Who can become a Canadian citizen?
If you have been a
LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENT
of Canada for at least 3 years, you can apply to become a
Canadian citizen.
You must be 18 or older.
You must have lived in Canada for minimum three years out
of the four years immediately before applying for
naturalization. The time you resided in Canada AFTER you
became a permanent resident counts as full time. The time
you lived in Canada BEFORE you became a PR
counts as 1/2 time
only if it falls within these 4 years.
You must be able to speak and understand
English or French.
You must
be informed about Canadian history, geography, political
system, rights and duties of Canadians.
When Citizenship Canada receives your application, you will
be sent a courtesy copy of
“A Look at Canada”,
which is the official manual that you have to read in order
to prepare for the citizenship test. You can also download
this book from our site. See
Citizenship Test
Applying for minors
If you are the parent of a child who is under 18 years of
age, you may apply for your child’s citizenship as
soon as the child receives permanent resident status.
Children do not need to have lived in Canada for three
years to become citizens.
To apply for your child, you must already be a Canadian
citizen yourself
or you must be applying to become a citizen at the same
time.
You
cannot become a Canadian citizen if...
Answer
these questions:
Are you in prison, on parole or on probation?
In the past four years, were you in prison, on parole or on
probation for a year or more?
Were you convicted of an indictable offence or crime, or an
offence under the Citizenship Act in the past three years?
Are you currently charged with an indictable offence or
crime, or an offence under the Citizenship Act?
Are you under a removal order and are not currently allowed
to be in Canada?
Are you under investigation for a war crime or a crime
against humanity?
Has your Canadian citizenship been taken away (revoked) in
the past five years?
If
you answered Yes
to any of these questions, you might be
ineligible
to apply for Canadian Citizenship.