From Permanent Resident to Citizen
Naturalization is the legal process that transfers a permanent resident into a Canadian citizen. The process starts with an application submitted to the IRCC. Citizenship judges review the file and make a decision to grant a citizenship to the applicant. Permanent resident who wishes to become a Canadian citizen must meet certain requirements, he must:
- be a permanent resident of Canada
- be 18 years or older or to be included with the parent application who is applying for citizenship at the same time
- have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years
- have filled his tax return for the past 3 years, if required
- pass a citizenship test
- prove his language skills either in English or French
Citizenship Free Assessment
Physical Presence Requirement
The applicant must have been physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the 5 years before the date he sign his citizenship application. Time spent in Canada as Temporary Resident can be calculated as 0.5 day as physical presence for each 1 day in Canada as temporary residence for up to a maximum 1 year.
Language Skills Requirement
If you’re 18 to 54 years of age on the day you sign your application, you must show that you can speak and listen at a specific level in one of Canada’s official languages: English or French.
The applicant must achieve Canada Language Benchmarks (CLB) level 4 or higher in speaking and listening.