How to Get Citizenship in Canada

Citizenship Benefits

People from all over the world are interested in becoming citizens of Canada because of its reputation. There are many benefits one might enjoy when one becomes a citizen:

• Federal Healthcare
• It’s easier to have family immigrate
• Citizens cannot be deported unless it is found that their immigration applications were filed fraudulently.
• Citizens can use Canadian passports and the system of Canadian consulates throughout the world
• Citizenship documents never need to be removed

Citizenship Eligibility

In order to become a citizen, a person must first meet a set of eligibility requirements, immigrants must:

• Be at least 18 years old when they apply
• Have Permanent Resident status
• Have, in the past 1,460 days, lived in Canada for 1,095 of those days
• Have basic understanding of English or French
• Have basic familiarity of Canadian government and history
• Be willing to attend a ceremony and take the oath of citizenship
• Not be waiting to be removed by Canada, prohibited from citizenship or a security risk

Citizenship Application

It is very important to file a citizenship application correctly. Incomplete applications will be returned to applicants and further delay the citizenship process.

In addition to a properly filled out Form CIT 0002 applicants will need to include supporting documentation such as:

• Form IMM 1000 Record of Landing
• A Permanent Resident Card
• Proof of competence in English or French
• Biographical pages of applicant’s passport
• School records (if applicable)
• Two forms of identification
• Fee payment receipt
• Translations
• A copy of Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s On-Line Residence Calculator showing that you have lived in Canada for the required period of time. This document should be signed and dated.

Citizenship Fees

There is only one fee associated with applying for citizenship, which is $100.

However, applicants sometimes find themselves needing more money to obtain certain supporting documents for their applications. This results in the total cost of applying for citizenship to be slightly higher than the $100 fee.

Citizenship Interview

If the application is accepted, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will invite the applicant to a local office for an interview.

The purpose of the interview is to examine the application and associated supporting documentation is true and accurate.

Citizenship Test

During the interview, immigrants will be tested for practical understanding in two fields.

• Language: applicants must demonstrate that they can read, write, listen to and speak basic English or French to the immigration officer’s satisfaction. Language classes designed to help immigrants pass this portion of the citizenship application are available all across Canada.
• Knowledge: immigrants looking to become citizens in Canada are expected to be familiar with the government, history and culture of the country. Example questions are available on this site.

Citizenship Oath

The citizenship oath is the final step in the process to becoming a full member of Canada. After an immigration officer has acknowledged that the application is complete and correct, the applicant will be assigned to a citizenship ceremony.