What are the eligibility requirements to become a Canadian citizen?
- Applicants must have stayed as a permanent resident for 1095 days as a permanent resident in the five years before the date of filing the citizenship application. This need not be a continuous stay.
- Every day spent by applicants as a temporary resident is counted as half a day before they become permanent residents.
- This is taken on account when calculating the number of days spent in the country to qualify for citizenship.
Apart from gaining a PR status and staying in Canada as a permanent resident for a stipulated period, the other requirements are:
Applicants must have paid the income tax under the Income tax act for a minimum of three years out of the five years as a permanent resident.
They must have good language skills and prove that they can speak English or French fluently. You need to pass a test that will measure your speaking, writing, reading and listening skills in that language.
What is the processing time for Canadian citizenship?
The processing time starts once you submit your application whether online, by mail or in person.
Once your application is submitted, the authorities ensure that you have submitted your responses to all the questions in the form, sent all the required documents and paid the fees. They will then send you the acknowledgement of receipt (AOR). This will contain your unique client identifier (UCI). The AOR is an indication that your letter is ready to be processed.
However, if your application has any missing information, or if certain documents are missing or does not contain the fee receipt then your application will be sent back, and you will have to resubmit it.
