Citizenship

We provide a vast array of citizenship services. Please choose from below list information you are looking and/or need help with:

CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION

CITIZENSHIP REFUSALS

CITIZENSHIP REVOCATION

CITIZENSHIP RESUMPTION

PASSPORT APPLICATIONS

PASSPORT REFUSALS 

Canadian Citizenship is not a right, it’s a privilege. Canada is a very generous country, a country that actively encourages immigrants to take citizenship and universally grants it after three years residency. Becoming a Canadian Citizen brings with it some rights and responsibilities that every citizen must comply and abide by. These come to us from our history, are secured by Canadian law, and reflect our shared traditions, identity, and values. This as a whole is defined under Canadian Constitution as known as “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”.  

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society. The Charter is one part of the Canadian Constitution. The Constitution is a set of laws containing the basic rules about how our country operates. Some of the fundamental rights and responsibilities a Canadian citizen must comply, which are defined in the charter includes:

• Obeying the law,
• Taking responsibility for oneself and one’s family,
• Serving on a jury,
• Voting in elections,
• Helping others in the community,
• Protecting and enjoying Canadian heritage and environment.

Once a Canadian citizen complies with these fundamental rights, they can exercise, enjoy and live freely a peaceful life with their families. Generally, anyone who is born in Canada has a right andis automatically granted Canadian citizenship. In certain situations, a person who was not born in Canada can apply for a certificate of citizenship showing that he or she derived citizenship atbirth from a Canadian citizen living in Canada or abroad. In contrast, people living in Canada and wanting to acquire Canadian citizenship can do so in a number of ways.

To be eligible for applying Canadian citizenship, an applicant must:

• Be a permanent resident,
• Have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days),
• Have regularly filed their taxes,
• Pass a citizenship test,
• Prove language proficiency skills in one of Canada’s official languages (English or French).

You may contact our office if you need help or have any questions on eligibility criteria and/or how to apply. Our team of citizenship experts will assess your case, determine your eligibility, assist you with your citizenship application and/or provide recommendations of the best measures you should take to obtain Canadian citizenship.

Are you a permanent resident?

Is your citizenship refused?

At Prestige Law we can help!

If your application for Canadian citizenship is refused, you may file an appeal to seek judicial review of the decision by the Federal Court of Canada. The first step in the appeal process involves filing a Notice of Application to the Federal Court within 30 days of receipt of refusal from Citizenship. This timeline is very important and must not be missed.

Depending upon your particular situation as to why your citizenship application was refused, a new application for citizenship may be the best option. This can occur when you were not actually in Canada for three years, depending on the legal test applied by the Citizenship Judge.

You can get in touch with our Citizenship experts. They review the decision and advise on the strength of a Federal Court challenge.

The revocation of Canadian citizenship is a very serious matter that would have great consequences on the present and future of concerned individual. Depending on the reasons of revocation of citizenship, a person may also lose their permanent residency and removal from Canada.

There could be reasons of revocation of Canadian citizenship such as false representation or fraud or by knowingly hiding information on an immigration or citizenship application. What this means is that, if you were hiding something or untruthful on an important information that would otherwise reveal that you are at risk of losing your citizenship. For instance, if you were a permanent resident of Canada and you committed a crime overseas that was not disclosed on your citizenship application, your citizenship and permanent residency could be invoked and you may face allegations that you are inadmissible to Canada for criminality.

The process of revocation of citizenship begins with IRCC sending a Notice of Intent to Revoke Citizenship. The Notice will outline the reasons and grounds for revocation, the summary of IRCC’s case against you. If you have received this Notice, you have the right to request a review in which case the matter would be referred to the federal court within 30 days. The federal court process will begin with IRCC filing a Statement of Claim, which will set out in detail the reasons why IRCC believes that your citizenship should be revoked. You respond to this by filing a Statement of Defense. This is a highly complex process that has legal and financial implications. It is recommended that you seek experienced legal counsel to assist you if you find yourself before the Court in citizenship revocation proceedings.

The vast majority of revocation cases will be decided by the Minister; however, certain complex cases will be decided by the Federal Court. Should the federal court find that IRCC’s allegations are inaccurate and/or insupportable, then the matter ends there and your citizenship is maintained. However, if the matter is not referred to the Federal Court or if the Court finds that IRCC’s allegations are well-founded, then the Minister may proceed to submit a report to the Governor in Council recommending that citizenship be revoked.

If your citizenship is revoked but you believe you were honest on your application for permanent residence or citizenship, you can seek an appeal to challenge your refusal. If you or a family member is facing the revocation of citizenship and want to challenge this decision; legal counsel is important as this is a highly complex area of law and need to be immediately discussed with an expert from our team.

Are you a former citizen of Canada? 

If yes, would you like to resume your citizenship status?

At Prestige Law we can help!

Citizenship Resumption is for a person who was previously a Canadian citizen, other than a person whose citizenship was revoked, and who wishes to resume their citizenship.

To qualify to resume your Canadian citizenship you must:

• Have been a Canadian citizen,
• Have lost your Canadian citizenship by means other than revocation,
• Not be under a removal order from Canadian officials to leave Canada,
• Have become a permanent resident of Canada after the loss of your Canadian citizenship,
• Not have any unfulfilled immigration conditions linked to your permanent resident status,
• Have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 1 year,
• Have met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file income taxes,
• Not be subject to any prohibition under the Citizenship Act.

