Applying for a canadian Citizenship

Thinking about becoming a Canadian citizen? When applying for a Canadian citizenship, there are several requirements you must meet first in order to apply. You must:

• Be an adult over the age of 18 years old
• Be a permanent resident
• Provide proof that you know how to speak or write in one of Canada’s official languages (English or French)
• Have lived in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 4 years out of the 6 years before the day you apply

You must also meet the conditions in all these areas:

• Age
• Time you lived in Canada
• Permanent resident status
• Language ability
• How well you know Canada
• Intent to reside
• Income taxing
• Criminal history

Once you have met all those requirements and conditions, you must take an English test to ensure that you have adequate knowledge of English. The Citizenship Act requires new citizens to have adequate knowledge of one of the official languages (English or French) in Canada. This means that you must have speaking and listening abilities at a Level 4 of the Canadian Language Benchmarks. This level shows that you can:

• Understand and speak in short, everyday conversations
• Understand simple instructions, questions, and directions
• Able to ask and answer simple questions
• Use basic grammar

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) measures your ability to speak English by using the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)/Niveaux de competence linguistique canadien (NCLC).

In order to prove that you meet the citizenship language requirement, you will need to send one of the following documents to the CIC:

• Results of a CIC approved third party test
• Evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French
• Evidence from certain government-funded language training programs

If you are under the age of 18, a parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian, who is a Canadian citizen, can apply for you. You do not, however, need to meet the 4 years of residency in Canada requirement.

If you have any questions about the new requirements for citizenship, please call us today!