Vol. 146, No. 21 — October 10, 2012

Registration

SOR/2012-178 September 20, 2012

CITIZENSHIP ACT

Regulations Amending the Citizenship Regulations

P.C. 2012-1079 September 20, 2012

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to section 27 (see footnote a) of the Citizenship Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Citizenship Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CITIZENSHIP REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. Subsection 3(4) of the Citizenship Regulations (see footnote 1) is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):

• (e) evidence that demonstrates that the applicant has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada, including language test results or other evidence that demonstrates that the applicant meets the criteria set out in section 14.
  

2. Section 14 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

14. A person is considered to have an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada if they demonstrate that they have competence in basic communication in that language such that they are able to

• (a) take part in short, routine conversations about everyday topics;
  
  
• (b) understand simple instructions and directions;
  
  
• (c) use basic grammar, including simple structures and tenses, in oral communication; and
  
  
• (d) use vocabulary that is adequate for routine oral communication.
  

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on November 1, 2012.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

1. Executive summary

2. Background

The acquisition of citizenship is a significant step in the integration process for newcomers to Canada. Granting citizenship to eligible applicants provides newcomers with the full range of citizenship rights and encourages them to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship. One of the legal requirements for acquiring citizenship is basic proficiency in one of the two official languages of Canada.

Language proficiency is essential to helping newcomers find work and become more involved in their community. Moreover, language proficiency is one of the biggest determinants of successful integration and participation in active citizenship and civil society. A literature review has revealed a variety of economic, social and health benefits associated with official language competency of newcomers. A 2011 report by the TD Bank Financial Group, based on Statistics Canada’s International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) and other sources, notes that “increased literacy skills lead to higher employment, lower and shorter unemployment, higher income and better jobs.” (see footnote 2) A study by Monica Boyd and Cao Xingshan, which uses Statistics Canada’s census-based levels of language proficiency measurement, also finds that average weekly earnings increase from each language proficiency level to the next. (see footnote 3) The Government of Canada committed, in the 2008 Speech from the Throne, to increase the uptake of immigrant settlement programs, which includes freely available language training for newcomers.

Given the importance of newcomers’ language abilities in their successful settlement and integration, citizenship legislation since 1947 has required applicants for an adult grant of citizenship to demonstrate that they have an adequate knowledge of one of Canada’s official languages. The current requirement is set out in paragraph 5(1)(d) of the Act. Currently, those between the ages of 18 and 54, representing approximately 134 000 applicants per year, must meet the language requirement.

3. Issue

Section 14 of the Regulations broadly outlines the criteria for determining whether a person has adequate knowledge of one of the official languages, requiring “basic” comprehension and expression. The Regulations do not outline specific criteria for the assessment of language proficiency, making such assessments challenging for decision makers.

Furthermore, under the current system, language is largely assessed through a multiple choice written test which also assesses an applicant’s knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship [a separate requirement under paragraph 5(1)(e) of the Act]. The written test is an inadequate method for assessing language as it does not assess listening and speaking skills, which are essential language skills for effective communication with fellow Canadians and for effective integration. This creates a risk that applicants without adequate listening and speaking language skills may acquire citizenship.

If an applicant fails the written test, or if concerns about their speaking or listening proficiency are flagged following oral interactions with a citizenship official, the applicant is referred for a hearing with a citizenship judge. The result of the hearing may be that the citizenship application is refused by the judge because the applicant does not meet the official language requirements. This is inefficient for citizenship processing and does not provide good client service as there can be a substantial time delay between submission of the application and a subsequent hearing to assess language proficiency. Hearings in these cases contribute to processing pressures and application inventories. Processing times for straightforward cases that do not necessitate a hearing currently average 19 months. For cases requiring a hearing, there is an additional delay.

There is a need to address the fact that the written citizenship test is an inadequate method for language assessment; that decision makers currently lack objective evidence on which to base their language assessment; and that program inefficiencies result from processing applications from people who apply without adequate language skills.

4. Objectives

The amendments to the Regulations will

• encourage applicants to meet the language requirement when they file their citizenship application, thereby strengthening the integration of new citizens and supporting their full participation in Canadian society;
• clarify the language requirements by aligning them with CLB/NCLC level 4 speaking and listening indicators. This clarity will benefit applicants, Department of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) officials and citizenship judges; and
• improve processing by enabling the return of applications, with a refunded fee, if no evidence is provided, thereby enabling CIC to focus on processing applications where satisfactory evidence of the required language level has been provided, resulting in fewer hearings to determine whether applicants meet the language requirements.

