granted permanent resident status and meet the criteria to apply for citizenship. In order to be eligible to be granted Canadian citizenship a permanent resident will have to: apply for citizenship, be 18 years of age, meet a minimum residency requirement, have knowledge of one of Canada’s official languages, have knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, and not be subject to a removal order for threats against the security of Canada.515 Once a person has permanent resident status an individual has many of the same rights as Canadian citizens, such as the freedom to live, work and study anywhere in Canada, receive social assistance benefits, protection under the Charter, and the ability to eventually apply for Canadian citizenship.516 b. Permanent Resident Status In order to obtain permanent resident status there are several “programs” available to stateless persons in Canada and abroad. Stateless persons, if meeting the specific requirements and criteria of a given immigration program, could be granted permanent residence or a temporary residence status that would allow them to apply for permanent resident status in the future. There are two immigration streams that can result in permanent resident status. They include the economic classes and non-economic classes. The economic classes include: federal skilled worker class, self-employed class, start-up business class, Canadian experience class, federal skilled trades class, provincial nominee program, caring for children and high medical needs class, live-in caregiver class, immigrant investor / venture capital class.517 Non-economic classes include the family class, Convention refugees / protected persons class, and humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations application.518 Economic Classes In the legal framework, stateless persons have the same opportunity as other foreign nationals to apply to come to Canada through the economic classes. The eligibility criteria for economic immigration programs is not contingent on whether a foreign national is stateless and statelessness itself is not a factor that would be relevant to an application for one of the economic Citizenship Act, supra note 22 at s. 5(1). For persons who do not meet the requirements of s. 5(1) listed above, a waiver under 5(3) may be available in some cases, such as for minor children and persons who lack capacity. In June 2014, the Government of Canada amended the Citizenship Act and its requirements for the application of Canadian citizenship. However, at the time of writing these amendments have not yet come into force. The amendments include lengthening the residency requirement for permanent residents and requiring an applicant to have filed income taxes. The amendment also removes a provision that allows applicants to count towards the residency requirement time they resided in Canada prior to becoming permanent residents. See Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, 2nd Sess., 41st Parl, 2014, cl 3(1), (assented to 19 June 2014) SC 2014, c 22, available at: http://tinyurl.com/qauh9ao. 516 Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Understand permanent resident status” (27 November 2014), available at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/newcomers/about-pr.asp. Permanent residents cannot vote or run for political office and hold some jobs that need a high-level security clearance. 517 Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Permanent resident program: Economic classes” (16 April 2015), available at: http://tinyurl.com/p5hyxwe. 518 Citizenship and Immigration Canada, “Permanent resident program: Non-economic classes” (16 April 2015), available at: http://tinyurl.com/okm5c38. 515 107 107