Canadian Citizenship
Becoming a Canadian citizen has many benefits, including right to settle permanently in one of the prosperous countries in the world, participation in the country’s democracy, and the right to hold one of the most powerful passports in the world.
Canada expects over 450,000 new permanent residents each year. Most of these newcomers will become proud Canadian citizens. Once the process is completed, they take loyalty oaths pledging their commitment to the responsibilities and privileges of Canadian citizenship.
Canada’s physical presence requirements
- You must have lived in Canada for at least three years (1095 days) out of the past five years before applying for Canadian citizenship (unless exceptional circumstances)
- Children under 18 must also have permanent resident status, but do not have to satisfy the three - year requirement.
- If you lived in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident, you can calculate some of that time towards your physical presence requirement. Each day you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected perso n in the last 5 years can count as a half day. You can use a maximum of 365 days as a temporary resident or protected person towards your physical presence requirement.
File your taxes (if necessary)
- If applicable to you, you may need to file taxes in Can ada for at least 3 years within the 5 years before you submit your Canadian citizenship application.
- It may be a requirement to file an income tax return, even if you lived in Canada for only part of a year
Pass a Canadian citizenship test
- If you are bet ween age of 18 and 54 on the day you signed your Canadian citizenship application, you will be required to take a Canadian citizenship test.
- The test duration is 30 minutes and consist of multiple - choice questions. You can complete the test in English or French. The pass mark is 15 out of 20.
- The test will ask questions on the rights and responsibilities of Canadians, Canada’s history, geography, economy, government, laws, and symbols
Prove your language skills
Those between the ages of 18 and 54 alsoneed to show they can speak Englishor French at a Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) level of 4 or higher. IRCCassesses your language skills in a variety of ways, such as
- Revewing the evidence, you submit to demonstrat e your language skills
- IRCC may ta ke note of how good you communicate with citizenship officials during the application process
- IRCC may assess your language skills during a hearing with a citizenship official, if necessary.
