the ages of 18 and 54 who want to become Canadian citizens have to take, still has twenty questions. Two of them, related to Canada’s electoral system, must be correctly answered.

Key Changes

One of the key differences in the new test is that while earlier a pass mark of 60-percent was sufficient, now one needs to get 75-percent. This is in par with countries such as Australia and Britain, but higher than Canada’s neighbour US, which has a 60-percent cut-off mark.

A second key difference is that it appears that earlier there were a set of five different questionnaires that were recycled, but now the questions are shuffled so that there is no certainty what questions will appear in a particular test questionnaire.

Officials from Citizenship & Immigration Canada, the federal department that oversees immigration issues, say having just five different questionnaires made it easy to cheat. Apparently, these questions were circulating for people to buy and pass the exam.

The issue of fluency in English or Canada’s second official language French has also been speculated as a reason for high failure rates.

The high failure rates have shocked the immigration officials who launched a revamped test last month, which cut down the failure rates to 20-percent. Among the changes was the removal of the mandatory pass questions.

Those who fail the exam can also re-sit it.

Those who fail the exam can appear before a citizenship judge to plead his or her case for Canadian citizenship.

About 150,000 immigrants sit for the citizenship test every year, and Canada allows about 250,000 new immigrants into the country every year.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , ,

More Staff to Speed up Citizenship Applications

October 28, 2010

The Canadian government has assigned extra personnel to reduce delays at its office dealing with applications for the Canadian citizenship.

The office, based in Sydney in eastern Nova Scotia, on average took about 5-12 months to process an application, but now it can take up to 19 months.

One key reason is the increase in citizenship applications since the Canada Immigration Act came into effect last year, allowing people such as children of Canadians born outside the country to apply for citizenship.

Besides, this office is also responsible for the extension of the new Permanent Resident Cards.

To become a Canadian citizen, one should be a permanent resident, and should have lived at least 1095 days (three years) of the previous four years in the country, have no criminal record and fluent in either of the two official languages (English/French).

Additionally, applicants should also pass a written exam, though there are exceptions for seniors. Visit the Citizenship & Immigration Canada‘s website to know more about how to become a citizen.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Canada Opens Doors To Indian Students

February 15, 2010

Canada welcomes India’s higher education students.

This is basically the message the Canadian federal government and the various provincial governments are trying to impart to Indians wanting to go abroad for higher studies.

And towards this end, Canada has implemented a number of strategies, including promoting community colleges, where the costs can be lower than universities but whose degrees are recognised throughout the country, and a fast-track system to process ‘genuine’ visa applications.

And just recently, Jean Charest, the Premier of the French province of Quebec, announced in India that foreign students who complete higher studies in his province will be given a Certificate of Selection which in effect will put them on a fast track to obtaining Canadian citizenship.

At present, one has to have lived at least 1095 continuous days in Canada with permanent residence status to be able to apply for Canadian citizenship. Each day spent in Canada legally but without a permanent residence (for example, with a student permit) will be counted as half a day.

The new Quebec system came into effect Feb 14, and will be valid only for those who have completed bachelors, masters or doctoral studies.

Quebec officials hope this accelerated path to Canadian citizenship will attract more Indian students to their province. Quebec officials say that at present about 4,000 of the 25,000 foreign students in the province are from India.

The Quebec move is part of a major offensive launched by Canadian educational institutions and the government to attract more Indian students to Canada.

Fast Track System For Indian Students

While a number of educational institutions have signed bilateral projects with Indian counterparts, the Canadian government launched a major initiative early last year. Named the Student Partners Program, the program was launched last April between the Canadian visa offices in India and twenty members of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC).

And in the first nine months, the program reported that the Canadian visa offices received more than four thousand applications, and that the approval rate has doubled. Furthermore, the processing time is also much faster, with the average of about two and half weeks.

Canadian officials feel that with the spate of attacks on Indian students in Australia, prospective students might be willing to consider Canada as an alternate location to pursue their studies.

According to one study done by the Canadian foreign affairs and international trade ministry, the foreign students sector contributed more than 6.5 billion dollars to Canadian economy in 2008.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , ,

Canada’s French Province Wants More Indian Students

February 10, 2010

Canada’s key French province of Quebec is on an offensive to attract more students from India and other nations.

The Quebec Premier Jean Charest made the announcement recently in India that foreign students who complete higher studies in his province will be given a Certificate of Selection which in effect will put them on a fast track to obtaining Canadian citizenship.

At present, one has to have lived at least 1095 continuous days in Canada with permanent residence status to be able to apply for Canadian citizenship. Each day spent in Canada legally but without a permanent residence (for example, with a student permit) will be counted as half a day.

The new Quebec system will come into effect Feb 14, and will be valid only for those who have completed bachelors, masters or doctoral studies.

Quebec officials hope this accelerated path to Canadian citizenship will attract more Indian students to their province. Quebec officials say that at present about 4,000 of the 25,000 foreign students in the province are from India.

The Quebec move is part of a major offensive launched by Canadian educational institutions and the government to attract more Indian students to Canada.

While a number of educational institutions have signed bilateral projects with Indian counterparts, the Canadian government launched a major initiative early last year. Named the Student Partners Program, the program was launched last April between the Canadian visa offices in India and twenty members of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC).

And in the first nine months, the program reported that the Canadian visa offices received more than four thousand applications, and that the approval rate has doubled. Furthermore, the processing time is also much faster, with the average of about two and half weeks.

According to one study done by the Canadian foreign affairs and international trade ministry, the foreign students sector contributed more than 6.5 billion dollars to Canadian economy in 2008.

Filed Under: News, News/Articles Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Canada Introduces New Permanent Resident (PR) Card

August 25, 2009

Canada has introduced new, high-tech identity cards for its permanent residents.

The federal minister for citizenship and immigration, Jason Kenney, said the new cards, which were rolled out beginning August 24, contain security features that comply with international standards for travel documents. However, the PR card, as it is more known, is not a replacement for the traditional passport, but they can be used to re-enter Canada.

The new cards contain fine line patterns and micro lettering that cannot be copied. Besides, the owner’s personal details and photograph will be recorded on a bar code that can be read only by Canadian officials possessing the necessary equipment.

The minister says the government has to keep up with technological advances, which also mean smugglers and others copying PR cards.

Those receiving their permanent residence after August 24th will automatically receive the new card while for those currently possessing one, new cards will be issued once they apply for new ones after the expiration of the current card.

The current ones are valid until they expire.

Canada introduced the PR cards in 2002.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , ,
Add to Technorati Favorites