Canadian Citizenship — Complete Guide

One of the world’s openest citizenship policies is provided by Canada. As a result, each year hundreds of thousands of people qualify for Canadian citizenship, and more than 85% of those who are permanent residents do so.

Meeting residency criteria, speaking English and/or French well, and not having a criminal record that might prevent you from becoming a citizen are just a few of the conditions for becoming eligible for Canadian citizenship.

Eligibility Criteria for Canadian Citizenship

You must meet a variety of conditions in order to be qualified to apply for Canadian citizenship:

• Meeting the requirements of Canada for physical presence.
• Be a permanent resident.
• Filing of taxes.
• Passing the Canadian citizenship test.
• Proving the language skills.

Meeting the Requirements of Canada for Physical Presence

Before applying for Canadian citizenship, you must have spent at least three of the previous five years (1,095 days) here (unless there are exceptional circumstances). Children under the age of 18 are required to have permanent resident status as well, however they are exempt from the three-year requirement.

In case there is a difficulty with your computation, IRCC advises that you apply with more than 1,095 days of residence in Canada.

As long as you were a protected person or a temporary resident, you can credit some of that time toward your physical presence requirement. Each day you spent as a protected person or a temporary resident in Canada during the course of the previous five years may be counted as one half day. You can satisfy your physical presence requirement by counting up to 365 days as a temporary resident or protected person.