CanadaCitizenship

Obtaining citizenship in Canada

The final status for permanent residents of Canada who have lived in the country long enough and want full rights: to vote and to hold a Canadian passport. The immigration department counts the time actually spent in Canada. An adult applicant pays taxes, speaks English or French and knows the basics of the country's history and system of government. A person becomes a citizen after the test, the document check and the oath at a ceremony. Previous citizenship is retained.

Source: canada.ca — Apply for citizenship: Calculate your physical presence

Who can obtain citizenship

The rules differ for adult applicants and for children under 18 — this determines whether days of presence have to be accumulated independently and whether the tests have to be taken.

Adult applicants

Already hold permanent resident status in Canada
Have accumulated at least 1,095 days of physical presence in the last 5 years, of which at least 730 were already as a permanent resident
Applicants aged 18 to 54 prove spoken English or French and sit the test on knowledge of Canada

Children under 18

There is a Canadian parent, or a parent applies at the same time — in which case days of presence are not counted
Without a Canadian parent — they have accumulated 1,095 days of presence within 5 years on their own, as adults do
They are exempt from the language test and the test on knowledge of Canada; the oath is taken only from the age of 14

When this programme is not suitable

You are still in custody, on parole or on probation in Canada

Wait for that period to end — those days do not count towards presence and are a separate ground for refusal

A citizenship application has already been refused for misrepresentation within the last 5 years, or citizenship was previously revoked for fraud within the last 10 years

For misrepresentation — wait for the 5-year period to expire and apply again; where citizenship was revoked for fraud it cannot be restored through this procedure and legal advice on other grounds is needed

You have not yet accumulated 1,095 days of physical presence in the last 5 years — for example because you travelled often or obtained permanent residence recently

Continue living in Canada with permanent resident status and check the days with the official calculator — an application with insufficient days is simply returned without consideration

You were convicted of an indictable offence less than 4 years ago

Wait for the 4-year period from the date of conviction to expire before applying

What it costs

Processing of an adult application (18 and over)	530 CAD
Right of citizenship for an adult applicantRefunded if citizenship is not granted	123 CAD
Processing of an application for a child under 18There is no separate right of citizenship fee for minors — this is the only payment for a child	100 CAD
Total government feesThe sum of the mandatory rows in the table. the “Processing of an application for a child under 18” branch replaces the “Processing of an adult application (18 and over)” line — 223 CAD. Charges with no official price list are in the list below.	653 CAD

Paid separately

The certificate of proficiency in English or French (for example IELTS, CELPIP, TEF) — Paid directly to the organisation running the test; not part of the IRCC fee. Required for applicants aged 18 to 54
Translation of documents and the translator's affidavit — Required for documents that are not in English or French; paid separately from the application fee

Documents to gather

The exact list is generated for your profile in the IRCC account when applying online; for a paper application the CIT 0007 checklist is used.

The completed and signed CIT 0002 form (adult application for citizenship)
Proof of permanent resident status
Colour copies of the identity pages of every passport and travel document covering the 5-year presence period
Two identity documents showing the name, a photograph and the date of birth
Two identical colour citizenship photographs meeting the official requirements
The calculation of physical presence — a printout from the online calculator or a completed CIT 0407 form
Proof of proficiency in English or French for applicants aged 18 to 54: a diploma, a test certificate (CELPIP, IELTS, TEF, DALF, DELF, TCF) or evidence of a LINC or CLIC course
Police certificates for periods of continuous stay outside Canada of 183 consecutive days or more since the age of 18
Documents on a change of name, where applicable — a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a court order

How the process runs

Once the application has been sent and the fee paid, all further notifications arrive in the IRCC account.

1
Filing the application and paying the fee
Online or on paper, with the documents from the checklist attached and the fee paid. The letter confirming that the application has been sent is not yet official confirmation that it has been accepted.
2
Acknowledgement that the application has been accepted
Once the package has been checked for completeness, the department assigns an application number and a unique client identifier and sends an official acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) — processing begins from that moment.
3
Checking identity and background information
IRCC verifies the days of presence, the tax history and the proof of language; where necessary it requests fingerprints through the police or an accredited company — Service Canada cannot be used for this.
4
The test on knowledge of Canada
Applicants aged 18 to 54 take an online test of 20 questions, and at least 15 correct answers are needed to pass. Up to three attempts are allowed within 30 days; after three failures an oral interview with an officer is arranged instead of the test.
5
Interview or additional checks
Some applications are selected for a more detailed check — originals are compared with copies and details are clarified in order to confirm entitlement to citizenship.
6
The oath at the citizenship ceremony
Most applicants must take the oath at an online or in-person ceremony — this is the last step before citizenship is granted.
7
Receiving the electronic certificate
up to 5 working days
The electronic citizenship certificate appears in the IRCC account once the department has received the signed and dated oath form.

