Immigration Canada

What is the CIC?

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, or as it is often called, the CIC, is the immigration department of the Canadian government and is responsible for services and regulation regarding immigration.

The leader of this department, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, is currently Jason Kenney.

This department works closely with other governmental departments of the Canadian government to ensure that immigrants are accepted into Canadian society as smoothly as possible and so that they can in turn benefit the country of Canada as well.

What Does the CIC Do?

The CIC handles all matters relevant to immigration in Canada. Below is a general list of their duties:

• Issuance of temporary visas like student visas or tourism visas.
• Issuance of Permanent Resident status and the Permanent Resident Card, an immigration document that establishes that a person has the right to live, work, study and travel in Canada freely.
• Citizenship. Citizenship is granted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada after residency requirements are met within the country and a few knowledge tests are administered.
• As of July 2013, CIC will also take care of all passport applications through their systems, but in Service Canada offices. Passports are only available to citizens of Canada.

The CIC is also responsible for many of the multicultural programs that exist in Canada. As the first officially multicultural country in the world, Canada recognizes the independence of its residents’ cultures within the context of the larger country.

They demonstrate this largely through recognition ceremonies, festivals and holidays to celebrate the diversity of the Land of Immigrants.