The amendments will enhance the integrity of the citizenship program by making language assessment more objective, while improving language outcomes for newcomers. The amendments provide citizenship applicants with an incentive to acquire the necessary language skills. In addition, the amendments have been designed to minimize the burden on applicants.

The amendments will continue to build on the Government of Canada’s 2008 Speech from the Throne undertaking to increase the uptake of immigrant settlement programs, which includes freely available language training for newcomers. Moreover, they further CIC’s Citizenship Action Plan (CAP) which identified that changes to language assessments are required to support an integrated and socially cohesive society. The CAP is a medium-term set of coordinated initiatives to strengthen the value of citizenship.

5. Description

Section 3 of the Regulations is being amended to require applicants to furnish evidence of language proficiency with their citizenship application. Such evidence could include approved third-party language tests or alternative objective evidence. Administrative guidelines will provide a list of acceptable language tests which are correlated with the CLB/NCLCs, such as tests that are currently accepted for immigration to Canada. Guidelines will also specify acceptable alternative objective evidence such as completion of secondary or post-secondary education in French or English or achievement of a certain level in a language training course such as the federally funded Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada/Cours de langue pour les immigrants au Canada (LINC/CLIC). Tests previously completed by the applicant and accepted for other purposes, such as tests taken as part of their immigration application as a principal applicant in the Federal Skilled Worker Class or the Canada Experience Class, will also be considered acceptable for citizenship purposes.

Requiring evidence of language proficiency up front will make the application process more efficient and reduce administrative burden for CIC by enabling CIC to return applications submitted without adequate evidence of language proficiency. In these cases, the application will be returned with the full fee and a letter advising the applicant that they have not submitted satisfactory evidence of compliance with the official languages requirement. This will enable CIC to focus on processing applications where satisfactory evidence of the required language level has been provided. Also, requiring evidence of language proficiency provides citizenship judges with objective evidence on which to base their decision. It is expected that there will be a decrease in the number of language interviews with citizenship judges because applicants will only apply when they have the requisite language proficiency.

Section 14 of the Regulations is also being amended to provide the criteria for assessing speaking and listening skills and to capture the key elements of CLB/NCLC level 4 descriptors, such as the ability to take part in short routine conversations about everyday topics, to use basic grammatical structures and tenses, to have sufficient vocabulary for routine oral communication and to understand simple instructions and directions. Greater transparency and consistency in language assessment is achieved by establishing clearer language assessment criteria that align with CLB/ NCLC level 4 and clarifying that the language skills required are listening and speaking. The regulatory amendments do not increase the language level required for citizenship, but clarify the current language requirement.

Finally, the amendments to section 14 of the Regulations also remove the current requirement that questions to assess language proficiency be prepared by the Minister, thereby allowing the use of external evidence.

6. Regulatory and non-regulatory options considered

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has attempted to improve language assessments by developing tools to assist officers and judges in assessing applicants’ official language proficiency and improve consistency in assessment. However, language assessments remain subjective and the new tools do not result in efficiency gains. Therefore, requiring objective evidence up front is the best way to ensure consistency in language assessment, as well as to ensure program integrity and achieve operational efficiencies that would benefit clients.

An amendment to section 3 of the Regulations is necessary in order to create a requirement for evidence of language proficiency to be provided with an application for citizenship. Non-regulatory options are not possible as the material required to apply for a grant of citizenship under subsection 5(1) of the Act is outlined in the Regulations. Requiring upfront evidence through Regulations rather than through administrative guidelines provides stronger authority to compel applicants to provide the required evidence.

Currently, section 14 of the Regulations outlines, in broad terms, the criteria to assess language proficiency, and therefore, regulatory changes are necessary to provide CIC officials and citizenship judges with more specific criteria against which to assess language proficiency. Clarifying criteria through regulatory changes increases the transparency, consistency and fairness of language assessment and is more binding than administrative guidelines, thus ensuring that all applicants are required to meet the same criteria.

7. Benefits and costs

The table below provides an overview of the cost-benefit analysis study results. Although the amendments will be implemented in 2012, the costs and benefits cannot be measured until 2013, with the exception of certain administrative CIC costs. The total estimated costs to both governments and applicants for the analysis period (2012–2021) are estimated to be $110 million (present value) [PV]. The total benefits resulting from the Regulations are estimated to be $92.5 million (PV). This results in a total negative net benefit of $17.5 million (PV), which equates to $1.7 million per year. This negative net benefit is outweighed by the qualitative benefits identified in the study.

