Date: 19990610
Dockets: T-519-98
T-747-98
IN THE MATTER OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT,
R.S.C., 1985, Chapter 29
AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal from the
decision of a Citizenship Judge
AND IN THE MATTER OF
MERGHANI MOHAMED AHMED EL HASSAN
SANAA ALI IBRAHIM
Appellants
REASONS FOR ORDER
(This is an edited version of reasons delivered orally
from the Bench in Toronto, Ontario, on May 18, 1999)
EVANS J.:
[1] Mr. and Ms. El Hassan are married. Their applications for Canadian citizenship were not approved, on the ground that they had not satisfied the residency requirement of paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, R.S.C. c. C-29.
[2] I shall dismiss the appeal of Mr. El Hassan. On the basis of the criteria set out in Re Koo [1993] 1 F.C. 286 I find that the appellant has not centralized his mode of living in Canada. Mr. El Hassan was only in Canada for 284 days out of the 1095 required days of residence. He was admitted as a permanent resident in March 1994, but since August of that year has been out of the country nearly all the time.
[3] Mr. El Hassan, who has training in both law and economics, has not been able to find employment in Canada. He has, however, obtained two contract positions with agencies of or affiliated with the United Nations, and has been working in Washington, D.C. and Geneva. While latitude is sometimes given for the purpose of paragraph 5(1)(c) to applicants for citizenship who have been absent from Canada in the employment of an international organization, I do not think that that would be appropriate in this case.
[4] Although his wife and children are in Canada, living in rented premises, Mr. El Hassan has never succeeded in establishing himself in Canada because he has been unable to obtain employment here and, having depleted his savings, he was not able to support his family. His statement that he was willing to take a job anywhere is very understandable in these circumstances, but it is hardly consistent with the establishment and maintenance of residence in Canada.
[5] Mr. El Hassan"s pattern of returning to Canada is more consistent with visiting his family when work permitted, than with returning home. As for the comparative strength of his connections with other countries, Mr. El Hassan appears to have severed his ties with Saudi Arabia, and has not clearly established a base elsewhere, although he has worked in the United States for nearly two years. Nonetheless, this is not sufficient on its own to enable him to satisfy the residency requirement.
[6] On the other hand, I shall allow the appeal of Ms. El Hassan. She has been in Canada for all but 133 days of the required 1,095 days of residence. She has been here with her children, and her absences, on visits to her husband in Washington, have been of relatively brief duration.
[7] It is true that she does not appear to have become very involved in the community, and has not been employed. However, there is evidence that she has done volunteer work within her ethnic community. Given her cultural background and the fact that she is looking after two small children, I do not regard her relative isolation as a reason for concluding that she has not established or maintained a residence in Canada.
[8] In my opinion Ms. El Hassan has centralized her mode of living in Canada, and her application for citizenship should have been approved.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO John M. Evans
June 10, 1999. J.F.C.C.