Old Age Security Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9)

Marginal note:Residence in Canada must be or have been legal

• 4. (1) A person who was not a pensioner on July 1, 1977 is eligible for a pension under this Part only if

  • (a) on the day preceding the day on which that person’s application is approved that person is a Canadian citizen or, if not, is legally resident in Canada; or

  • (b) on the day preceding the day that person ceased to reside in Canada that person was a Canadian citizen or, if not, was legally resident in Canada.

• Marginal note:Regulations respecting legal residence

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the meaning of legal residence for the purposes of subsection (1).

Marginal note:Presumption

4.1 If the Minister intends to waive the requirement for an application in respect of a person under subsection 5(4) and the information available to the Minister under this Act with respect to that person includes the prescribed information, the person is presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have met the requirements of

• (a) subparagraph 3(1)(b)(iii) or (c)(iii) or paragraph 3(2)(b); or

• (b) paragraph 4(1)(a) or (b).

Marginal note:Limitations

• 5. (1) No pension may be paid to any person unless that person is qualified under subsection 3(1) or (2), an application therefor has been made by or on behalf of that person and the application has been approved, and, except as provided in this Act, no pension may be paid to any person in respect of any period prior to the day on which that person’s application is approved.

• Marginal note:Application deemed to have been made and approved

  (2) Where an allowance ceases to be payable to a person by reason of that person having reached sixty-five years of age, the Minister may deem an application under subsection (1) to have been made by that person and approved, on the day on which the person reached that age.

• Marginal note:Incarcerated persons

  (3) No pension may be paid in respect of a period of incarceration — exclusive of the first month of that period — to a person who is subject to a sentence of imprisonment

  • (a) that is to be served in a penitentiary by virtue of any Act of Parliament; or

  • (b) that exceeds 90 days and is to be served in a prison, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Prisons and Reformatories Act, if the government of the province in which the prison is located has entered into an agreement under section 41 of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act.

• Marginal note:Waiver of application

  (4) The Minister may, on the day on which a person attains 65 years of age, waive the requirement referred to in subsection (1) for an application if the Minister is satisfied, based on information that is available to him or her under this Act, that the person is qualified under subsection 3(1) or (2) for the payment of a pension.

• Marginal note:Notice of intent

  (5) If the Minister intends to waive the requirement for an application in respect of a person, the Minister shall notify the person in writing of that intention and provide them with the information on which the Minister intends to rely to approve the payment of a pension.

• Marginal note:Inaccuracies

  (6) The person shall, before the day on which they attain 65 years of age, file with the Minister a statement in which the person corrects any inaccuracies in the information provided by the Minister under subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Declining waiver

  (7) The person may, before the day on which they attain 65 years of age, decline a waiver of the requirement for an application by notifying the Minister in writing of their decision to do so.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of waiver

  (8) Even if the requirement for an application is intended to be waived in respect of a person under subsection (4), the Minister may, before the day on which the person attains 65 years of age, require that the person make an application for payment of a pension and, in that case, the Minister shall notify the person in writing of that requirement.