Canadian Citizenship

As an adult, you generally must be a permanent resident, meet the physical presence requirement, have filed income taxes if required, prove your language skills and pass the citizenship test if you're within the required age range, and not be under a prohibition. Your PR status must be valid, with no removal order or unmet PR conditions, but you can apply with an expired PR card.

You must have been physically present in Canada for a set number of days during the five years before you sign your application. Each day spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before you became a permanent resident can count as half a day, up to a limit. IRCC's physical presence calculator works out your total, and we complete it with you before filing.

Yes, if you're within the required age range on the day you sign your application. The test covers the rights and responsibilities of citizens and Canada's history, geography, economy, government, laws and symbols, and every question is based on the official study guide, Discover Canada. Most applicants take it online. Applicants outside the age range don't take it.

If you're within the required age range, you must show adequate knowledge of English or French, meaning speaking and listening skills at a set benchmark level. You can prove this with accepted test results, certain diplomas or other evidence IRCC accepts, and an official may also assess you during the process. We help you identify which proof fits your situation.

Yes, if you were required to file. You must have met your personal income tax filing obligations for a set number of years within the five years before you apply. If you weren't required to file in a given year, that's fine, but the requirement is about meeting your obligations, so we review your CRA history with you before applying.

Processing time varies with application volume and your individual file. IRCC publishes current processing times for grant of citizenship applications, and timing also depends on when you're invited to the test and ceremony. We confirm the up-to-date estimate for your situation before you apply rather than promising a fixed timeline.

Once your application is approved, the final step for applicants aged 14 and older is taking the Oath of Citizenship at a citizenship ceremony, held virtually or in person. You become a Canadian citizen when you take the oath. You then receive your citizenship certificate, electronic or paper, depending on the format you chose.

Yes. Canada allows dual and multiple citizenship, so becoming Canadian does not, on Canada's side, require you to give up another nationality. However, not every country allows this, and you may lose your current citizenship when you become Canadian. Check with your country's embassy, high commission or consulate before you apply.

A parent or legal guardian can apply for citizenship for a minor child. A minor who has a Canadian parent, or a parent applying at the same time, doesn't need to meet the physical presence, test or language requirements; children 14 to 17 take the oath. Separately, a child born abroad to a Canadian parent may already be a citizen. We assess which route applies to your family.

Common issues include miscounting physical presence days, gaps in tax filing, an incomplete or inconsistent application, criminal charges or other prohibitions, long trips abroad that reduce your presence total, and problems with your PR status. Careful preparation before filing is the best way to avoid these.

There are government fees set by IRCC for a citizenship application, and they're updated periodically. We don't quote a fixed amount here because it can change. See IRCC's fee list and our Fees page, and we'll confirm the current figures, plus our professional fees, for your case.

You can apply on your own; IRCC doesn't require a representative. Many people use one to make sure their physical presence count, tax history and documents are complete before filing. Only authorized representatives may charge a fee: CICC-licensed consultants, lawyers and paralegals in good standing with a Canadian law society, and Quebec notaries. Northern Pathways is led by Burcu Akyol, a CICC-licensed RCIC-IRB (R531695), whom you can verify on the CICC public register.