Since 1947, swearing an oath is a legal requirement to becoming a Canadian citizen. Swearing an oath is a solemn vow taken by citizenship applicants to abide by Canadian laws and fulfil their duties as citizens. Typically, new citizens must swear or affirm the oath before a citizenship judge at virtual or in person ceremonies.
Under the proposed Regulations, the Immigration Minister would have broad discretion to allow citizens to take the oath by other means not necessarily before an authorized person. Clients would be able to take the oath via a secure online solution. This “self-administration” of the oath taking would allow citizens to sign a written attestation online without a witness present.
According to IRCC, this flexibility would improve client service. Most notably, the proposed change is an attempt to reduce application backlogs and processing times. IRCC says the change could eliminate up to three months of processing time, reducing the current citizenship processing time of 24 months to 21 months.