Should you require more information or require assistance in applying for a resumption of citizenship, or in responding to a request for further documentation or procedural fairness procedures, please contact our office immediately

Are you a Canadian citizen?

Do you need to apply for a Canadian passport?

At Prestige Law we can help!

A Canadian passport is a travel document that a Canadian citizen can use to travel the world.

To apply for a passport, you must have completed citizenship requirements and need to be a Canadian citizen.

To get your passport, you’ll need to:

• Fill out a passport application.
• Get your supporting documents and passport photos.
• Find a guarantor and 2 references.
• Find out how to submit your application and applicable fees.

If you already have an adult passport, you may be able to renew your adult passport. Renewing a passport is comparatively simpler process than applying for a new one.

It is important to notify Passport Canada immediately should your passport be lost or stolen. If your passport is lost or stolen and you are outside Canada, you should immediately report to the regional High Commission or Embassy of Canada.

Have questions or need assistance, you can contact our office.

Are you a Citizen of Canada?

Have you been refused a Canadian passport?

Has your passport been revoked, suspended or cancelled?

At Prestige Law we can help!

The authority of the Passport Program is to issue secure Canadian passports to citizens through identity verification and entitlement determination, facilitating travel, and contributing to national and international security. The Minister of IRCC have the authority to issue, refuse to issue, revoke, suspend or cancel an existing passport, recover and monitor the use of passports.

Passport Refusal

The Minister of IRCC may refuse to issue a passport to a person for a number of reasons. Some of them include findings that the applicant:

• Is not a Canadian citizen.
• Provides false or misleading information or has not provided all required information during the passport application process.
• Facilitated the use of a passport by a person other than its bearer.
• Fails to provide a duly completed application, or the required or requested information.
• Has been convicted of a passport offence committed in or outside Canada.

Passport Suspension

The Minister of IRCC may refuse to issue, suspend a passport or deny passport services to an person who has failed to pay child support or alimony and thus can be subject to the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistant Act. Where a passport has been suspended it must be returned to the Passport Program. If it is not returned, then it will be cancelled. If the suspension ends before passport expiry; it may be returned to the bearer.

Passport Cancellation

Passports can be cancelled in certain circumstances. When a passport is cancelled, law enforcement and border services officials are notified of the cancellation and the passport is no longer valid for travel. The Minister of IRCC may cancel a passport, and in some situations without notice, to a person on the following grounds:

•  If a person is deceased.
• If a person was advised to return the passport under section 11 of the Canadian Passport Order but has failed to do so.
• If a person is no longer in possession of the passport.
• Reasonable grounds exist to suspect that cancellation is necessary to prevent the commission of an offence in relation to sexual offences against children outside Canada.
• There are reasonable grounds to suspect that the decision is necessary to prevent the commission of a terrorism offence or for the national security of Canada or a foreign country or state.

Passport Revocation

When a passport is revoked, the bearer is instructed to return the passport. Law enforcement and border services officials are notified of the revocation and the passport is no longer valid for travel. The Minister of IRCC may revoke a passport to a person for a number of reasons, including the following:

• The passport holder is no longer a Canadian citizen.
• The passport holder permits another person to use their passport.
• Has obtained the passport by means of false or misleading information.
• The passport is used in, or to assist with, the commission of an indictable offence either in or outside Canada.

Return of a passport

Canadian passports are the property of the Government of Canada. If a person is requested to return a passport, the passport must be provided to the Passport Program without delay. Failure to comply with the order may be subject to investigation and prosecution, under the Criminal Code, by the police for theft and illegal possession of Government of Canada property.

Investigation Process

An administrative investigation is initiated, if it is believed that there are reasonable grounds to refuse to issue, cancel, suspend or revoke a passport. During such investigation, the Passport Program provides, the person, a summary of the information relevant to the investigation along with the opportunity to respond.

At the conclusion of an investigation, the Passport Program renders a written decision. Refusal, cancelation, suspension, or revocation decisions made by the Passport Program are considered final as of the date the decision is rendered. A person who chooses to challenge a decision may do so by filing an application for judicial review before the Federal Court of Canada within 30 days of the date of the decision.

The Minister of IRCC may consider issuing, in special circumstances, a limited-validity travel document (LVTD) to the applicant under investigation or a period of refusal of passport services.

Final Decisions

Following assessment of the investigation, a final decision is rendered. Where the investigation does not support proceeding with refusal, revocation or cancellation, the applicant will be informed that their passport entitlements have been reinstated. However, where the investigation supports action, the file is sent to a decision-making authority for a final decision. The decision maker may then decide to:

• Issue or return a passport,
• Revoke a passport,
• Refuse to issue a passport,
• Refuse passport services for a period of time.

In the event that you have been refused issue of a passport, your passport is revoked and/or you have been refused passport services, you may apply for reconsideration and seek judicial review of the decision in Federal Court. We at Prestige Law have Immigration experts that deal with refusals and citizenship and immigration litigation. Contact our office for immediate assistance.