Be in Canada, bring scissors; instructions for online citizenship ceremonies Canada is now holding citizenship ceremonies online, so some new guidelines have been put in place. Canada is not letting the coronavirus pandemic rob immigrants of their special day, but since citizenship ceremonies now take place over Zoom, a few changes have been made. By Shelby Thevenot
Canadian government can now verify how many days immigrants and visitors stay in the country The Entry/Exit Program may have implications affecting permanent residency and citizenship applications Canada’s federal immigration ministry has been able to track the movements of travellers entering and leaving the country by land since February 2019. By Shelby Thevenot
From refugee to entrepreneur: Peace by Chocolate CEO to become Canadian citizen How a Syrian refugee came to Canada and grew a social enterprise with help from a small Nova Scotia town Four years ago Tareq Hadhad came to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, as a Syrian refugee, and next week he will officially become a Canadian citizen— something he calls “a great honour.” By Shelby Thevenot
Proficiency in English or French opens many doors for immigrants to Canada Language skills can translate into big points for Express Entry candidates It’s common knowledge that immigrants who are highly proficient in English and/or French have stronger odds of integrating into Canada’s labour force and society. Canada’s immigration system reflects this reality with language proficiency standards for obtaining permanent residence and Canadian citizenship. By Kareem El-Assal
Canada expects a 40 per cent increase in citizenship among immigrants by 2024 Policy changes made by Canada over the past decade have hurt naturalization rates, but recent reforms could change that A new Statistics Canada study that shows fewer recent immigrants are gaining Canadian citizenship is cause for concern, but improvements are on the horizon. By Kareem El-Assal
