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Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Citizenship Requirements: Changes and Bill C

citizenship requirements: The changes will be welcoming news for the many prospective applicants who have been holding off their applications since the newly elected Liberal government introduced Bill C-6 in March 2016 to reverse the more stringent changes adopted by its Conservative predecessor to restrict access to citizenship, according to Toronto Star. Read more We are Canadians, but it's complicated Article Continued Below Children applying for Canadian citizenship face hefty fee react-text 158 Changes to citizenship requirements are expected to lead to an increase in applications. /react-text Keith Beaty / Toronto Star file photo Canada faces dramatic drop in citizenship, prompting concerns about disengaged immigrants Citizenship applications are expected to go up, reversing the downward trend observed over the last few years after the Harper government raised the residency requirement for citizenship requiring applicants to be in Canada for four years out of six and stipulated that applicants between the ages of 14 and 64 must pass language and citizenship knowledge tests. react-empty 168 Immigrant groups and advocates have said the more stringent rules discouraged newcomers' full integration and participation in the electoral process. react-text 175 Luiz Capitulino,11, and his mom Sheyla Do Vale of Brazil embrace after becoming official Canadians. Also, applicants over 55 years of age are once again exempt from the language and knowledge tests for citizenship under the amended citizenship regulations to be announced by Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen on Wednesday. According to government data, 108,635 people applied for citizenship between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017. /react-text Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press Citizenship is the last step in immigrant integration. We are proud of these changes and are excited about it. Those unnecessary obstacles put in place by the previous government are hurting us as a country, Hussen told the Star in an interview Tuesday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.