Citizenship Application

Permanent residents of Canada are eligible to apply for Canadian Citizenship regardless of their age as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

To become a Canadian citizen, most applicants must

• Be a permanent resident

This means you must not:

• be under review for immigration or fraud reasons
  • be asked by Canadian officials to leave Canada (removal order)
  • have unfulfilled conditions related to your PR status, for example: medical screening
• Must have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days)
  • Must be physically residing in Canada for 1,095 days (3 years) during the 5 years before the date you sign the application.
• have filed their taxes
  • Taxes must be filed for at least 3 years during the 5 years before you sign the application
• pass a citizenship test
  • If you’re 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, you need to take the citizenship test. You’ll need to answer questions about the rights and responsibilities of Canadians and Canada’s: history, geography, economy, government, laws, symbols, etc.
• prove language skills in English or French
  • Canada has two official languages: English and French. Individuals between 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, must show that you can speak and listen at a specific level in one of these languages.
  • To become a citizen, you need to meet the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Level 4 or higher.

Prohibitions

If you committed a crime in or outside Canada

• you may not be eligible to become a Canadian citizen for a period of time
• time spent serving a term of imprisonment, on parole, or on probation doesn’t count as time you have lived in Canada