In one year, the U.S. immigration agency will administer a new test, one that goes beyond the facts and figures that applicants knew to memorize (How many branches are there in the United States government?) to probe their understanding of fundamental principles of U.S. democracy (What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?). - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21017895/



Sample Test

DId you pass?

100%. I guess I won't be deported any time soon. A good thing, too, since I've only been out of the country for more than a few hours at a time only once.

Test takers will be asked only 10 of the 100 questions. To pass, they will have to answer six correctly.

I passed.

Well, I got 80% right.

I missed one. I went through that a couple of years ago.

18 of 25 or 72%...
Not bad for a devout Canadian eh?

Nowhere near hard enough . You should see what intending British citizens might get asked from the texts they are expected to know.
Samples: What is the population of Wales?
What percentage of Christians here are Roman Catholic?
What percentage of children are in step-families?
What percentage of the population is age 17-21?
Which people are the Royal Family not allowed to marry ? [The multiple choice of 4 for this included foreigners and those who are not Protestant]

A sample of 100 young professionals in a pub in North London produced the best result (90 correct out of 100 questions) from someone who is foreign and who is only here on a study course. The British born people all failed miserably

Tests like that,in common with many exams now, are more a test of what the candidate has read and memorised than of what they have understood (or really need to know) More useful would be e.g. the etiquette of getting served in a pub (bet the young professionals knew that )

I got one wrong. I said 1776.

quote:

What year was the Constitution written?
INCORRECT
1787

Me too Clare...darn, guess I'd better brush up on my history!

100% - I guess I can stay.

I took the sample test and now am getting calls from Immigration and Naturization! (Kidding, got them all!)

I missed one, I put 1776 also.

96%. That damn number of amendments question gets me every time.

quote:

Originally posted by FredPuli:
Nowhere near hard enough . You should see what intending British citizens might get asked from the texts they are expected to know.

A sample of 100 young professionals in a pub in North London produced the best result (90 correct out of 100 questions) from someone who is foreign and who is only here on a study course. The British born people all failed miserably

Tests like that, in common with many exams now, are more a test of what the candidate has read and memorised than of what they have understood (or really need to know) More useful would be e.g. the etiquette of getting served in a pub (bet the young professionals knew that )

I find the whole idea of citizenship testing of an individuals knowledge of the history and day-to-day life of the country they live in just for the privilege of being called a citizen, simply outrageous, unless it’s a money grab by the government.

I agree that the candidate for citizenship should have a full background and criminal check ... but not a Q&A test.

I also believe that the three-year timeframe/waiting period that most countries have adopted is too short and that a 5-year waiting period IMO is ideal. Reason that I say that is because if they last that long with a clean record, then the right to apply for citizenship theirs. During the 5- year waiting period, should a resident have done something criminal, then guess what!

The whole idea of granting permanent residents/immigrants citizenship is that both the individual and the country are partners in the whole exercise and each will benefit equally.

Couple of questions on this topic:

Should immigrants/permanent residents on welfare be entitled to citizenship?

Does anyone have any stats on many immigrants/permanent residents do not apply for citizenship & why?

quote:

Does anyone have any stats on many immigrants/permanent residents do not apply for citizenship & why?

Hi J2f,
I don't have any stats to offer you, but I can tell you why I don't have citizenship here.
I came here in 1990 from the UK, fully intending to become a citizen, and just never got around to it.
The one thing that being a landed immigrant stops me from doing, is voting.
Another advantage of being a Canadian citizen might be in the long lineups coming back into Canada at immigration.
If I were a citizen, I could produce a Canadian passport, and get through quicker.
Seriously though, I think of Canada as home, and will eventually take out citizenship.
Then I'll have a big party to celebrate, and we'll eat lots of delicious Canadian food......over to you DG, and your comments about Canadian cuisine.

Roog:

quote:

18 of 25 or 72%...
Not bad for a devout Canadian eh?

Pathetic, Roog. Even I got 68% and I didn't grow up living next door to the US. What were you doing all those years?

Fred: Are you serious about those questions in the UK? I better keep my British citizenship, I'd never pass a test like that without a lot of reading.

The Canadian citizenship test includes some questions, which must be answered correctly without exception, about how a democracy works; one of the questions in the test I took was about whether or not you have to tell people who you voted for, for example. The questions might seem laughably easy to someone arriving from another democracy, but they could be important otherwise.

The test when I took it was just a few questions long - I'd agree with Janus that it's not much of an indication of how well an immigrant will fit in or cope, much less so than actually living here for three (or five) years.

Another disadvantage of not becoming a citizen DG, is that you could lose your permanent resident status - for example if you leave Canada for a significant period. Unlike in the US, Canadians granted citizenship are legally exactly the same as Canadians born in Canada - they can apply or run for any government job, and can't be stripped of their citizenship.

Oh - and I blew the questions on how long senators and congressmen are elected for.

quote:

Dancegirl
Hi J2f,
I don't have any stats to offer you, but I can tell you why I don't have citizenship here.
I came here in 1990 from the UK, fully intending to become a citizen, and just never got around to it.
The one thing that being a landed immigrant stops me from doing, is voting.
Another advantage of being a Canadian citizen might be in the long lineups coming back into Canada at immigration.
If I were a citizen, I could produce a Canadian passport, and get through quicker.
Seriously though, I think of Canada as home, and will eventually take out citizenship.

Being a Brit by birth and having lived in eight different countries over the past 50-years, I found it is in the best interest of the immigrant in becoming a citizen of the country they live in, otherwise why immigrate in the first place.

If you are a frequent traveller, the annoyance of going through immigration if you are not a citizen is a pain in the a$$

An immigrant and who has not taken out citizenship after the qualifying time is open to being kicked out at anytime (In Canada, I believe its called 'a guest of the Queen')

I suppose if you (as an immigrant) have been in country for some considerable time, raised a family with children born in your new country, what does it really say about your allegiance to your new country eh!

quote:

I suppose if you (as an immigrant) have been in country for some considerable time, raised a family with children born in your new country, what does it really say about your allegiance to your new country eh!

Ouch! You pondered the answer to a question and I told you my answer.
It says my allegiance to that country is such that I see it as a good place to raise my children, work in a profession that serves others in my community, pay taxes, volunteer, and sometimes, only if dragged along, attend cold hockey arenas, at ungodly hours to watch practices..the last, in the name of supporting Canadian sport.

NNN You have a point about the loss of permanent resident status. I had been advised of this once before, and it didn't seem to be an issue in the past. But with my parents, over in the UK, getting older, I realise I could be in the situation you describe. I'll be looking into getting citizenship. Thanks for the reminder.

quote:

attend cold hockey arenas, at ungodly hours to watch practices..the last, in the name of supporting Canadian sport.

Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me.

And that last post comes from an expert in cruel and unusual sports punishment.