becoming canadian citizens: intent, process and outcome kelly tran, tina chui: statistics canada...
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Becoming Canadian Citizens: Intent, process and outcome
Kelly Tran, Tina Chui: Statistics Canada
Stan Kustec, Martha Justus: Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Prepared for the annual meetings of the Canadian Population Society
June 5, 2004Winnipeg, Manitoba
Citizenship and Naturalization
extent or quality of participation in society formal status of belonging to a society final stage of the migration process measure of the willingness by the immigrant to
integrate benefits
voting rights access to certain jobs and occupations hold a Canadian passport protection from deportation
Becoming Canadian citizens 18 years of age or older
parents can apply for citizenship on behalf of their children families can apply for citizenship together
permanent resident of Canada have lived in Canada for at least three of the four
years before applying time spent in Canada before becoming a permanent
resident may be counted towards residency requirement be able to communicate in either English or French know about Canada and about the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship citizenship test for those age 18 to 59 years
appear before a citizenship judge to be officially recognized as a Canadian citizen
Canada has high citizenship take-up rates compared with other countries
Source: Statistics Canada, United States Census Bureau, Australian Bureau of Statistics, United Kingdom Home Office
Proportion of foreign-born and citizenship take-up rates among the eligible, Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom
56%
84%
75%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Canada United States Australia United Kingdom
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%Foreign-born Naturalized citizens
Citizenship intentions were high early in the migration process
Citizenship intentions of immigrants to Canada 6 months after landing, 2001
Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) Wave 1, 2001
Intend to become Canadian citizens
Total immigrants (N=) 149,229 %
Men 91.9 Women 91.2
15 - 24 years 93.3 25 - 64 years 91.6 65 years and older 82.9
Morocco 99.0 Romania 98.2 Pakistan 97.3 Iran 96.2 Sri Lanka 95.2 Russia Federation 94.6 China 91.2 India 89.2 Philippines 88.3 South Korea 80.4
Family class 90.1 Economic class 91.5 Economic class (PA) 91.4 Economic class (S/D) 91.7 Refugees 98.9 Other Immigrants Abroad 88.4
Settle in Canada 94.0 Live in Canada and other country 76.2 Live in Canada then return home 59.8 Move to another country or not sure 67.2
Age
Place of birth
Admission class
Settlement intentions
Recent immigrants taking up citizenship earlier and at a faster rate than earlier immigrants
Citizenship by naturalization for immigrants to Canada by length of residence
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
At least 3 years 4-5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years 21-30 years 30 years or more
Length of residence
%
1981 Census 1991 Census 2001 Census
Source: Statistics Canada, 1981,1991, 2001 Census
Immigrants from Africa and Asia have highest take-up rates
Source: Statistics Canada 2001 Census
Naturalization rates by period of immigration and region of birth for Canada, 2001
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
4-5 years 6-10 years 11-20 years 21-30 years 31-40 years 41-50 years 50+ years
Number of years in Canada
%
United States
Central, South America and theCaribbean Northern and Western Europe
Southern and Eastern Europe
Africa
Asia
Oceania and other
Younger migrants take-up citizenship more than older migrants
Citizenship rates showing age at immigration, 1981, 1991 and 2001
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
TotalImmigrants
0-9 years 10-19 years 20-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50-59 years 60-69 years 70+ yearsAge at immigration
%
Newly eligible immigrants (4-5 years of residence)
All eligible immigrants (at least 3 years of residence
1981 1991 2001
Source: Statistics Canada, 1981,1991, 2001 Census
What the Census can reveal
Advantages Vast array of demographic, ethno-cultural and economic
variables Large sample size and detailed geography Comparison group – Canadian by birth Historical data available
Limitations Does not reveal when citizenship was obtained No information on landing characteristics Self reported citizenship characteristics
Administrative records
A new administrative database obtained from 2 sources The Permanent Resident Data System (PRDS) The Citizenship Registry System (CRS)
PRDS data contains detailed information on immigrant landings, including category of entry, country of birth, country of last permanent residence, country of citizenship, as well as many others
CRS contains information relevant to the citizenship process including the date of the citizenship application, whether or not citizenship was awarded and when
The two datasets linked by individual identifiers then merged to evaluate citizenship take-up rates by landing characteristics
Refugees have highest naturalization rates
Citizenship take-up rates for immigrants by admission category showing period of landing cohorts
68.2
59.6
70.0
84.286.2
69.4
39.1
30.3
38.8
49.1
65.061.2
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
All Immigrants Family Economic Government AssistedRefugee & Privately
Sponsored Refugees
Asylum Refugees Other Immigrants
Admission class
%
landed between 1991-95
landed between 1996-97
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, PRDS-CDS
Refugees take up citizenship earliest and family class immigrants take longer to obtain citizenship
Citizenship take-up rates for 1991 cohort by admission class
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Years Since Landing
%
All Immigrants
Family
Economic
Government Assisted Refugee &Privately Sponsored RefugeesAsylum Refugees
Other
Citizenship take-up rates for the 1996 cohort by admission class
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
3 4 5 6Years since landing
%
All Immigrants
Family
Economic
Government Assisted Refugee &Privately Sponsored RefugeesAsylum Refugees
Other
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, PRDS-CDS
Immigrants from China and Lebanon take-up citizenship earlier on than those from other countries
Citizenship take-up rates of 1991 cohort for selected countries
UK
China
India
Lebanon
United States
Jamaica
All Immigrants
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Years Since Landing
%Citizenship take-up rates for the 1996 cohort by selected country
UK
China
India
Lebanon
United States
Jamaica
All Immigrants
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
3 4 5 6
Years since landing
%
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, PRDS-CDS
Most immigrants take-up citizenship after 4 years of residence
Citizenship take-up after landing for selected years of immigration
4.5%
15.9%
9.2%
5.7%
27.6%
41.3%
25.5%
37.1%
46.8%
21.5%
35.3%
41.5%
21.0% 21.3%
30.0%
15.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1990 1992 1994 1996
Selected year of immigration
%
Less than 3 years During the 3rd year
During the 4th year Greater than 4 years
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, PRDS-CDS
Administrative records
Advantages Provides key “process” of citizenship information Allows for examination of landing characteristics and citizenship
acquisition Contains all immigrants and all citizenship applicants Trajectory from landing to citizenship can be examined
Limitations Data available only since 1991 Can not tell whether these immigrants are still in Canada No information on multiple citizenships
Research potential
New data initiative of combining landing records and citizenship registry information provides a more complete picture of the citizenship process
The PRDS-CDS allows more policy based research due to the information on landing characteristics, especially admission categories
Citizenship information from the Census can examine the outcome of integration, i.e. labour market performance and educational attainment
Information from the LSIC can assess the citizenship process during the initial 4 years in Canada and how the other aspects of integration impacts the citizenship decision
Administrative records facilitate verification of self-reported census data