Canadian Citizenship

A. Apply for Canadian citizenship
1. Eligibility

To be eligible to become a Canadian citizen, you must:
❖ Be a permanent resident
Regardless of your age, if you are applying for citizenship, you must have permanent resident status in Canada.
❖ Have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years
Adults and some minors must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1095 days during the five years right before the date you sign your application.
❖ Have filled your taxes, if you need to
You may need to file taxes in Canada for at least 3 years during the 5 years right before the date you apply.
❖ Pass a test on your rights, responsibilities and knowledge of Canada If you are 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, you need to take the citizenship tests. You’ll need to answer questions about the right s and responsibilities of Canadians and Canada’s history, geography, economy, government, laws, symbols.
The test is:
• Usually written, but may be oral
• In English or French
• 30 minutes long
• 20 questions (pass mark: 15 correct answers)
• Multiple-choice and true or false questions
• Based on the official citizenship study guide: Discover Canada

❖ Prove your language skills
If you are 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, you must show that you can speak and listen at a specific level in one on these languages. To become a citizen, you need to meet the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Level 4 or higher.

2. Situations that may prevent you from becoming a Canadian citizen
You cannot become a citizen if you’re prohibited under the Citizenship Act. For
example, if
• You’re in Canada
– serving a term of imprisonment
– on parole
– on probation
• You’re serving a sentence outside Canada
• You’re charged with, on trial for, or involved in an appeal for an offence
– under the Citizenship Act, or an indictable offence in Canada
– committed outside Canada that’s equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada
• You’re under a removal order (Canadian officials asked you to leave Canada)
• You’re being investigated for, are charged with, on trial for, involved in an appeal for or have been convicted of
– a war crime, or
– a crime against humanity
• You had a citizenship application refused for misrepresentation in the past 5 years
• You had your Canadian citizenship revoked (taken away) because of fraud in the past 10 years
• You’ve been convicted of an indictable offence in Canada or an offence under the Citizenship Act, and
– If your application is received after June 11, 2015, and this conviction took place in the 4 years before you apply
• In the 4 years before you apply, you were convicted of an offence outside Canada that’s equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada. This applies
– Even if you were pardoned or granted amnesty
– Regardless of when we receive your application
• While a permanent resident, you
– Were convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying offences
– Served as a member of an armed force of a country or territory, or an
organized armed group, that’s engaged in armed conflict with Canada If any of the above situations apply to you
• Wait until the situation no longer applies before you apply for citizenship
– Exception: you can never resume your citizenship if it was revoked due to fraud in the past 10 years.
• Describe about the situation in your application
• Your application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

3. Application process and processing time
❖ Step 1: Submit a complete application
When your application for citizenship is received, it will be reviewed for completeness.
• If it is complete, an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter will be sent to you. That means your application is ready to be processed.
• If your application is missing information, documents or the fee receipts, it will be sent back to you. Once you get the missing information, you can resubmit your application.

❖ Step 2: Take the citizenship test and go to an interview
• If you are 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, you need to take the citizenship tests.
• After the test, you’ll meet with a citizenship official for an interview where you will be given your test results, checked the language skills and asked any questions for verification and clarification of your application.
• If you pass and meet all the requirements for citizenship, you then may be given a ceremony date at the interview or by email or mail at a later date.

❖ Step 3: Oath of citizenship and ceremony
Taking the Oath of Citizenship at a citizenship ceremony is your final step to
become a Canadian citizen. Citizenship ceremonies take place across the country and at all times of the year. There are special ceremonies on Canada Day and during  Citizenship Week. The ceremony will usually take place within 3 months after your test.

❖ Processing time: 12 months.
This is the average time for how long it takes from the time a complete application is received to the time when you become a Canadian citizen, including the citizenship test and interview.