Citizenship Applications

If you are born in Canada you are automatically a Canadian citizen. However, people wanting to acquire Canadian citizenship can do so in a number of ways. In certain situations, a person who was not born in Canada can apply for a certificate of citizenship showing that he or she derived citizenship at birth from a Canadian citizen living abroad.

As a general rule, individuals who are applying for Canadian citizenship must meet the following 3 requirements:

• Be 18 years of age,
• Be a permanent resident of Canada,
• Meet residency obligations (reside in Canada for 1095 within last 1460 days – three out of four yearas).

However, if the applicant is a child is under the age of 18, the following circumstances must be met:

• The child must be a permanent resident
• The child does not have to have lived in Canada for three years
• The child’s parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian, and one of the parents is already a Canadian citizen or is in the process of applying to become a citizen. This applies for adoptive parents also.

In addition, the applicant must meet two other requirements:

1) language requirement (be able to understand and speak basic English or French);

2) knowledge about Canada requirement (Canada’s history, geography, government, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship).

A language test is required to be provided with an application and a test is to be taken to proof knowledge about Canada. Persons 55 years of age and over are exempt from these two requirements.

If you want to apply for Canadian citizenship for yourself or for your wife and child, we can help.