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Canadian Citizenship
Apply to become a Canadian citizen, prepare for the citizenship test, and find out how you can resume or give up your Canadian citizenship.
Steps to become a Canadian citizen
- Apply for citizenship
- Citizenship test and interview
- Oath of citizenship and ceremony
How to apply for citizenship?
To become a Canadian citizen, most applicants must:
- Be a permanent resident
- Have lived in Canada for at least 3 out of the last 5 years (1,095 days)
- Have filed your taxes, if you need to
- Pass a citizenship test
- Prove your language skills in English or French
Other requirements may apply.
Citizenship test and interview
Whether you have to take the test or go to the interview depends on your age and application.
Your age and situation | Take the test | Go to the interview |
Adult 18 to 54 years of age | Yes | Yes |
Adult 55 and over | No | Yes |
Minor under 18 with a Canadian parent or a parent applying at the same time | No | No, except in some cases |
Minor 14 to 17 without a Canadian parent or a parent applying at the same time | No | Yes |
Minor under 14 without a Canadian parent or a parent applying at the same time | No | No, except in some cases |
What’s on the test?
The test shows them what you know about Canada. They’ll ask you 20 questions about the rights and responsibilities of Canadians and Canada’s:
History, Geography, Economy, Government, Laws, Symbols
They base the test questions on the official citizenship study guide: Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. They don’t use the citizenship test to assess your language skills in English or French.
Get your test and interview date
You may be invited to take the citizenship test within weeks after they send you the acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter.
About 1 to 2 weeks before the test, they’ll send you a notice with the date, time and location.
Taking the test
The test is in English or French, 30 minutes long, 20 questions, multiple-choice and true or false questions. You need to get 15 correct answers to pass the test.
After the test: result, interview and next steps
After the test, you’ll meet with a citizenship official for an interview. During the interview, the citizenship official will:
- Give you the results of your test, if you had one
- Check your language skills, if you’re between 18 and 54 years of age
- Verify your application and original documents
- Ask any questions they may have about your application
- Make sure you meet all the requirements for citizenship
- If you pass and meet the other requirements for citizenship, they may:
- Give you a ceremony date at the same time they give you the test results or
- Email or send you a letter with the date and time of your ceremony
What happens if you don’t pass your first test?
If you don’t pass the first written test, but meet the other requirements for citizenship, they will schedule you for a second test. The second test usually takes place 4 to 8 weeks after the first test, but it may be longer.
If you don’t pass your second test, they’ll send you a notice telling you to attend a hearing with a citizenship official. The hearing will last 30 to 90 minutes, maybe in person or by videoconference , maybe used to assess one or more requirements for citizenship(for example: knowledge of Canada and language).
If you don’t pass the test after 3 tries, they’ll refuse your application. You can re-apply to try again.
When you apply with your family, they process all applications together. If you have to re-write the test or go to a hearing, your family may be invited to a ceremony before you. If you want them to continue processing all the applications together, ask them to pause your family’s applications. They’ll wait until you meet all the requirements so the whole family is invited to the same citizenship ceremony and can become citizens at the same time.
Oath of Citizenship
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.
Who has to take the oath?
Adults and children aged 14 or over must go to the citizenship ceremony and take the oath.
Parents will get certificates of citizenship for their children under age 14. Children under age 14 don’t have to go but are welcome to.
Get your citizenship ceremony date
About 1 to 2 weeks before the ceremony, they’ll send you a notice with the date, time and location. The ceremony will usually take place within 3 months after your test.
What happens at the ceremony?
During your ceremony, you will:
- Take the Oath of Citizenship
- Get your citizenship certificate
- Sign the Oath or Affirmation of Citizenship form
- Sing the national anthem, O Canada
- A citizenship judge or official will preside over the ceremony and lead the Oath of Citizenship. Many people will take the oath with you. The ceremony official will say the oath in English and in French. As a group, you’ll repeat the words to the oath after the official. You must repeat the oath in at least one of the official languages, but they encourage you to say them in both. You’ll also be invited to sing the bilingual version of the national anthem.
