There are several ways to obtain Canadian citizenship:
- To be born in Canada
- To be born outside Canada to a legal or biological parent who is a Canadian citizen
- To become naturalized in Canada
- Must be 18 years old or above
- Must hold a PR status
- Must have resided in Canada as a PR for 3 years in the past 5 years before applying
- Must have filed income taxes for each of the 3 years
- Must meet the language requirements:
- CLB 4 must be proven for listening and speaking only, reading and writing proof is not required.
- Accepted Exams: IELTS- General, CELPIP-General, and TEF
- Via certification: proof that secondary or post-secondary studies were completed in English either in or outside Canada, but ESL studies are not accepted.
- Completion of CLB 4 language training from a Canadian government-funded language training program commonly referred to as LINC, or MCIIT-ESL (Ontario), Progress Report (Manitoba), MIFI-Echelle Quebecoise ( Quebec), ELSA ( BC).
- Must pass the citizenship test
- Must take the Oath of Citizenship
A person will NOT obtain Canadian Citizenship if:
PR status is in doubt by being subject of a fraud or immigration investigation or inquiry or a removal order
They spent time in prison/parole/probation does not count towards citizenship and the applicant cannot apply during this time
They are charged with, convicted of, on trial for, or appealing a charge under the Citizenship Act, OR an indictable or equivalent offense inside or outside of Canada or war crimes against humanity or an offense under the Citizenship Act in the 4 years before applying
Citizenship was taken away because of fraud in the past 10 years
A citizenship application was refused under misrepresentation grounds in the past 5 years
Cannot demonstrate adequate knowledge of Canada and CLB 4 to the citizenship officer during the hearing
N.B. The applicant can file for leave for judicial review within 30 days of the date on the refusal letter.