Federal Court Decisions

     T-1709-95

         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

             Myrna D. Dagdag,

     Appellant.

     REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

JOYAL, J.:

     This is an appeal from a judgment of a Citizenship Judge holding that the appellant had failed to meet the minimum residency test imposed in paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act. This provision imposes upon a citizenship applicant the obligation to have resided in Canada for three of the last four years prior to the date of application for citizenship.

     The applicant was admitted to Canada as a permanent resident on August 9, 1990, and applied for Canadian citizenship on February 10, 1994. In the interim, she had spent long periods abroad, particularly in France and Belgium. Over the period December 12, 1990 to January 27, 1994, these absences abroad totalled some 784 days. The breakdown appears to be as follows:

     August 1993      to      January 1994      =      152 days

     September 1992      to      March 1993      =      169 days

     December 1991      to      May 1992          =      167 days

     May 1991          to      November 1991      =      177 days

     December 1990      to      February 1991      =      85 days

     Explanations offered by the appellant for these absences were evidently not convincing, and the Citizenship Judge accordingly dismissed the application.

     The situation on appeal before me, on the merits, appears to invite the same fate. The absences were frequent and of long duration. There was little evidence of gainful employment over the period when the appellant was physically in Canada. Nor was there much evidence as to the location of lodgings she occupied when in Canada. I must therefore dismiss the appellant's appeal and confirm the earlier ruling of the Citizenship Judge.

     This should not, of course, be the end of the road for the appellant. Indeed, the record discloses that some three years have elapsed since the citizenship application was filed. The information is that her last trip out of Canada was in December 1995, for a period of 15 days. If one refers to the breakdown of her periods of absence, the appellant would have been in Canada, except for those 15 days, for a continuous period of three years from January 27, 1994 to date. Perhaps it might be suggested that the appellant now reapply for citizenship.

     For the rest, however, the appeal is dismissed.

     L. Marcel Joyal

     _________________________

     J U D G E

O T T A W A, Ontario

February 6, 1997.