CHANGES TO CITIZENSHIP REVOCATION PROCESS

February 5, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – Canada does not take the revocation of citizenship lightly, and is committed to integrating enhanced fairness into the process.

Changes to the citizenship revocation process are now in effect

Any individual whose case is subject to possible revocation now has the choice to have their case heard and decided by the Federal Court, or to request that the Minister decide.

The revocation process will also include an additional step, where IRCC officials review case submissions and decide whether or not to continue to proceed with revocation before it is referred to the Federal Court for decision.

In cases where individuals request to have the Minister decide, they would have an opportunity to seek leave to judicially review the Minister’s decision at the Federal Court.

Under the former decision-making model introduced in 2015, the Minister was the decision maker for cases of residence fraud, concealed criminality and identity fraud. The Federal Court was the decision maker only for cases of fraud relating to organized criminality, security, and human and international rights violations.