Costs, benefits and distribution		Base Year 2012	Year Five 2017	Final Year 2021	Total	Annual Average
A. Quantified impacts in millions of present value dollars (in 2012 dollars)
Costs	Stakeholders
Federal and provincial language training subsidy cost	CIC and provincial governments	0.0	3.8	3.0	36.7	3.7
Call centre costs	CIC	0.1	0.05	0.04	0.7	0.07
Transition costs	CIC	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.02
Cost to take third-party test	Applicants	0.0	2.5	2.0	22.3	2.2
Cost in time to take language training	Applicants	0.0	5.4	4.2	48.5	4.8
Sydney processing costs	CIC	0.2	0.2	0.1	1.5	0.01
Total costs		0.3	12.0	9.3	110.0	11.0
Benefits	Stakeholders
Processing benefits at local offices	CIC	0.0	0.1	0.08	0.8	0.08
Processing efficiency of postponed applications without language proficiency	CIC	0.0	0.04	0.03	0.4	0.04
Improved employment benefit	Economy and applicants	0.0	1.5	1.2	13.2	1.3
Higher wages benefit	Economy and applicants	0.0	3.7	5.2	31.1	3.1
Reduced reliance on EI benefit	Government of Canada	0.0	0.8	0.6	7.4	0.7
Improved skill matching benefit	Economy and applicants	0.0	4.7	6.6	39.5	4.0
Total benefits		0.0	10.9	13.8	92.5	9.2
Net benefits (NPV)					- 17.5	- 1.7
B. Qualitative impacts
Benefits	Stakeholders	Description of cost or benefit
Social benefit	Applicants	Improved participation in Canadian society.
Health benefits	Applicants	Improved access to health services and possibly improved health outcomes for recent immigrants.
Reduced knowledge hearings with citizenship judges	CIC	Reduction in hearings for people who have failed the knowledge test due to lack of language proficiency.
Processing benefits to public departments	Government of Canada	Benefit to other government departments or agencies that would not have to screen citizenship applications that do not comply with the requirements.
Ease of interaction with new citizens	Federal/provincial/territorial governments	Improved ability to provide government services to immigrants who have better language proficiency and are better able to understand how social services are offered.
Improved employability of permanent residents/new citizens	Canadian employers	Improved language proficiency at an earlier stage, allows new immigrants to participate in the labour market and better communicate with potential employers.
Increased client base	Private language schools	Potential increase in demand for private language training.
Improved value of Canadian citizenship	Canadian society	Increased program integrity through more objective language assessment which strengthens the status of Canadian citizenship.
Strengthened social cohesion	Canadian society	Improved language proficiency facilitates interaction with other Canadians, increased participation in the community and improved understanding of Canadian norms and values.
Costs	Stakeholders
Cost to take private language training	Applicants	Course fees may apply for those applicants who choose private language lessons over freely available government language training.

Business and consumer impacts

The amendments principally affect citizenship applicants who do not have evidence of their language proficiency and will now be required to obtain such evidence to support their citizenship application. For those who do not have basic language proficiency, the amendments create a strong incentive to attend language training in order to acquire it and provide upfront evidence of their language proficiency. A benefit has been identified for private language training trainers as the proposal provides an incentive to citizenship applicants to acquire language skills at an earlier stage. However, this benefit is qualitative as it is very difficult to predict how many applicants with language skills below CLB/ NCLC level 4 would choose private language training over freely available government-funded language training. It is also impossible to predict how long they would spend in language training and what the average cost would be.

Distributional impacts

Once implemented, the measure is expected to result in a net cost to federal, provincial, and territorial governments of $39.1M over the study period (10 years). The main cost is due to an anticipated modest increase in demand for free language training services provided by federal, provincial and territorial governments to prospective citizens.

It is anticipated that there may be a slight initial decrease in the number of citizenship applicants. This is in part because some permanent residents may postpone their citizenship applications until they improve their language skills, remaining permanent residents until that time. In those first years, a small uptick in the different language training programs (federally funded programs, private language schools, and secondary or post-secondary education in French or English) can be expected. It is important to note, however, that those trends are based on assumptions that may change over time.

