920 Yonge Street Suite 510 Toronto Ontario Canada M4W 3C7

Patricia Wells

IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

Telephone 416 535 6873 Fax 416 513 1919 Email

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How to Apply for Canadian Citizenship

Step 1: Determine if you are eligible:

In order to be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship, you must satisfy the following general criteria (a more detailed description of the criteria will be discussed below):

You must be at least 18 years old to apply
You must be a permanent resident
You must have resided in Canada for at least three years (1,095days) in the past four years before applying. Children under the age of 18 do not need to meet this requirement
If you are between 18 and 54, you will have to sendproof of your ability tospeakandlistenin English or Frenchwith your citizenship application

Age

Although one must be 18 years or older to apply citizenship, children can obtain citizenship if the following conditions are met:

the person applying is the child’s parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian
the child is a permanent resident, but does not need to have resided in Canada for three years; and
one parent is already a Canadian citizen or is applying to become a citizen at the same time. This also applies to adoptive parents.

Residency

When calculating your time in Canada:

only the four (4) years preceding the date of your application are taken into account;
each day you lived in Canadabeforeyou became a permanent resident counts as half a day;
each day you lived in Canadaafteryou became a permanent resident counts as one day;
time spent serving a sentence for an offence in Canada (e.g. prison, penitentiary, jail, reformatory, conditional sentence, probation and/or parole) cannot be counted toward residence - note there are someexceptionsto this rule, please consult a lawyer if you are in this situation
absences from Canada may have an impact on your residence. Only a citizenship judge can determine if you meet the residence requirements with fewer than 1,095 days ofphysical presence – please consult a lawyer if you are in this situation

Note: Citizenship and Immigration Canada has a calculator on their website that you can use to see if you satisfy the residency requirement:

Language Requirement

In order to show proof of your language ability, you must send one of the following documents with your citizenship application:

your language test from when you applied for permanent residence as a Skilled Worker or in the Canadian Experience Class
results from your new language test – CELPIP, IELTS, TEF or TEFAQ
for CELPIP you need 2H or higher in Speaking or Listening
for IELTS you need 4.0 or higher in speaking, and 4.5 or higher in listening
for locations, visit
For TEF or TEFAQ you need B1 or higher
For locations, visit
proof that you completed your secondary or post-secondary education in English or French (whether in Canada or another country)
proof you achieved a score of CLB/NCLC 4 in speaking and listening through a LINC or CLIC course
proof you achieved a score of CLB/NCLC 4 in speaking and listening through a provincially-funded language training course in Manitoba, B.C. or Quebec

For more information visit

Note: if you have a disability or some other reason you cannot learn English or French, please talk to an immigration lawyer-there are special rules to help in these situations

Criminal History:

You cannot become a citizen if you:

have been convicted of an indictable (criminal) offence or an offence under theCitizenship Actin the three years before you applied;
are currently charged with an indictable offence or an offence under theCitizenship Act;
are in prison, on parole or on probation;
are under a removal order (have been ordered by Canadian officials to leave Canada);
are under investigation for, are charged with, or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity; or
you have had your Canadian citizenship taken away in the past five years.

If you are on probation or are charged with an offence and are awaiting trial, you should wait until after the probation has ended or the trial is over to apply for citizenship.

If you have spent time on probation, on parole or in prison in the last fouryears, you may not meet the residence requirement for citizenship – please consult a lawyer if you are in this situation

Time in prison or on parole does not count as residence in Canada. Time on probation also does not count as residence in Canada if you were convicted of an offence. If you have spent time on probation from a conditional discharge, it may be counted toward residence - please consult a lawyer if you are in this situation

Application Package:

To obtain an application package, visit
Note: fees are $200.00 per adult and $100.00 per child
The processing times are currently 23 months from receipt of application to citizenship ceremony

Step 2: After you Apply

How to Check on Your Application Status:

You can check on the status of your application by visiting

Residency Questionnaire:

About 60% of people applying for citizenship are being sent a residency questionnaire. Please take this questionnaire seriously and fill it out to the best of your ability.

If you fail to respond to the residency questionnaire, your application could be declared abandoned – speak to a lawyer if you are unable to fill out the questionnaire on time.

Citizenship Test:

If you are between the ages 18-54, you will have to take a test to show that you understand the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of citizenship. For more information on the citizenship test, visit

The test evaluates your knowledge of Canada. It is usually written, but you may also be asked to come to an interview with acitizenship judge.

During the written exam and the interview, you will be asked questions about:

the right to vote and right to run for elected office
elections procedures
the rights and responsibilities of a citizen
Canadian social and cultural history and symbols
Canadian political history (including the political system and institutions)
Canadian physical and political geography

If you are asked to come to an interview, the conversation can also be used to assess your language abilities.

If you pass the test and the citizenship judge determines that you meet all the other requirements for citizenship, you will be invited to acitizenship ceremony. During that ceremony, you will take the oath of citizenship which is the final requirement for citizenship, and receive a certificate of Canadian citizenship.

If you do not pass the written test, CIC will send you a notice telling you to appear for an interview (3090minutes) with acitizenship judge. At that interview, the judge will ask you the test questions orally to give you another opportunity to demonstrate that you meet all the requirements of citizenship (including knowledge and language)

Appearing before a Citizenship Judge:

Some Applicants will be asked to appear before a citizenship judge prior to being approved. This does not necessarily mean something is wrong with your application.

Step 3: Citizenship Ceremony

What is it?

The citizenship ceremony is the final step in becoming a Canadian citizen. During the citizenship ceremony, you will take the oath of citizenship and receive yourcitizenship certificate.

Who has to attend?

Adults and children over the age of 14

What do you need to bring?

You must bring all of your original immigration documents to the citizenship ceremony.

If you have a permanent resident card, you must bring it with you.

If you became a permanent resident before June28, 2002, you must bring your Record of Landing (IMM1000).

If you have both of those documents, bring both of them to the ceremony.

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ASSOCIATE:

PATRICIA WELLS, LL.B. MEERA BUDOVITCH, J.D.

Barrister and Solicitor Barrister and Solicitor

Notary Public Notary Public