Question Period Note: IN-PERSON AND VIDEO OATH CEREMONIES

Status update on in-person and video oath ceremonies.

• Since April 2020, IRCC has been conducting video oath ceremonies as a means of adapting to the global pandemic while continuing to offer client services.
• As of July 2022, IRCC resumed holding in-person ceremonies, which are listed on the IRCC external website with a note as to which are open to the public. However, video oath ceremonies remain the primary method of service delivery as they continue to allow for greater efficiency, flexibility, and timely service to clients.
• Between April 2022 and July 2023 on average over 30,000 applicants took the Oath each month, far exceeding pre-COVID-19 volumes. In the month of July 2023, over 31,100 applicants became citizens.
If pressed:
• In February 2023, IRCC published proposed amendments to the Citizenship Regulations to allow clients the option to self-administer the Oath of Citizenship in an effort to improve service and processing times through modernization. Once implemented, citizenship applicants will have the option of taking their Oath at a ceremony, as is currently the case, or take the Oath through a secure online solution and attending a public in-person ceremony if they wish.

IRCC launched virtual ceremonies in April 2020, with proper safeguards in place to maintain client privacy and ensure security.
In-line with its modernization agenda, IRCC continues to conduct ceremonies virtually, bringing the Citizenship Program closer to a complete digital processing model. However, some in-person citizenship ceremonies are also now taking place including scheduling in-person events for clients requiring accommodation and for selected special events.
Number of ceremonies (in-person and virtual) by month between April 1 2022 and July 31 2023.
Month (2022-2023) # of In-Person Ceremonies # of Virtual Ceremonies
April 2022 0 308
May 2022 0 318
June 2022 0 317
July 2022 6 275
August 2022 11 296
September 2022 14 249
October 2022 42 229
November 2022 46 260
December 2022 39 177
January 2023 47 208
February 2023 41 213
March 2023 44 220
April 2023 27 118
May 2023 63 291
June 2023 49 247
July 2023 67 227
Total 496 3,953
Average # of ceremonies per month to date 38

Averaged over 13 months (# of months since resumption of in-person ceremonies) 247

Averaged over 16 months

Notes:
-Status of ceremonies equals "Completed, Scheduled, In-Progress"
-Each week, data is compiled and is manually validated by each office
-Data are preliminary, subject to change, and may not match official IRCC reporting.
Source: IRCC CPPB, Manually Tracked data as of August 23, 2023

Please note:
• Data are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
• Data more recent than July 31, 2023 has not been publicly released.
• DPU is relying on the quality assurance of Citizenship and Passport Programs Branch for data accuracy of this manually updated data

Self-Administration of the Oath of Citizenship
• [REDACTED]
• Once implemented, all citizenship candidates will be given the option between attending a ceremony either in-person or virtually, as scheduled by IRCC, or accessing an online secure portal where their identity will be confirmed and they would self-administer the Oath. Clients who choose to self-administer the Oath through the online secure portal will have the opportunity to attend a public, in-person ceremony afterwards if they wish.

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