You can swear or affirm the oath. Swearing is for people who want to refer to their religious beliefs and affirming is for people who don’t want to refer to a religious text. If you want to swear the oath on your holy book, bring it with you.
Once you take the Oath of Citizenship, you’ll be a Canadian citizen. They’ll give you your citizenship certificate as proof that you’re a Canadian citizen. It will show the date that you became a citizen.
Application Fees
Application Type | Fee ( Canadian Dollars) |
Adult (18 and over) Processing fee ($530) and right of citizenship fee ($100) | 630 |
Minor (under 18) Processing fee ($100) | 100 |
You may be a citizen
There are a few ways you can become a Canadian citizen without applying to be one. In these cases, you may still want to get proof of citizenship.
There are also times when you might think you became a citizen, but you did not. In those cases, you may be eligible to apply for citizenship.
You’re likely a Canadian citizen if you were born in Canada, became a citizen because of changes to the Citizenship Act, applied for and received your Canadian citizenship (became a naturalized citizen), received Canadian citizenship as a minor when a parent or legal guardian applied for your citizenship or were born outside Canada and at least 1 of your parents (legal parent at birth or biological parent) either was born in Canada or became a naturalized citizen before you were born.
You likely aren’t a Canadian citizen if you were born in Canada to foreign diplomats, had your citizenship taken away (revoked) or renounced your Canadian citizenship and never applied to get it back
You aren’t automatically a Canadian citizen if you marry a Canadian citizen, are adopted by a Canadian citizen, have your refugee claim accepted, live in Canada as a permanent resident for many years or were born outside Canada to Canadian parent(s) on or after April 17, 2009, but neither parent was born or naturalized in Canada
Application Fees
Application Type | Fee ( Canadian Dollars) |
Citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) | 75 |
Search for your record of citizenship | 75 |
Give up Citizenship
You can renounce your Canadian citizenship if you no longer want to be Canadian or can’t be a dual citizen.
If you renounce your Canadian citizenship, you lose all the rights and privileges of being a Canadian citizen and will have no status in Canada. This means that if you wish to return to Canada permanently, you will have to apply for a permanent resident visa. If you wish to return to Canada temporarily (to visit, work or study), you will have to apply for a temporary resident visa, if applicable.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply to renounce your Canadian citizenship, you must be a citizen of a country other than Canada or become a citizen of a country other than Canada if your application to renounce is approved, not live in Canada, be at least 18 years old, not be a threat to Canada’s security or part of a pattern of criminal activity, not be prevented from understanding the significance of renouncing your Canadian citizenship by reason of having a mental disability and not be subject to revocation of citizenship proceedings.
Application Fees
Application Type | Fee ( Canadian Dollars) |
Renounce your citizenship | 100 |
Resume citizenship
You can become a citizen again after choosing to give up your Canadian citizenship
Eligibility
To be eligible to resume your Canadian citizenship, you must meet the following requirements.
You must have been a Canadian citizen, have become a permanent resident of Canada after you lost your Canadian citizenship, have no unfulfilled conditions relating to your status as a permanent resident, have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 365 days in the two years immediately before you apply, and have met your personal income tax filing obligations for the taxation year immediately before you apply.
You must not have had your Canadian citizenship taken away (revoked), not be under a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada) or not be prevented (prohibited) from being granted citizenship.
Eligibility for Canadian Armed Forces members
If you were a Canadian citizen and you are or were a member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), you might be able to resume Canadian citizenship through a fast-track process for Canadian Armed Forces members. You must meet the standard qualifications to resume citizenship, with the one exception that you do not need to be living in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 365 days in the two years before you apply. Under the new fast-track rules, you must have completed at least six months (182 days) of service in, or with, the CAF in the two years before you apply.
If you are or were a foreign military member attached or seconded to the CAF, you might also be eligible. You must meet the conditions of a CAF member with the exception that you do not need to be a permanent resident of Canada and you do not need to meet the tax filing obligation.
Application Fees
Application Type | Fee ( Canadian Dollars) |
Resume your citizenship (18 and over) | 530 |
Resume your citizenship (under 18) | 100 |