Apply for Citizenship

To apply for citizenship, you must meet certain eligibility criteria and complete an application.

IRCC will return your application as incomplete if you do not send acceptable proof that you have adequate knowledge of English or French. Learn more about the language requirements for citizenship on the IRCC website.

If you are or have been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, you may be eligible for a fast-track application process.

You can use the Residence Calculator to find out if you have been in Canada long enough as a PR to apply for citizenship. If you have not been in Canada long enough, it will tell you when you will be eligible to apply.

The applicant must be a Canadian citizen or be applying to become a Canadian citizen. Minors do not need to meet the residency requirement.

If one of your parents was a Canadian citizen when you were born, depending on when you were born, you may already be a citizen. If that is true, to be recognized as a Canadian citizen you need to apply for proof of citizenship.

You cannot become a Canadian citizen if you have recently been or are in prison, on parole or probation, are serving a conditional sentence or have been charged or convicted of an indictable crime. If you are under a deportation order, you also cannot apply.
Read more information about citizenship eligibility on IRCC’s website.