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Check if you are eligible to apply for citizenship

Answer some questions to find out if you are ready to apply for Canadian citizenship. These questions are for adults (age 18 and over) who want to apply for citizenship. Minors (under age 18) have some different requirements.

These questions are based on the legal requirements for a Canadian citizenship application. The results are not legal advice, they will not be part of your formal application.

Have you been a permanent resident, and physically been in Canada for at least 3 of the last 5 years (1,095 days)?

Have you lived in Canada with temporary resident or protected person status within the last 5 years?

Have you been a permanent resident and physically been in Canada for at least 2 of the last 5 years?

In the last 5 years have you been outside of Canada for more than a total of 730 days?

Have Canadian officials advised you to leave Canada, or that you have unfulfilled conditions related to your PR status?

Do any of the following apply to you:

  • I am serving a term of imprisonment, on parole or on probation in Canada
  • I am serving a sentence outside Canada
  • I am charged with, on trial for, or involved in an appeal for an offence under the Citizenship Act, or an indictable offence in Canada
  • I am charged with, on trial for, or involved in an appeal for an offence committed outside Canada that is determined to be equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada
  • I am being investigated for, am charged with, on trial for, involved in an appeal for or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity
  • I have had a citizenship application refused for misrepresentation in the past five years
  • I have had my Canadian citizenship revoked (taken away) because of fraud in the past ten years
  • I have been convicted of an indictable offence in Canada or an offence under the Citizenship Act in the last 4 years
  • I have been convicted outside Canada of an offence that is determined to be equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada in the last 4 years, even a pardon or other amnesty was granted for the offence
  • While a permanent resident, I have been convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason, or spying offences
  • While a permanent resident, I served as a member of an armed force of a country or organized armed group and that country or group engaged in armed conflict with Canada

You may need to have proof that you know English or French. Which of these best describes your situation?

Examples of proof:

  • Results from third party language test we approve
  • Diploma, certificate or final transcript for a secondary or post-secondary school program in English or French
  • Results from a government-funded language training program with at least a CLB/NCLC level

In the past 5 years, have you been required to file your personal income taxes under the Income Tax Act of Canada?

Did you file your personal income taxes, if you were required to do so in the past 5 years?

In the past 5 years, have you been required to file your personal income taxes under the Income Tax Act of Canada?

Did you file your personal income taxes, if you were required to do so in the past 5 years?

You probably meet the requirements to apply for Canadian citizenship

Next steps:

It appears that you may not meet one or more of the requirements to become a Canadian citizen

You should wait to apply until you meet all of the requirements.

You must be physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for 1,095 days within the five (5) years immediately before applying for citizenship.

Only the five (5) years preceding the date of your application are taken into account. Within that five-year period:

  • Every day you spent in Canada as a permanent resident counts as a full day.
  • Every day you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before you become a permanent resident counts as a half day, up to a maximum of 365 days. Therefore, in order to get the maximum 365 day credit you need to be physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person for 730 days during your eligibility period.
  • Time spent serving a sentence in Canada does not count towards the physical presence requirement (i.e. you cannot count time spent serving a term of imprisonment, probation and/or on parole, as physical presence).

In very rare cases it is possible that time spent outside of Canada can count towards the physical presence requirement when applying for citizenship, learn more.

You should wait to apply until you meet all of the requirements.

You must have permanent resident (PR) status in Canada, have no unfulfilled conditions related to that status, and your PR status must not be in question. This means you must not:

  • be under review for immigration or fraud reasons, or
  • be under a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada), or
  • have certain unfulfilled conditions related to your PR status.
    • If you have any outstanding Terms and Conditions linked to your Permanent Resident status you may not be eligible for citizenship. For example, some new Permanent Residents are required to undergo medical screening after they arrive in Canada. Before applying for citizenship, you should review the documents provided to you when you first came to live in Canada as a Permanent Resident to ensure that you have met all of your Terms and Conditions.

In general, time spent serving a sentence for an offence in Canada cannot count towards physical presence for the purposes of becoming a Canadian citizen (i.e. you cannot count time spent serving a term of imprisonment, on probation, and/or parole as physical presence). There are, however, the following exceptions:

  • Only the five (5) years preceding the date of your application are considered for calculating physical presence eligibility. Time spent serving a sentence outside of that five-year period does not have to be declared.
  • Time on probation as a result of a conditional discharge may count towards physical presence if the probation was completed successfully (i.e. you were not charged with a breach of probation or a failure to comply during that probation). This time does not have to be declared for the purposes of the physical presence calculator.
  • Time spent serving a term of imprisonment or on probation does not have to be declared if:
    • you were convicted under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, received a youth sentence, and successfully completed that sentence; or
    • you were convicted under the previous Young Offenders Act and successfully completed that sentence.

