Canadian Citizenship: Requirements and How to Apply (2026)

Money cannot buy Canadian citizenship, and Canada has no citizenship-by-investment program. You must first become a permanent resident.

To apply for a grant of citizenship you must:

1. Be a permanent resident with no unresolved questions about your status.
2. Have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years right before you apply. Time you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident counts as half a day each, up to 365 days.
3. Have filed income taxes for at least 3 of those 5 years, if you had to.
4. Prove language skills at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or higher in English or French, if you are 18 to 54.
5. Pass the citizenship test on rights, responsibilities, history, and government, if you are 18 to 54.
6. Not be prohibited, for example because of recent criminal charges or convictions, or a removal order.

Count your days with the citizenship calculator or IRCC's physical presence calculator, and apply only once you are over 1,095 days, ideally with a margin. See the citizenship application guide.

Applicants aged 18 to 54 take a knowledge test, usually online. It has 20 questions based on the official study guide, and you need 15 correct answers to pass. The official study guide, Discover Canada, is free from IRCC in print, online, and audio formats. If you fail, you usually get another chance before an interview with a citizenship official. Read our citizenship test guide.

Language skills can be shown with an approved test result (such as CELPIP, IELTS General Training, or TEF Canada), a diploma from a program taught in English or French, or proof from government-funded language classes. See language tests.

The final step is the oath of citizenship at a ceremony. You become a citizen when you take the oath, and you can then apply for a Canadian passport.

Children under 18 can apply with a parent who is a citizen or who is applying at the same time. They do not need to meet the 1,095-day rule, take the test, or prove language skills, but they must be permanent residents.

Common reasons you cannot apply yet:

• you are on probation or parole, or in prison
• you are charged with, or were recently convicted of, a serious (indictable) offense in or outside Canada
• you are under a removal order
• you were found to have misrepresented facts on an immigration or citizenship application in recent years
• your citizenship was revoked in the past 10 years

If any of these apply, talk to a Canadian immigration lawyer before you apply. Days spent in prison or on parole generally do not count toward the 1,095 days.

Until 2025, Canada limited citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad: if your Canadian parent was also born outside Canada, you usually were not a citizen. An Ontario court found this limit unconstitutional in Bjorkquist v. Canada, and Parliament passed Bill C-3.

Since December 15, 2025:

• Many people who were left out by the old first-generation limit are now citizens, sometimes going back more than one generation.
• For children born abroad after the law took effect, a Canadian parent who was also born abroad must show a substantial connection to Canada, meaning at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before the child's birth.

If you think you qualify, apply for a citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) before applying for a passport. See citizenship by descent.

Yes, Canada allows dual and multiple citizenship. You do not have to give up your current citizenship to become Canadian, but your other country may take it away when you naturalize. Check its rules first. See dual citizenship.

Dual citizens must enter Canada with a Canadian passport (US dual citizens can also use a US passport).

You pay a processing fee and, for adults, a right of citizenship fee. IRCC lists current amounts on its fee page. Check current processing times with the processing times tool.

Common reasons for delays are missing travel history, mismatched dates between your application and your passport stamps or travel records, and unfiled tax returns. Keep a careful record of every trip outside Canada from the day you arrive. IRCC can compare your answers with border entry records and may ask for extra proof of residence, such as leases, pay slips, or school records.

Compare the rules in other countries: US citizenship usually needs 5 years as a permanent resident, and Mexican citizenship usually needs 5 years of residency.