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Individual and Structural Barriers to Citizenship Acquisition

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Project Lead

Vince Hopkins

Team Members

, Antje Ellermann, Mireille Paquet, , Phil Triadafilopoulos, Mireille Paquet, Anna Triandafyllidou, Sara Hormozinejad, Deepa Nagari

The past decades have witnessed a remarkable decline in Canadian citizenship acquisition. This decline is especially pronounced among disadvantaged newcomers, such as those who are low-income, lack proficiency in either official language, or possess lower levels of education.

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Objective

This project examines the recent decline in citizenship acquisition, with a focus on administrative 鈥渂urdens鈥� that reduce access to citizenship and arise throughout the citizenship process. The projects aims to make sense of this decline, and build an evidence base for new policy interventions.

The research team has developed three workstreams to better understand the causes and consequences of administrative burden:

  • A citizen-centric stream that identifies specific burdens in the naturalization process and examines their impact on awareness, motivation, participation, and trust.

  • A state-centric stream that analyzes the origins of administrative burdens, their imposition on citizens, and the role of advanced digital technologies (ADTs).

  • A qualitative stream that explores lived experiences with citizenship barriers through interviews using an intersectional lens.

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Research question(s)

  1. Why are Canada鈥檚 naturalization rates declining?
  2. Has the shift to two-step immigration contributed to the decline in Canada鈥檚 naturalization rate?
  3. To what extent do administrative burdens weaken access to citizenship in Canada?
  4. How can governments promote inclusive, low-burden pathways to citizenship, especially for economic immigrants transitioning from temporary status to permanent residency?
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Methodology

The overall research methodology is mixed. Across the workstreams, multiple approaches are used: analysis of administrative records, surveys and survey experiments, and interviews. Together, the three workstreams form a cohesive mixed-methods design.

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Status

The project is currently ongoing and progressing on multiple fronts. 

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Outcomes

Past events and presentations:

  • IRCC presentation, presented by Ellermann, A., Schinnerl, S.,  IRCC (Citizenship branch and Research and Knowledge Mobilization), 27 November, 2025  
  • 鈥淭he journey to citizenship: Trends and current research,鈥� presented by Sandra Schinnerl as part of the panel 鈥淚mpact of changing identities and public perceptions on newcomer experiences,鈥�  Leadership Forum, September 25, 2024.
  • 鈥淭he journey to citizenship: Trends and current research,鈥� presented by Sandra Schinnerl at the Metropolis Identities conference, Vancouver, Canada, October 30-31, 2024.
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Key words

Canadian citizenship; citizenship; citizenship acquisition; structural barriers; naturalization