Category – Stories from immigration practice…
A client came in for a consultation AFTER A FEDERAL COURT DENIAL with the question – What should I do next?
A young man received refugee status in 2003, permanent residency in 2005, and Canadian citizenship in February 2011. But in October 2021, his Canadian citizenship was revoked on the grounds that he had concealed the fact that he had already applied for refugee status twice in the U.S. using fake passports (in other words, under a different identity).
The Canadian Citizenship Act, since 1985, states that the immigration department “may revoke citizenship if the Minister is satisfied that a person obtained, retained, renounced, or resumed their citizenship by false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material facts.”
The Minister may choose NOT TO REVOKE citizenship even if it was obtained through false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material facts — if convinced that there were SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
The fraud came to light after the man tried to enter the U.S. with his Canadian passport in 2013. That’s when the unpleasant truth was revealed. Nearly four years of court battles followed, and in 2017, it seemed the young man got incredibly lucky. In June 2017, the revocation process was COMPLETELY CANCELED due to a Supreme Court decision in another case, where it was declared that the process of revoking citizenship did not align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
BUT in February 2018, after amendments were made to the Citizenship Act, the process of revoking Canadian citizenship was resumed.
As of today, the number of citizenship revocation cases has multiplied, and we expect there will be even more. This is primarily due to the total shift to digital file processing, the use of database systems, and access to personal information of applicants across the North American continent and European Union countries. As the saying goes, in the digital age, it’s becoming harder and harder to hide anything.
Is there anything you can do if you receive a notice of intent to revoke your citizenship?
Yes — if you act quickly. You only have 60 days to contest it. Once your citizenship is revoked, you become a temporary resident (visitor) and must start the immigration process from scratch. But even in this seemingly difficult situation, there are possible solutions.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Immigration and Refugee Consultant in Canada.
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