How to Apply for Canadian Citizenship: Documents, Test, and Oath

To apply for Canadian citizenship, you must be a permanent resident who has been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days (about three years) within the five years before you sign your application.¹ You file Form CIT 0002 online through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), pay a $653 CAD fee, pass a knowledge test if you’re between 18 and 54, and take the Oath of Citizenship at a ceremony. Processing currently runs about 12 to 14 months from submission to oath.

Confirm You Meet the Requirements

Physical Presence and PR Status

Every day in Canada as a permanent resident counts as one full day toward the 1,095-day threshold. Days you spent in Canada before becoming a PR — as a temporary resident or protected person — count as half a day each, up to a maximum credit of 365 days. Days spent in prison, on parole, on probation, or waiting for a refugee claim decision do not count.²

Run your dates through IRCC’s online Physical Presence Calculator before you do anything else.¹ Keep your passports open beside you: you need entry and exit stamps to reconstruct your travel accurately. Print the completed calculation and include it with your application, which saves you from filling out the separate CIT 0407 form.

Your PR status must be valid when you apply and stay valid all the way through the oath. An active removal order or unfulfilled PR conditions (such as incomplete medical screenings) makes you ineligible.²

Tax Filings

You must have filed Canadian income tax returns for at least three of the five tax years in your eligibility window.² Filing is what matters, not whether you owed tax. Check your Canada Revenue Agency account for gaps before you apply; missing returns are a common reason applications stall.

Language

If you’re between 18 and 54 on the day you sign, you need to prove you can speak and listen in English or French at Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Level 4 or higher.² Level 4 means handling short everyday conversations, following basic instructions, and expressing yourself with simple grammar. IRCC accepts results from approved third-party tests such as CELPIP-G, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada, and TCF Canada, and it also accepts transcripts or diplomas from secondary or post-secondary education completed in English or French.³

Applicants 55 and older are automatically exempt from both the language proof and the knowledge test. No waiver request is needed.

Criminal Prohibitions

A criminal record does not permanently disqualify you in most cases, but it can hold up your application. You cannot apply until four years after a conviction for an indictable offence in Canada or an equivalent offence abroad, and you cannot pick up a new conviction between applying and taking the oath. Pending charges, ongoing trials, and pending appeals all pause your eligibility until the matter is resolved. Treason and terrorism offences resulting in five or more years of imprisonment carry permanent prohibitions while you hold PR status.⁴ If your citizenship was previously revoked for fraud, you must wait 10 years to reapply.

Gather Your Documents

Adults apply on Form CIT 0002; parents or guardians filing for a child under 18 use Form CIT 0003.⁵⁶ Both forms ask for your personal history, employment, and addresses for the past five years. Alongside the form, prepare:

Your printed Physical Presence Calculator results.
Language proof (test results or educational documents) if you’re 18 to 54.
Clear copies of the biographical pages of every passport you held during the five-year window, current and expired.
Citizenship photos to IRCC specifications. These are not the same as passport photos, so tell the photographer which type you need. Online applicants upload one digital photo; paper applicants submit two identical prints with the studio’s name, address, and date written on the back.⁷⁸
Certified translations for any document not already in English or French. The translation must be paired with an affidavit from the translator and a certified copy of the original. You, your family, and your immigration representative cannot do the translation, even if qualified. In Canada, use a certified translator who belongs to a provincial translators’ association; abroad, the translator must swear the affidavit before a notary public.⁹

Pay the Fee

As of March 31, 2026, the total fee for an adult application is $653 CAD, made up of a $530 processing fee and a $123 right of citizenship fee.¹⁰ Applications submitted before that date pay $649.75 (with the right of citizenship fee at $119.75). Children under 18 pay $100, processing only.¹¹ Pay through IRCC’s online payment portal and include the receipt with your application.

Submit the Application Online

Nearly all applicants must apply through IRCC’s online citizenship portal. You create a secure account, upload scanned copies of your documents and photo, pay the fee, and submit electronically.¹² Paper applications remain available only in narrow situations, mainly for Crown servants posted abroad (and their families) needing to count time outside Canada, and for immigration representatives filing for a client. If you need accessible paper services, contact IRCC and they’ll send the package.¹³

Once IRCC screens your file for completeness, you’ll get an Acknowledgment of Receipt with a unique application number for tracking. Incomplete packages get returned. Photos that don’t meet specifications are a frequent culprit.

If You Travel While Your Application Is Pending

You can leave Canada after IRCC receives your application, but your PR status has to stay valid through to the oath, so carry your PR card and make sure it won’t expire while you’re abroad. IRCC sends notices to your Canadian address, sometimes by email, and you must respond within the deadline given. Missing a test, interview, or ceremony without a valid reason can lead IRCC to stop processing your file.¹⁴

Take the Knowledge Test

If you’re 18 to 54, you take a knowledge test on Canadian history, geography, government, rights, and responsibilities. The official study guide is Discover Canada, free on the IRCC website. The test has 20 multiple-choice or true/false questions, lasts 45 minutes, and you pass with at least 15 correct.¹⁵ You can take it online, over Microsoft Teams, or in person.

You get up to three attempts within a 30-day test period. Fail all three and IRCC schedules a hearing with a citizenship official (30 to 90 minutes) where an officer asks up to 20 knowledge questions and may check your language skills. Fail the hearing and your application is refused; you’d have to reapply and pay again.¹⁶

Take the Oath at the Ceremony

After you pass the test and IRCC verifies your documents, you’ll get a Notice to Appear for a citizenship ceremony. You take the Oath of Citizenship in English or French before a citizenship judge or authorized official, promising to respect Canada’s laws and fulfill the duties of citizenship.¹⁷ You then sign the Oath or Affirmation of Citizenship form and receive your citizenship certificate, the official legal proof of your new status.¹⁸

What to Do Right After You Become a Citizen

Your citizenship certificate is not a travel document, and your PR card is typically destroyed or collected at the ceremony. You can’t leave and re-enter Canada until you have a Canadian passport, so apply for one as soon as you get your certificate. If you received an electronic certificate, print it before submitting a passport application. Don’t book international travel until the passport is in hand.¹⁹

If your Social Insurance Number starts with 9, it was issued for temporary status and has to be replaced. Submit a SIN application to Service Canada with your citizenship documentation. Service Canada notifies the Canada Pension Plan and the Canada Revenue Agency, but you have to tell your employer, bank, and any other government department yourself.²⁰

Canada allows dual and multiple citizenship, so becoming Canadian doesn’t require you to give up your existing nationality.²¹ Check the rules in your home country, since a few countries require formal renunciation when their citizens naturalize elsewhere. As a dual Canadian citizen, you must enter Canada using a valid Canadian passport or a special authorization issued by IRCC.

1
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Physical Presence Calculator
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Canadian Citizenship for Adults and Minor Children – Who Can Apply
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Find Out if You Have the Language Proof for Citizenship – Step 5
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Department of Justice Canada. Citizenship Act RSC 1985 c C-29
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for Canadian Citizenship – Adults CIT 0002
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Government of Canada. Citizenship Photo Specifications
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Photos Do I Need to Include With My Citizenship Application
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Language Should My Supporting Documents Be In
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Right of Citizenship Fee Increasing Soon
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship Test Study Guide
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship Test – Test Results and Next Steps
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Department of Justice Canada. Citizenship Regulations
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship Ceremony – What to Expect at the Ceremony
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. After the Citizenship Ceremony
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Government of Canada. Social Insurance Number – Receiving and Updating Your SIN
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Government of Canada. Dual Citizens