Citizenship

Of immigrants to Canada, the majority will become permanent Citizens and will settle without any residency obligations. Citizens of Canada can also receive a passport and have the right to vote in federal, provincial, and municipal elections.

If you’ve lived in Canada for a long time, you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship through the naturalization process. If you want to apply for citizenship, you must have permanent resident (PR) status in Canada, regardless of your age.
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

Before applying for citizenship, make sure you’re qualified by reviewing the documentation you received when you became a permanent resident.

Citizenship Application

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 their taxes
pass a citizenship test
prove their language skills in English or French

Spouses of Canadian citizens
You don’t automatically become a citizen when you marry a Canadian. If you’re the spouse of a Canadian citizen, you must meet the same requirements listed above.

Renouncing Citizenship

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.

You will lose all of your rights and privileges as a Canadian citizen if you renounce your citizenship. You would also have no legal status in Canada. This means you’ll need to apply for a permanent resident visa if you want to return to Canada permanently. You must apply for a temporary resident visa if you desire to return to Canada temporarily (to visit, work, or study).

Restoration of Citizenship

You must complete the following requirements in order to reclaim your Canadian citizenship.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 preceding you apply

You must not:

have had your Canadian citizenship taken away (revoked)
be under a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada), or
be prevented (prohibited) from being granted citizenship.

Interested candidates: For the latest update on regulation and to find out whether you qualify to apply for Canadian Citizenship please complete the free assessment. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1 week.