Those who flunk citizenship test will get a do-over in bid to speed up process

OTTAWA – Those who’ve flunked the test to become a Canadian citizen are getting a do-over.

The federal government says it will now allow those who fail the test — but who meet all other criteria — to take it again rather than wait for an appointment with a judge.

Those currently waiting to see a judge will also get a chance to take the test again.

Under the previous system, those who failed the test were required to meet with a judge in order to decide their fate.

But a shortage of judges and subsequent delays in getting appointments are among the reasons for a massive backlog of applications in the system.

The government announced $44 million in the recent federal budget to help bring those wait times down.

The changes will also allow for family applications to be split up so if one family member fails the test, but the rest pass, they can get citizenship immediately.