Federal Court Decisions

     Date: 19980818

     Docket: T-2460-97

     IN THE MATTER OF the Citizenship Act,

     R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29

     AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal from the decision

     of a Citizenship Judge

     AND IN THE MATTER OF

     Mahmoud Lotfy

     Appellant

     REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

PINARD J.:

[1]      This is an appeal from the decision of a Citizenship Judge dated October 10, 1997, refusing the appellant"s application for citizenship on the ground that he did not meet the residence requirements set out in paragraph 5(1)(c ) of the Citizenship Act (the Act), which provides:

5. (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who      . . .      (c) has been lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence, has not ceased since such admission to be a permanent resident pursuant to section 24 of the Immigration Act, and has, within the four years immediately preceding the date of his application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada calculated in the following manner:          (i) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada before his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one-half of a day of residence, and          (ii) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada after his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one day of residence;      . . .

5. (1) Le ministre attribue la citoyenneté à toute personne qui, à la fois :      . . .      c) a été légalement admise au Canada à titre de résident permanent, n'a pas depuis perdu ce titre en application de l'article 24 de la Loi sur l'immigration, et a, dans les quatre ans qui ont précédé la date de sa demande, résidé au Canada pendant au moins trois ans en tout, la durée de sa résidence étant calculée de la manière suivante :          (i) un demi-jour pour chaque jour de résidence au Canada avant son admission à titre de résident permanent,          (ii) un jour pour chaque jour de résidence au Canada après son admission à titre de résident permanent;      . . .

[2]      The appellant perfected his application for citizenship on January 18, 1996. In the notice to the Minister of the decision of the Citizenship Judge, the Judge stated the reason for her decision as follows:

         [TRANSLATION]

After considering the documents filed and after hearing the testimony of the applicant, I have serious doubts as to his presence in Canada during the period required for Canadian citizenship and therefore I cannot approve this application for citizenship.

[3]      As this is an appeal de novo, I may conclude from the documentary evidence filed, which was supplemented by the testimony of the appellant and of a co-worker of six or seven years, as did the amicus curiae, that during the four-year period preceding the date of his application for citizenship, the appellant was not outside Canada for more than 122 days. The residence requirements set out in paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Act have accordingly been met and the appeal must accordingly be allowed.

                                 YVON PINARD

                            

                                     JUDGE

OTTAWA, ONTARIO

August 18, 1998

Certified true translation

M. Iveson

     Date: 19980818

     Docket: T-2460-97

Ottawa, Ontario, the 18th day of August 1998

Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Pinard

     IN THE MATTER OF the Citizenship Act,

     R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29

     AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal from the decision

     of a Citizenship Judge

     AND IN THE MATTER OF

     Mahmoud Lotfy

     Appellant

     JUDGMENT

     The appeal of the decision of a Citizenship Judge dated October 10, 1997, refusing the appellant"s application for citizenship, is allowed. The appellant accordingly may not be denied Canadian citizenship on the ground that he does not meet the residence requirements set out in paragraph 5(1)(c ) of the Citizenship Act.

                                 YVON PINARD

                            

                             JUDGE

Certified true translation

M. Iveson