There will also be an impact on permanent residents who wish to acquire Canadian citizenship. It is expected that the vast majority of applicants (nearly 99 000 or 73%) already have some form of required evidence of language proficiency; therefore, the requirement will not pose a new burden for this group. For the minority of applicants who do not already have such evidence, the costs of investing time in training or paying for third-party language tests in order to obtain evidence are significant. As seen in the table below, these costs are in the order of $70.9M. The major cost component is the time-value of taking training to improve language proficiency.

However, the benefits of improved language proficiency accrue to both applicants and the Canadian economy in the form of increased employment and output as well as improved productivity. As seen in the table below, the benefits to applicants, in the form of improved economic and social outcomes, outweigh the identified costs.

The amendments have been designed to minimize the burden on applicants by allowing a variety of evidence. Acceptable evidence includes tests previously taken by the applicant and accepted for other purposes, such as immigration to Canada. Therefore, such applicants will not need to obtain new evidence exclusively for citizenship purposes. The amendments also accommodate native speakers by accepting completion of secondary or post-secondary education in French or English and give added value to achievement in certain government-funded language training programs, which are free to applicants.

Impact by stakeholder (in millions of dollars)	Costs	Benefits	Net Benefit (NPV)
Federal and provincial governments (including CIC)	39.1	8.6	30.5
Permanent residents seeking citizenship	70.9	83.9	13.0
Total	110.0	92.5	-17.5

The full CBA is available upon request.

8. “One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

9. Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs to small business.

10. Consultation

A Notice of Intent regarding the proposed Regulations was published in the Canada Gazette on October 15, 2011, following which CIC received a number of comments. The majority of those who responded were in favour of the proposal. Out of a total of 68 responses received, 40 expressed support for the proposal, and 17 were opposed to it. The remaining 11 responses were requests for further details on the proposal. CIC received a mix of feedback from individuals (46) and organizations (22). The primary reasons provided for supporting the proposal were that language proficiency should be one of the basic requirements for becoming a citizen and that language proficiency is critical to enabling newcomers to receive services and benefits, e.g. health services. The strongest support came from private individuals. Some of those in favour of the proposal offered conditional support, contingent on the new rules continuing to provide an exemption for older applicants, the maintenance of federally funded language training programs and access to an individual waiver in cases of need. The main concerns raised by stakeholders referred to impacts on vulnerable groups, such as refugees, people with learning disabilities or people in rural areas with limited access to language training facilities, as well as concerns about certain groups who may not have the time or money to take language training or tests.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada consulted provincial and territorial senior officials to explain the impacts of the proposal and ascertain whether provincial/territorial language training programs might be able to provide evidence of language ability which would be acceptable for citizenship purposes. As a result of those consultations, key provinces have expressed willingness for their provincial language training programs to provide evidence which could be used for citizenship purposes. Consultation was also conducted with federal, provincial and territorial language specialists and citizenship judges. CIC is continuing to consult third-party testing bodies concerning the provision of acceptable third-party tests. Consultations with other stakeholders, such as immigrant settlement service providers, representatives of the Canadian Bar Association and representatives of immigration consultants’ organizations, have also taken place and stakeholders were generally supportive.

The regulatory proposal was prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ, on April 21, 2012. Interested persons had the opportunity to comment within 30 days, with the comment period ending on May 20, 2012. As a result of the comment period, 14 comments were received. Three supported the changes, stating that language proficiency should be one of the basic requirements for becoming a citizen and will also enable better integration. Two were opposed to the proposal: one stated the change was considered too strict and would put additional costs on future citizenship applicants, and the other suggested this change does not go far enough and that CIC should require more from immigrants and future citizens. Nine comments were neutral and were generally requests for further information on the proposed change. The majority of comments were received from individuals (10). The 4 others were from organizations, provinces or territories.

With regard to concerns raised by stakeholders about impacts on vulnerable groups, CIC had taken their needs into account in developing this proposal. For example, accepting a variety of evidence, including evidence of government-funded language training, available at no cost to participants, mitigates the impact on vulnerable groups.

11. Rationale

The amendments requiring upfront evidence of language proficiency to be submitted with the citizenship application will act as an incentive for applicants to acquire the required language skills before applying for citizenship. Given the centrality of language to successful integration, this will have a positive impact on facilitating integration of new citizens into Canadian society, enabling them to better exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens and supporting improved economic and social outcomes.