You must have met your personal income tax filing obligations in three taxation years that are fully or partially within the five years immediately before the date you apply.

You may not meet one or more of the requirements to become a Canadian citizen

Canada has two official languages: English and French. If you’re 18 to 54 years old, you must send documents with your citizenship application that prove you can speak and listen in English or French at the CLB level 4 or higher. This means you can:

  • take part in short, everyday conversations about common topics
  • understand simple instructions, questions and directions
  • use basic grammar, including simple structures and tenses
  • show you know enough common words and phrases to answer questions and express yourself

Find out what certificates, diplomas and test results we accept as proof (opens in a new tab) 

You are serving a term of imprisonment, are on parole, or are on probation in Canada

In general, a person cannot become a Canadian citizen if they are serving a term of imprisonment, on parole or on probation. In addition, time spent serving a sentence for an offence in Canada cannot count towards physical presence for the purposes of becoming a Canadian citizen (i.e. you cannot count time spent serving a term of imprisonment, on probation, and/or parole as physical presence). There are, however, the following exceptions:

  • Only the five (5) years preceding the date of your application are considered for calculating physical presence eligibility. Time spent serving a sentence outside of that five-year period does not have to be declared.
  • Time on probation as a result of a conditional discharge may count towards physical presence if the probation was completed successfully (i.e. you were not charged with a breach of probation or a failure to comply during that probation). This time does not have to be declared for the purposes of the physical presence calculator.
  • Time spent serving a term of imprisonment or on probation does not have to be declared if:
    • you were convicted under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, received a youth sentence, and successfully completed that sentence; or
    • you were convicted under the previous Young Offenders Act and successfully completed that sentence.

You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship again when you have finished your term of imprisonment, parole or probation.

You are serving a sentence outside Canada

In general, a person cannot become a Canadian citizen if they are serving a sentence outside Canada. You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship when you have finished your sentence. Remember that any time you were outside Canada (including time you were serving a sentence outside Canada) cannot count towards physical presence for the purposes of becoming a Canadian citizen.

You have been charged with an indictable offence in or outside of Canada, and/or have been investigated for a war crime or crime against humanity

In general, a person cannot become a Canadian citizen if they are charged with, on trial for, or involved in an appeal for:

  • an offence under the Citizenship Act, or
  • an indictable offence in Canada, or
  • an offence committed outside Canada that is equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada, or
  • a war crime or crime against humanity.

You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship when you are no longer charged, or your trial or appeal has ended.

You have had a citizenship application refused for misrepresentation in the past five years

In general, a person cannot become a Canadian citizen if their previous application was refused for misrepresentation in the past five years. You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship again when five years have passed from the date on the refusal letter sent in relation to your previous application.

You have had your Canadian citizenship revoked (taken away) because of fraud in the past ten years

In general, a person cannot become a Canadian citizen if their Canadian citizenship was revoked in the past ten years. You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship when ten years have passed since your Canadian citizenship was revoked.

You have been convicted of an indictable offence in Canada or an offence under the Citizenship Act in the last 4 years

In general, a person is not eligible to become a Canadian citizen if they were convicted of an indictable offence in Canada or any offence under the Citizenship Act in the last four years. You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship when four years have passed since your date of conviction. Remember that any time you spent serving a term of imprisonment, on parole, or on probation cannot count towards physical presence for the purposes of becoming a Canadian citizen. This may impact the date you may be eligible to apply for citizenship.

You have been convicted outside Canada of an offence that is determined to be equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada in the last 4 years, even a pardon or other amnesty was granted for the offence

In general, a person is not eligible to become a Canadian citizen if they were convicted outside Canada of an offence that is equivalent to an indictable offence in Canada in the last four years. This applies even if a pardon or other amnesty was granted for the offence. You may want to wait and check your eligibility to apply for citizenship when four years have passed since your date of conviction.

While a permanent resident, you have been convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason, or spying offences, or served as a member of an armed force of a country or organized armed group and that country or group engaged in armed conflict with Canada.

In general, a person can never become a Canadian citizen if, while they were a permanent resident, they were convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying offences depending on the sentence received, or they served as a member of an armed force of a country or organized armed group and that country or group engaged in armed conflict with Canada. You are not eligible for citizenship if you were sentenced to :

  • at least five years imprisonment for a terrorism conviction as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code (or an offence committed outside Canada that is equivalent to terrorism), or as defined in section 2.1 of the National Defence Act; or
  • life imprisonment for a treason, high treason or spying conviction under section 47 of the Criminal Code, sections 73 to 76 of the National Defence Act, section 78 of the National Defence Act, section 130 of the National Defence Act, or sections 16 to 17 of the Security of Information Act.

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