Citizenship

Permanence. The status that cannot be lost.

Canadian citizenship is the irrevocable status that doesn’t expire — no card renewals, no residency obligation, and the right to pass it on to your children. Two pathways exist: naturalization for permanent residents, and citizenship by descent for those born abroad to a Canadian parent.

Free Assessment → See if you qualify

Citizenship · What changes

No longer required

• PR card renewals
• Residency obligation
• Risk of losing status

B E C O M E S

What you gain

Permanent, irrevocable status

1,095

Days physical presence

CLB 4

Min language

0

Renewals needed

Citizenship Program guide

What is Canadian citizenship?

Canadian citizenship is the irrevocable legal status conferred by the Citizenship Act. Unlike permanent residence, which carries a residency obligation and must be renewed, citizenship does not expire and is not lost by living abroad. Once granted, it can only be revoked through proceedings for fraud or misrepresentation in the original application.

The status grants the right to vote, run for public office, hold a Canadian passport, and access government employment that requires security clearance. It also allows you to pass citizenship to your children, including those born abroad, a transmission that was significantly expanded by Bill C-3, in force since December 15, 2025.

Two pathways lead to Canadian citizenship: naturalization for permanent residents who meet the residency, language, and knowledge requirements; and citizenship by descent for people born outside Canada to a Canadian parent. Each pathway has its own evidentiary standards and application process.

What citizenship gives you?

Citizenship is not simply an upgraded version of permanent residence. It changes your legal relationship with Canada permanently, opens employment categories closed to non-citizens, secures rights for your descendants, and grants one of the strongest travel documents in the world. The six benefits below are what most distinguish Canadian citizenship from any other status.

The two pathways to Canadian citizenship

Canadian citizenship is acquired through one of two legal mechanisms: naturalization, which applies to permanent residents who meet specific requirements, and citizenship by descent, which applies to people born outside Canada to a Canadian parent. Each pathway has distinct requirements and procedures.

Naturalization for permanent residents

Naturalization is the most common pathway. To qualify, an applicant must be a permanent resident, have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days (three years) within the five years immediately preceding the application, and have filed Canadian income taxes for at least three of those five years if required to do so under the Income Tax Act.

Applicants between the ages of 18 and 54 must demonstrate English or French language ability at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 in speaking and listening, and must pass the citizenship test. Applicants under 18 or aged 55 and over are exempt from both the language and the test requirements.

Time spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident counts at half value toward the 1,095 day requirement, up to a maximum of 365 days of credited physical presence (the equivalent of 730 calendar days as a temporary resident). At least 730 days must be accumulated as a permanent resident. Applicants must also meet the inadmissibility requirements of the Citizenship Act and have no outstanding immigration enforcement proceedings.

Citizenship by descent and the Bill C-3 reform

Citizenship by descent applies to people born outside Canada to a Canadian parent. Until December 2025, this pathway was restricted by the "first-generation limit" only the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent could inherit citizenship automatically. Subsequent generations born abroad were excluded.

Bill C-3 (An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, in relation to citizenship by descent) received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025 and came into force on December 15, 2025. It removed the first-generation limit and replaced it with a substantial connection rule for births that occur after the law came into force.

For births before December 15, 2025, Bill C-3 applies retroactively. People previously excluded by the first-generation limit, known as Lost Canadians, are now recognized as Canadian citizens by descent, regardless of how many generations have passed since the Canadian-born ancestor. Eligibility depends on documentary proof of the chain of descent.

For births on or after December 15, 2025, the substantial connection rule applies. A Canadian parent who was themselves born abroad must demonstrate at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada (cumulative, before the child's birth) for citizenship to pass to the child. This rule preserves the principle of intergenerational connection without imposing the rigid first-generation limit that Bill C-3 eliminated.

Applications for proof of citizenship under Bill C-3 require detailed documentation: birth certificates across the generations, marriage records, the Canadian-born ancestor's records, and evidence of the substantial connection where applicable. Cases involving older generations frequently require census records, parish records, and archival documents.

The application process

All citizenship applications, whether for naturalization, by descent, or for a citizenship certificate, are processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Most applications are now submitted online through the IRCC secure account, though paper applications remain available for specific cases.

Current IRCC processing times for grants of citizenship typically run between 12 and 18 months from a complete application to ceremony. Citizenship by descent applications under Bill C-3, particularly those involving multi-generational documentation, may take longer due to the evidentiary review required.

Restrictions and prohibitions

Several categories of applicants are prohibited from being granted citizenship under the Citizenship Act, even if the residency, language, and knowledge requirements are otherwise met. These prohibitions exist to protect the integrity of the citizenship grant and to ensure applicants meet conduct standards.

Criminal record in the qualifying period

An applicant cannot be granted citizenship if, in the four years immediately before the application or during processing, they were convicted of an indictable offence in Canada, sentenced to imprisonment, or are currently serving a sentence (including conditional sentences and probation). Pending charges in Canada also operate as a bar until they are resolved.

Active removal orders or immigration proceedings

An applicant who is subject to an unenforced removal order, or who is the subject of a report under section 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), is not eligible for citizenship until those proceedings are resolved. Active proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board can also affect eligibility.

Inadmissibility under IRPA

Citizenship is barred where the applicant would be inadmissible to Canada under sections 34 (security), 35 (human or international rights violations), 35.1 (sanctions), or 37 (organized criminality) of IRPA. These prohibitions are absolute and apply regardless of how long the applicant has held permanent resident status.

Misrepresentation and revocation

The Citizenship Act allows the Minister to revoke citizenship that was obtained, retained, renounced, or resumed by false representation, fraud, or by knowingly concealing material circumstances. Revocation proceedings are conducted before the Federal Court and apply only to acts committed in the original application, not to subsequent conduct.

Foreign criminal proceedings

Convictions outside Canada for offences that are equivalent to indictable offences in Canada may also prohibit a citizenship grant during the relevant period. The Citizenship Act applies the same four-year window to these foreign convictions, and IRCC assesses the Canadian equivalent of the foreign offence.

Why hire an RCIC for citizenship?

Citizenship applications are often described as straightforward compared to other immigration matters. For routine cases, a permanent resident with a clean record, clear residency, and adequate language, that description is fair. But many citizenship cases are not routine, and the consequences of an error are significant.

Bill C-3 applications, in particular, require careful documentary work across multiple generations. Establishing the chain of descent for a Lost Canadian case may involve archival records, foreign vital statistics, immigration files, and detailed legal arguments about the prior law and the new substantial connection rule. A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) brings the procedural and evidentiary expertise to assemble these applications correctly.

Naturalization cases with complications, gaps in physical presence, criminal records, refusals from prior applications, or incomplete tax filings, also benefit from professional preparation. An RCIC can identify whether an applicant is genuinely eligible, advise on whether to delay until eligibility is clearer, and prepare submissions that anticipate IRCC's questions and concerns.

The Megrez team has been advising on Canadian citizenship matters since 1996. We handle naturalization, citizenship by descent under Bill C-3, citizenship for adopted children, proof of citizenship applications, and complex cases involving residency calculation, criminal admissibility, and revocation defence. Contact us to assess which pathway applies to you.

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