Through the requirement to provide upfront evidence of language proficiency, the amendments also improve the integrity of language assessment and strengthen decision making. Having an upfront requirement with a clear standard (CLB/NCLC level 4) that applicants are required to meet also streamlines processing by providing for the return of applications, with a refunded fee, if acceptable evidence of language skills is not provided with the application. It also lessens administrative burdens for CIC officials when assessing an applicant’s language proficiency.

In addition, applicants will benefit from clear language requirements and from being able to determine, at the time that the application is submitted, whether they have provided appropriate evidence of language proficiency. Applicants without the required level of language proficiency will benefit from not having to wait an average of 20 months to have their application processed, only to have it refused at the end of the process. These same applicants also benefit from not having to pay the application fee if their application is ultimately refused.

The amendment to section 14 of the Regulations aligns with CLB/NCLC benchmarks, which are recognized as the official Canadian standards for describing, measuring and recognizing the language proficiency of adult immigrants in both English and French. External tests have been correlated against them as they are used under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Clarifying the language assessment criteria in section 14 of the Regulations increases consistency, fairness and transparency. Clear and consistent standards will also benefit government officials, employers and fellow members of society by increasing confidence in the language proficiency of citizens and in the citizenship program generally.

The changes apply to adult citizenship applicants who must meet the language requirement. Currently, applicants aged 18 to 54 must meet the language requirement and, therefore, this is the group of people who will be required to provide upfront evidence of language proficiency. This represents approximately 134 000 applicants per year. All such applicants will be affected by the new Regulations and will need to provide evidence of their language proficiency. CIC will mitigate adverse impacts on applicants by allowing for a range of objective language proficiency evidence.

It is expected that the majority of citizenship applicants (nearly 99 000 applicants per year — 73%) already have evidence that they could submit with their application. Therefore, the requirement is not anticipated to pose a burden on the majority of applicants who already have available to them the evidence of compliance with the new official languages requirement.

12. Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Regulations will come into force on November 1, 2012. Any applications received on or after this date will be subjected to the new regulatory scheme. In order to inform prospective citizens and stakeholders of the new changes and to ensure citizenship applicants understand which documents must be provided with their citizenship application, CIC has adopted a proactive communications approach to ensure applicants are aware of the new assessment process and the requirement to provide evidence of language proficiency upfront.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has also formed an implementation working group to address a range of implementation requirements, such as amendments to application forms and the CIC Web site, IT systems, training for CIC officials and judges, determination of acceptable evidence from federal/provincial/territorial language training programs and arrangements with external testing bodies to ensure availability of the relevant tests.

Finally, CIC will monitor the results of the new language assessment regime. CIC will also look at mitigating the risk of fraud associated with the new requirements, through verification of third-party tests and adjustments to existing quality assurance mechanisms.

13. Performance measurement and evaluation

A PMEP has been developed to evaluate the changes. In the short term, intended impacts include (a) streamlined processing for citizenship applications; (b) increased enrolment of newcomers in the federally funded language training program (LINC); and (c) increased awareness of new upfront language requirement criteria for a citizenship grant. Intermediate outcomes include (a) eligible applicants acquiring citizenship grants efficiently; and (b) citizenship applicants having an adequate knowledge of an official language. Final outcomes include (a) improved integrity of the citizenship application process and citizenship program; and (b) improved language level at the citizenship application stage that contributes to employability of new citizens.

These impacts will be monitored and evaluated according to regular program evaluation schedules, anticipated for fiscal year 2018–2019.

14. Contact

Mary-Ann Hubers
Acting Director
Citizenship Legislation and Program Policy
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
180 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Telephone: 613-998-1756
Fax: 613-991-2485
Email: mary-ann.hubers@cic.gc.ca

Footnote a
 S.C. 2008, c. 14, s. 12

Footnote b
 R.S., c. C-29

Footnote 1
 SOR/93-246; SOR/2009-108

Footnote 2
Alexander, Craig, and Frank McKenna, “Literacy Matters: Helping Newcomers Unlock Their Potential,” TD Bank Financial Group, p. 11, www.td.com/document/ PDF/economics/special/ca0909_literacy.pdf.

Footnote 3
Boyd, Monica, and Cao Xingshan, “Immigrant Language Proficiency, Earnings, and Language Policies,” Canadian Studies in Population, Vol. 36.I–2, (spring/ summer 2009), www.canpopsoc.org/journal/2009/CSPv36n1-2p63.pdf.