Summer 2004

FEATURE ARTICLE

Citizenship Acquisition Rates in the 1990s

According to the first set of interviews from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, 92% of immigrants interviewed six months after landing indicated that they intended to become Canadian citizens. Naturalization is often understood as the ultimate decision by the immigrant population to fully integrate into the host society. While a variety of factors influence such a decision, naturalization is an important measure of the willingness of the immigrant and the receiving population to build a common future.

CIC administrative data [note 1] allow us to look at citizenship acquisition rates through time and see how cohorts vary in terms of their naturalization rates after the same period of time in Canada. For this analysis, the focus will be on the country or region of origin and immigrant class at time of landing. Immigrants who landed in two time periods, that is, between 1991 and 1995, and in 1996 and 1997, will be examined.

CIC administrative data up to May 15, 2001, show that the citizenship acquisition rate for all immigrants landed between 1991 and 1995 was 68% (805,326 naturalized citizens out of a possible 1,181,530) and 39% for all immigrants landed in 1996 and 1997 (172,746 naturalized citizens out of a possible 442,077). An examination of 2001 census data for the same landing cohorts reveals even higher citizenship acquisition rates (79% for the 1991–1995 cohort and 57% for the 1996–1997 cohort). This difference can be explained by differences between the populations described in the two data sources. CIC administrative data record all immigrants who came during a particular period of time, whether or not they were present in Canada on census day. Census data include only those who were living in Canada at the time of the census and therefore, do not capture deaths or migration outside of Canada.

Nevertheless, both data sources show that the probability of becoming a Canadian citizen does increase with the amount of time spent in Canada. However, the rates differ greatly depending on the country and the major world region despite the fact that all immigrants were governed by the same rules in terms of citizenship acquisition.

Chart 4: Citizenship Acquisition Rates by
Landing Period and Region of Birth

Immigrants from Eastern Europe, West Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa tended to take up citizenship earlier than those from Northern and Western Europe and the United States. While rates varied considerably by country, immigrants from Canada’s partners in the G-7 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Italy) had much lower rates than the average immigrants. In contrast, immigrants from countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Lebanon, Ghana and Somalia recorded higher than average citizenship acquisition rates.

Citizenship acquisition rates by source country exhibit large differences that reflect variations in the propensity to apply for citizenship. These variations may be the result of a number of factors, which include legislation on dual citizenship in the immigrant’s country of birth, as well as source country tax regimes and legislation on the transfer of assets. For example, immigrants from countries that do not recognize dual citizenship or that limit the transfer of assets may delay their decision to acquire Canadian citizenship.

Immigration Class

Citizenship acquisition rates also differ by immigration class (in this analysis, the four categories examined are economic, family, refugee and other).

Refugees had the highest citizenship acquisition rates for the 1991–1995 cohort and were very close to the top for the 1996–1997 landing cohort. The rates for these immigrants were 85% and 58.5% respectively. In contrast, family class immigrants recorded the lowest citizenship acquisition rates, with 59.6% naturalizing from the 1991–1995 landing cohort and 30.3% from the 1996–1997 cohort. Economic class immigrants fell in between, with rates of 70% for the 1991–1995 landing cohort and 38.8% for those landed in 1996 and 1997.

Chart 5: Acquisition Rates by Landing
Period and Immigrant Class

The differences in acquisition rates by immigration class can be explained in large part by the source countries and the age of the immigrants in each class. For example, the vast majority of refugees came from unstable countries, and these immigrants have higher rates of naturalization in Canada. In terms of age, the larger share of family class immigrants were 45 years old or more. Previous research has shown that immigrants who land at an older age are less likely to naturalize.

The vast majority of immigrants intend to become Canadian citizens after coming to Canada, availing themselves of the rights, privileges and responsibilities associated with Canadian citizenship. Data from CIC administrative files indicate that acquisition rates vary significantly depending on the place of birth and the immigration class. They also indicate that immigrants who have lived in the country for a longer period of time have higher citizenship acquisition rates than more recent arrivals, and that refugees and immigrants from developing countries have higher naturalization rates.

The administrative dataset has allowed a more detailed examination of the citizenship acquisition process, particularly for different immigrant groups and landing cohorts over time. However, the rates (which are lower than ones recorded in the Census) may not be a true reflection of how many newcomers chose to become Canadian citizens. People who come to Canada and leave (or die) before they are eligible for citizenship are included in the figures but never consider making this choice. Citizenship acquisition rates, as calculated using the Census, may be a truer reflection of the proportion of newcomers who choose to complete their integration into Canadian society and naturalize.

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1. Recent work at CIC has made it possible to link our administrative citizenship records to the permanent resident data. This has allowed CIC to examine the citizenship acquisition rates for immigrants who landed in the 1990s.

Please note that the feature article on immigrants and income levels originally planned for this issue of The Monitor will appear in the fall 2004 issue.

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