Timelines and rights

Validity

Citizenship is granted indefinitely. The electronic certificate arrives in the IRCC portal within 5 working days of the department receiving the signed oath form.

Work

A citizen works in any province and in any position without permits. The 730-day rule that keeps residents in the country does not apply to them.

Residence

Each day in Canada as a permanent resident counts as a full day; each day in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before permanent residence counts as half a day, up to a total of 365 days

Who you can bring with you

Children and spouses do not obtain citizenship automatically along with the applicant — there is a separate procedure for each.

A child under 18 who has a Canadian parent, or whose parent is applying at the same time

Handled under a simplified procedure: there is no need to accumulate physical presence or to sit the language test or the test on knowledge of Canada. The application is signed by a parent or guardian, and children aged 14 and over sign for themselves

A child under 18 with no Canadian parent, or where the parent is not applying at the same time

They must accumulate 1,095 days of presence within 5 years on their own and file tax returns where required. Any guardian of the child may sign, and need not be a citizen; where there is no such adult, a waiver of that condition can be requested

A spouse, partner or other adult family members

Citizenship does not pass automatically — every adult files their own application, meets the requirements independently and pays the fee separately

How it differs from the routes next to it

The comparison is built from the official terms of the routes themselves — the source links sit on their own pages.

	Obtaining citizenship	Asylum and refugee status	Refugees referred by the UN
Visa term	Citizenship is granted indefinitely	Not a status that is renewed; if the claim is accepted the person becomes a protected person	Arrivals come straight in as permanent residents (PR)
Money	An adult application costs CAD 653 — this covers both the processing and the right of citizenship	No income or savings requirement	GAR: government support for about 1 year; PSR: sponsors for about 12 months
Work	A citizen works in any province and in any position without permits	The 2026 reforms speed up the issue of a work permit	As a PR — the right to work immediately, with no permit

What comes next: permanent residence and citizenship

Route to permanent residence

The application is made by someone who already holds permanent residence: citizenship is not granted without permanent resident status. Of the 1,095 days of presence, no more than 365 may be accumulated with temporary status.

Route to citizenship

Yes, it leads to citizenship

Frequently asked questions about Obtaining citizenship

Is it possible to keep a previous citizenship after obtaining Canadian citizenship?

Yes, Canada recognises dual citizenship: taking Canadian citizenship does not mean giving up an existing one. There is no separate application or certificate for dual citizenship — it arises automatically if the other country takes the same view. It is worth checking this in advance with the embassy of your current country of citizenship, because not every state allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship.

What can be done if citizenship is refused?

A new application can be filed straight away — there is no waiting period, but all the documents must be assembled again and the fee paid again. Within 30 days of the date of the refusal letter it is also possible to apply for judicial review by the Federal Court of Canada: this is not an appeal on the merits but a check on whether the procedure was fair.

Does time spent outside Canada count?

As a rule no — it is simply deducted from the total and does not count towards the 1,095 days. An exception is made for permanent residents who during that period served in the Canadian armed forces, worked in the federal or a provincial public service abroad, or lived abroad with a spouse, partner or parent in such service — those days count as ordinary presence in Canada.

How many attempts are allowed at the test on knowledge of Canada?

The test consists of 20 questions and at least 15 correct answers are needed to pass. Up to three attempts are allowed within 30 days. If none of them succeeds, an oral interview with a citizenship officer is arranged instead of the test, and if the interview is also unsuccessful citizenship is refused and a fresh application with a new fee has to be made.

Is it compulsory to use the official presence calculator?

The department expressly recommends using the online calculator as the most accurate way of checking whether the minimum of 1,095 days has been reached, and advises applying with a margin above the minimum — in case of errors in the calculation or of individual days that may not count. For a paper application the same calculator can be used, or the CIT 0407 form completed by hand.

Other ways to move to Canada

Every route in one list — migration programmes: Canada.

The terms and the amounts are checked against official sources — the link sits under each section.Last checked on: 7 August 2026.