Chapter CP 5 - Residence

Section 4 - Voluntary Surrender of Permanent Residence Status

4.1 This section is about

procedures to follow when an applicant for citizenship has voluntarily surrendered permanent residence status.

4.2 Authorities

Section 5(1) c of the Citizenship Act

Section 24 of the Immigration Act

4.3 Context

There are situations where persons applying for citizenship voluntarily surrender their Immigration 1000 document (Record of Landing as a Permanent Resident). This surrender may be as a result of a request from the applicant’s country of origin (ex. Korea requires that any person residing in Korea "give up" documents pertaining to residence in another country) or as a result of an interview with an immigration official at a port of entry (ex. applicant admits on re-entry to having been away from Canada for a considerable period of time).

4.4 Factors to Consider

When an applicant for citizenship has voluntarily surrendered permanent residence status, there are two distinct and separate factors that must be considered:

• the applicant’s immigration status, and
• the affect of voluntary relinquishment of permanent residence status on the applicant’s citizenship residence requirement.

4.4.1 Immigration Status

Section 5(1) of the Citizenship Act requires that a person not have "…ceased since…admission to be a permanent resident pursuant to Section 24 of the Immigration Act…"

A person can only cease to be a permanent resident, under Section 24 of the Immigration Act, if an adjudicator at an inquiry has removed permanent residence status. In other words, a Citizenship Judge cannot use this part of 5(1) (c) to non-approve a citizenship application unless the applicant had previously been taken to inquiry and ruled against by an adjudicator. The mere fact that an applicant voluntarily surrendered permanent residence status does not in itself cause Section 24 to come into play.

4.4.2 Residence Requirements

Section 5(1) of the Citizenship Act also requires "3 years of residence out of the 4 years immediately preceding the date of the application.

(Note - Residence does not necessarily mean physical presence in Canada.)

Once the issue of whether or not an applicant has ceased under Section 24 of the Immigration Act has been resolved, a judge must consider if the person has met the required 3 years of residence. The fact that an applicant is absent from Canada in the four years immediately preceding the date of the application and has voluntarily surrendered permanent residence status (even if status is not lost under Section 24 of the Immigration Act) is as a substantial indicator that ties and connection with Canada may have been severed. The judge must therefore make a determination as to whether the applicant can claim a "connection to Canada" after having voluntarily surrendered permanent residence status.

4.5 Procedures for Voluntary Surrender of Permanent Residence Status Cases

4.5.1 Step One - Clarify Applicant’s Immigration Status

In most instances, Citizenship staff will become aware of voluntary surrender situations through an indication on CRS that the client is under an immigration investigation. In such cases, Citizenship staff are to follow the procedures outlined in CP-98-11 " Active Applications – Immigration Clearance Exceptions".

When the information comes to light after the person has already been cleared, the available details are to be provided to Immigration with a request that Citizenship be advised within 60 days if

the applicant will be interviewed to determine if further action is warranted, or

there is no interest in pursuing the matter.

If Immigration chooses to interview the applicant to determine if further action is warranted, the client may be asked to complete a "Re-determination of Status Kit". In this instance, the case will remain on hold (i.e., not cleared by CRS) until the person’s status is resolved with Immigration. Where the person is reported and referred for inquiry, the application for citizenship remains on hold until such time as the final determination is made and all appeal routes are completed.

If Immigration decides to not pursue enforcement action against the client, the case will be cleared and citizenship processing should continue.

4.5.2 Step 2 – Determine if Applicant Has Met Residence Requirement

Even if Immigration decides not to pursue enforcement action against the client, voluntary relinquishment of the IMM 1000 may mean that the client does not meet residency requirements under the Citizenship Act. It is therefore very important that all information surrounding any relinquishment of the IMM 1000 be provided to the citizenship judge for a decision on residence. (These cases are treated as residence cases by judges.)

Citizenship officers are obliged to carefully review all such files before granting citizenship and should refer, for possible Ministerial appeal, approved applications where a person has surrendered an IMM 1000 and has had significant absences before or after the surrender of the document.

In rare instances a person who has physically resided in Canada for at least 1095 days before applying for citizenship, could have subsequently surrendered permanent residence status. In these cases, it is necessary to resolve, through Immigration, whether the person is still a permanent resident. Where immigration decides not to pursue the case, the file need not be treated as a