Over 15,000 Indians get Canadian citizenship in 2020

As per industry experts, either in late-2021 or early-2022, a spike can be expected in the number of Canadian permanent residents taking up Canadian citizenship.

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting citizenship ceremonies in Canada, the drop in the number of people taking up Canadian citizenship in 2020 has led to a pent-up demand for citizenship ceremonies that had the likelihood of exploding in the aftermath of the pandemic.

In 2020, a total of 1,07,119 became Canadian citizens. Of these, 15,066 were Indians. In 2019, on the other hand, 250,367 took the oath transitioning into new Canadian citizens. Of these, 31,341 had India as their source country.

Following the imposition of COVID-19 special measures in Canada on March 18, 2020, all citizenship tests, re-tests as well as ceremonies had been put on hold by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC].

After a duration of near-total shutdown, Canadian citizenship ceremonies came to be held online instead of the traditional face-to-face ceremonies. As on November 30, 2020, IRCC had sworn-in or affirmed more than 45,300 new Canadian citizens in over 8,900 ceremonies.

On November 26, 2020, the online citizenship test was put into place.

Top 10 countries of birth for new Canadian citizens – 2020
Country of birth	No. of new Canadian citizens
Philippines	15,673
India	15,066
Syria	6,678
Iran	4,794
Pakistan	4,663
People’s Republic of China	4,550
France	2,238
Iraq	1,934
Mexico	1,429
Morocco	1,279

Source: IRCC Data Set

Currently, citizenship fees adds up to around CAD630 for an adult and CAD100 for a child.

With the citizenship fees expected to be removed by the Canadian government, there might be many Canadian permanent residents awaiting a more conducive setting before taking their oath.

Similarly, with citizenship ceremonies being held online during the pandemic, it is also likely that certain permanent residents might be waiting until the time that they can celebrate this milestone in person, along with their family and friends.

If you are looking to Work, Study, Invest, Visit, or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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