Six Criteria That Must Be Met Before Someone Can Apply For Citizenship

1. First, to apply to be a citizen of Canada you need to be 18 years or older. Someone under 18 needs to have a Canadian parent who is already a citizen or who is simultaneously applying for citizenship. A parent can apply on behalf of a child.

2. The second requirement is that you have to be a permanent resident before you can apply for citizenship.

3. The third criterion has to do with residency, or the time that you have lived in Canada. You have to have accumulated 1095 days (3 years) of residence in a four year period. Minors, people under 18 years of age whose parents are applying on their behalf, don’t need to meet the residency obligation. Residency in Canada is not well defined for purposes of citizenship, and the result has been a lot of litigation and some leeway such that applicants with less than1095 days physical presence have still been able to meet the residency requirement.

4. In addition to the residency requirement, you need to have some basic language ability either in English or French, one of the two official languages of Canada. You do not have to be completely fluent, but you need to be able to make yourself understood and to understand other people in either of those two languages.

5. The applicant’s criminal history is important as well. You cannot have been convicted within the last three years of an indictable offence or an offence under the citizenship act. Also, you cannot currently be facing charges for an offence and you cannot be on probation. If you have had your citizenship stripped within the last five years, you cannot reapply for citizenship.

6. The final criterion for citizenship is that you must have some knowledge of Canada. This means that the applicant must have some basic understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Canadians. When you apply for citizenship, you are issued a book which has some basic facts about Canada and an explanation of the rights and responsibilities of citizens. In most cases, people between 18 and 54 years of age will be required to write a test as part of their citizenship application.

Those are the six criteria that you must meet when applying for Canadian citizenship. In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria, the applicant must also pay a $200 fee. Part of that $200 fee is a $100 right of citizenship fee, so if your application is denied, you will get $100 back.

——
If you, or someone you care about, is dealing with immigration law issues in the Vancouver, British Columbia Region, contact Embarkation Law Group for a consultation.