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Determine your eligibility
To be eligible to get Canadian citizenship, you must:
Be a permanent resident in Canada
Have lived in Canada for 3 years (1,095 days) out of the last 5 years
Have filed taxes in Canada for at least 3 years during the last 5 yearsÂ
Reach Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or higher in English or French
Pass a citizenship test if you’re 18-54 years old
Did you know?
Knowledge check
These 4 people look forward to becoming Canadian citizens.
Xinyu is 25 years old. She became a permanent resident 3 years ago. She has lived and filed taxes in Canada for 5 years. She just reached CLB 2 in English at this moment.
Antoine is 77 years old. He became a permanent resident 3 years ago. He has lived and filed taxes in Canada for 3 years. His CLB level in French is 3. He submitted his citizenship application yesterday.
Chirine is 29 years old. She became a permanent resident 2 years ago. She has lived and filed taxes in Canada for 4 years. She has reached CLB 7 in English. She passed her citizenship test this week.
Jacob is 32 years old. He became a permanent resident last month. He has lived in Canada for 9 years and filed taxes for each year. He has reached CLB 10 in English and CLB 7 in French.
Quiz
Which two people are eligible to become Canadian citizens now? Make sure to review the eligibility requirements in the "Determine your eligibility" section above, including the "Did you know?" fact about presence calculation.
Antoine and Chirine are eligible to become Canadian citizens because they meet all the criteria. Antoine is 77 years old so he doesn't need to take the citizenship test. Chirine lived in Canada as a temporary resident for 2 years. These 2 years count as 1 year in her presence calculation, so she has 3 years of presence in total. Jacob and Xinyu, however, aren't eligible. Jacob lived in Canada for a long time as a temporary resident so he only has one year in his presence calculation. He still needs 2 years of presence as a permanent resident. Xinyu is not eligible as her English level is CLB 2. She can apply when she reaches CLB 4.
Online application process
What's next?
Answer a few yes/no questions to confirm you can apply online
Create an account using your email address to access the online application
Fill out the online application form, pay your fees, and submit
Did you know?
Paper application process
If you don't meet the criteria above, you must apply using a paper application.
Request an application package, including the instruction guide and forms
Print and complete the forms
Sign and date the forms
Pay the application fees (processing fee and right of citizenship fee)
Send all documents by mail or courier
More detailed information can be found here!
Did you know?
Wait! You're Not Done Yet!
You've gotta prepare for your citizenship test!
The citizenship officials cannot make a decision until they get your test results.
You need to get 15 correct answers to pass the test
You'll have 3 opportunities to pass the test
Take Action
This Byte has been authored by
Yang Chen
LINC Instructor