Canada introduces measures to combat citizenship fraud

OTTAWA - Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister of Canada, Jason Kenney, introduced legislation on Thursday that will streamline the citizenship revocation process, crack down on crooked citizenship consultants and better protect the value of Canadian citizenship.

The full package of amendments named Strengthening the Value of Canadian Citizenship Act is intended to strengthen the process of applying for citizenship and combat citizenship fraud.

The act proposes to add legal authority to regulate citizenship consultants and increase the penalties for citizenship fraud to a maximum of 100,000 Canadian dollars (about US$ 96,970 ) or a prison term of up to five years or both.