Canada Citizenship Eligibility

Anyone 18 or older counts as an adult, and anyone under 18 is a minor. Both must meet the eligibility rules. A child's application follows one of two paths, and which one depends on the parents.

To apply, you must hold valid permanent resident status in Canada. Your PR card can be current or expired.

If your permanent resident status is under review, you can still apply, but the government may pause (suspend) your application until that review is finished.

There are also situations that can bar a person from citizenship. Known as prohibitions, some of them only last for a set stretch of time.

Physical presence simply means the days you actually spent inside the country. You need a minimum of 1,095 days, which works out to three years, within your eligibility period. That period covers the five years leading up to the day you sign your application. Of those days, at least 730 must be days you spent as a permanent resident.

The government suggests applying with more than 1,095 days, in case there's a problem with the count. Our physical presence calculator can help you check your days before you apply.

Did you live in Canada before becoming a permanent resident? Some of that time can count. Days you spent as a temporary resident or a protected person during your eligibility period, up to one day before you got permanent resident status, can be added to your total. A temporary resident is a person with valid status that lets them stay in Canada for a limited time, such as a visitor or permit holder. Each of these days is worth half a day of credit.

The most credit you can earn this way is 365 days. You reach that cap after spending 730 calendar days in Canada before getting PR status.

Days you spent working abroad as a Crown servant count fully, at one day each. The same goes for days spent abroad as a Crown servant's family member.

You may have to file Canadian tax returns for at least three of the five years just before you apply. The official page recommends first confirming whether you were actually required to file in every one of those years.

Canada recognizes two official languages: English and French. If you are 18 to 54 years old when you sign, you must show you know one of them well enough. That means speaking and listening at level 4 on the government's language scale.

A minor goes through one of two routes, known as 5(2) and 5(1), and the parents determine which one fits. You can find the rules for both on the government's eligibility page.

Under the 5(1) route, whoever submits the application needs custody of the child or the legal right to act on the child's behalf. If nobody can apply for a child, the child can go ahead on their own by checking the waiver box in the signature section of the application, online or on paper.

Many of the rules for children match the adult ones, but check the requirements for your child's route rather than assuming the adult rules apply:

A child must also hold valid permanent resident status. Their PR card may be current or expired.

Sometimes a requirement is hard to meet because of accessibility, say a disability, or for some other reason. In that case you can request an accommodation, which is help to meet the requirement.

A waiver is another option. If the government approves one, the requirement no longer applies to you. You might, for instance, not need to take the citizenship test.

Nowadays, most people can apply online. The government prefers this route because it is quicker and smoother than paper, and it costs less too, since nothing needs printing or mailing.

Paper is still required for some people. This includes anyone whose day count, or their child's, includes time abroad as a Crown servant. It also covers time spent outside Canada as the child, spouse, or common-law partner of a Crown servant.

Right now, a citizenship grant takes about 12 months to process. Treat that as an estimate, since the figure can shift as circumstances change.

A lot of new citizens say the oath of citizenship at a ceremony. The rules lay out when someone must take it.

You'll say the oath at the ceremony if you're 18 or older, or a child aged 14 to 17, and meet the other conditions on the official eligibility page.