If Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rejects their citizenship application, Canadian citizenship applicants can reapply or request judicial review from the Federal Court of Canada.
According to data released by IRCC, in 2023, “more than 3,000 citizenship ceremonies were held across the country, and more than 354,000 people became Canadian citizens.”
While this number is down slightly from 2022 (when just over 375,000 foreigners became Canadian citizens), the number of people transitioning to Canadian citizenship has increased significantly over the past four years.
In fact, in 2019, the number was just 254,513, meaning that the number of new Canadian citizens in 2023 was about 39% higher than four years ago.
More information: Click here to learn more about the number of new Canadian citizens in 2023, including the steps IRCC is taking to reduce the backlog of citizenship applications and more information about the path from permanent residence to Canadian citizenship.
Despite the increasing number of foreigners transitioning to Canadian citizenship in recent years, many applicants may still have their citizenship applications rejected by IRCC. If this happens, applicants have two options:
Option One: Reapply for Canadian Citizenship
Having a Canadian citizenship application rejected by IRCC does not prevent an applicant from reapplying. In other words, if an applicant wishes, they can immediately reapply for Canadian citizenship as there is no waiting period imposed by the federal government.
IRCC clarifies that a new citizenship application must include the payment of a new application fee and “all required forms and documents.” Additionally, the Canadian immigration department reminds applicants to “make sure they meet the requirements for Canadian citizenship before reapplying.”
Visit this dedicated webpage for more information on applying for Canadian citizenship, including everything from eligibility requirements to the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens.
Option 2: Request a Judicial Review
Another option available to applicants is to seek a judicial review from the Federal Court of Canada. Applicants who have been denied citizenship have 30 days “from the date stated on the refusal letter” to seek a judicial review.
Note: IRCC clarifies that seeking a judicial review “is not an appeal of the decision.”
Obtaining judicial review of a refused citizenship application is a two-step process that begins with an application for leave.
IRCC notes that “leave” in this context means “permitting” the court to hear something at an oral hearing.
According to IRCC, to succeed in the first stage, “the applicant must satisfy the court that [their judicial review] application” raises “a serious question [or] an arguable issue on which the application is likely to succeed.”
At this point, one of two things typically happens. Either a Federal Court judge denies the application for leave, or the judge grants “leave to commence an application for judicial review.”
In the first scenario, if the application for leave is denied, IRCC notes that the applicant’s application will be dismissed. Therefore, the application “proceeds.”
On the other hand, when a Federal Court judge grants leave, “the court [then sets] a hearing date [and certain related] time frames” relevant to the case. Examples of timeframes that the court will set include the dates by which the parties must present their respective arguments and conduct cross-examination.
