Immigrants more likely to fail citizenship test the longer they’re here

Some internal data from CIC on citizenship pass rates and trends. Delivering on “harder to get,” C-24 revocation provisions aimed at “easier to lose.”

Based on two immigration databases, the report, marked “confidential,” said the pass rates of the citizenship exam dropped significantly from 83 per cent in 2011 to 72.6 per cent in 2012, after the government introduced new test questions and raised the pass mark from 60 per cent to 75 per cent.

More than 80 per cent of immigrants applied for citizenship within the first five years of permanent residency and the group had a pass rate above 83 per cent — compared to the low 70s among those who have been in Canada for at least 10 years.

“That’s the irony,” said Meurrens. “People who want it do it quickly and are more motivated.”

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The report also found immigrants from South Korea and China led the rest of the pack in passing the citizenship test, averaging 90 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.

In contrast, those from Sri Lanka and Vietnam had the lowest pass rates, averaging just 70 per cent and 67 per cent.

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The number of rejected applicants has also remained consistent, averaging 2,308 per quarter. Flunking the citizenship test accounted for 65 per cent of all refused cases, followed by failing the language requirement (24 per cent) and not meeting the residence obligation (6.6. per cent). The rest were rejected on criminality and security grounds.

Immigrants more likely to fail citizenship test the longer they’re here | Toronto Star.