Study: Citizenship acquisition and active presence of immigrants in Canada

In recent years, concerns have emerged about immigrants emigrating from Canada after admission to the country. A key question is whether emigration increases after immigrants have acquired Canadian citizenship. If a significant number of new citizens leave Canada, it may signal that there are challenges regarding social integration, the motivations behind acquiring Canadian citizenship or lack of economic opportunities.

This question is examined in a new study released today, "Citizenship Acquisition and Active Presence of Immigrants in Canada."

Active presence refers to the extent to which immigrants admitted to Canada engage in society, as indicated by activities such as filing income taxes and participating in the labour market. Using income tax filing as a measure of active presence in a calendar year, the study found that immigrants admitted to Canada from 2003 to 2012 who became Canadian citizens were more likely to remain actively present 10 years after admission than those who did not acquire citizenship.

Among immigrants admitted to Canada from 2008 to 2012 and aged 25 to 54 years at admission, 93% of those who became citizens had an active presence in Canada 10 years after admission. In contrast, this was the case for 67% of their non-citizen counterparts. These active presence rates were higher for both groups compared with those of immigrants admitted from 2003 to 2007—91% for citizens and 58% for non-citizens. This suggests that active presence has increased among more recent immigrant cohorts, regardless of citizenship status.

Among naturalized immigrants admitted from 2003 to 2012, active presence 10 years after immigration varied little across education levels, official language profiles, age at immigration and immigration classes. However, naturalized immigrants from developed countries tended to have lower active presence rates than those from developing countries. For example, 10 years after immigration, 87% of immigrants from the United States remained active in Canada, compared with 97% of immigrants from the Philippines.

Among non-naturalized immigrants admitted from 2003 to 2012, active presence 10 years after immigration varied considerably based on human capital factors. Higher education levels were associated with lower active presence, with a 16-percentage-point gap between those with a graduate degree and those with a secondary education or less. Immigrants who spoke English or French at the time of immigration had active presence rates 9 to 16 percentage points lower than those who spoke neither language. Economic immigrants also had lower active presence than refugees, with differences ranging from 9 to 19 percentage points.

There was a slight decline in active presence immediately after citizenship acquisition.

Among immigrants admitted from 2003 to 2012, the active presence rate dropped from 97% one year before naturalization to 95% one year after, a decrease of 2 percentage points. This suggests that about 2% of naturalized immigrants ceased their active presence in Canada over this two-year period. However, this decline in active presence was smaller than the annual decrease of approximately 3 percentage points among immigrants who did not acquire citizenship.

Overall, for the majority of immigrants admitted from 2003 to 2012, obtaining Canadian citizenship had little impact on their active presence in Canada. The findings suggest that immigrants who choose to become Canadian citizens are highly committed to staying in Canada.