Immigration Announcement
Will Canada Citizenship Knowledge Tests Resume Soon?
The pandemic has caused a significant amount of distress for many immigration candidates who had to put their plans on hold.
Permanent residents who are at the threshold of becoming Canadian citizens are struggling at the moment because Canada still has not resumed the citizenship knowledge tests. They had to be put on hold back in March as part of the shutdown in the wake of the pandemic.
Is there a solution?
Now that Canada has begun resuming immigration services, many permanent residents want the country to start scheduling knowledge tests again. While the service restrictions made it difficult before, Canada is now carrying out in-person operations, and hence applicants are wondering why the country is not allowing the tests yet.
IRCC mentioned a while back that they are deliberating online tests to clear the backlog. However, not everybody is a fan of the idea. The integrity of online tests is in question, and it will be interesting to see how people react to it once IRCC actually starts online testing.
In February, 26,730 people became Canadian citizens. Fast forward to April, Canada was in the throes of the pandemic and gained only 5 new citizens. The numbers are now going up since Canada is in control of the pandemic, but it’s not enough. With IRCC introducing virtual ceremonies, 1656 people were given citizenship in June, but it doesn’t even compare to pre-pandemic numbers.
Requirements for the test
The citizenship test can be attempted by people aged between 18 and 54. They have to answer twenty questions about the rights, culture, and responsibilities of Canadian citizens. Applicants must have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for three years in order to sit for the test. They are also required to give language proficiency tests.
