Canada has seen a dramatic increase in Indian immigrants seeking citizenship. Between January and October, 15,016 Indians applied for citizenship, 50 per cent more than 2017. This has made India the second country after the Philippines to seek citizenship in Canada.
The Philippines topped the list at 15,600 becoming citizens in a span of 10 months. However, this is only a meagre increase of 11 per cent compared to 2017. Canada granted citizenships to 1.38 lakh people during that period, reports The Times of India.
"Since October 2017, it has become easier to qualify to apply for Canadian citizenship. In particular, the time period for which a permanent resident must be physically present in Canada before applying for citizenship has reduced," said Talha Mohani, an immigration law specialist and managing director at Migration Bureau Corp.
"As compared to a 4-year residency requirement out of 6 years, now a permanent resident needs to be physically present in Canada for 3 out of five years," he added.
The TOI report goes on to say that obtaining a visa for the US after becoming a Canadian citizen will now be easier. Canadians use a Trade National Visa which is similar to the H1-B visa.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that following the relaxation of the citizenship rule, over 40 per cent more people began to apply for citizenship. The statistics show that over 2.48 lakh people had applied.
