The Citizenship Commission

The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The Commission consists of all citizenship judges working across Canada. Its mandate is as follows:

• To review approximately 130,000 citizenship applications each year;
• To assess applicants to ensure they meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act and Regulations;
• To administer the oath of citizenship and stress the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship;
• To maintain the integrity of the citizenship process; and
• To promote citizenship by working with school boards, service clubs, multicultural groups and other community organizations.

With respect to decisions affecting individual cases, Citizenship judges are independent, quasi-judicial decision makers. Their decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada by a failed applicant or the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Judges need to know:

• The principles of administrative law and natural justice;
• The Citizenship Act and Regulations and relevant case law; and
• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as well as the Criminal Code.

Citizenship judges are appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of CIC. New appointees are chosen from a list of qualified candidates who have gone through rigorous screening.

The Citizenship Commission is led by a Senior Citizenship Judge who is first among equals. Reporting to the Minister, the Senior Citizenship Judge is responsible for ensuring the proper administration of the law and promoting collegiality between citizenship judges. As part of CIC, the Senior Citizenship Judge also assumes responsibility for managing the administrative and professional services that the Commission offers to judges.

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Related Links

• Citizenship judges
• The Citizenship Act