Canadian Immigration News

How to Apply for Canadian Citizenship Online

2 minute read
"Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently launched an online portal to allow Canadian permanent residents to apply for Canadian citizenship online. Now Canadian permanent residents can complete their citizenship application within a few clicks of their mouse."
Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on:  Sep 28, 2021
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently launched an online portal to allow Canadian permanent residents to apply for Canadian citizenship online. Now Canadian permanent residents can complete their citizenship application within a few clicks of their mouse. 

The IRCC has assured applicants that the online portal is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Applicants will be able to save their application to complete it at a later date, upload all required documents and pay the application fee online. They will also be able to print a PDF and get a confirmation receipt. 

Currently, the online application portal is open to applicants who are over the age of 18 and are:

  • Applying as an individual and not with family
  • Applying without a representative
  • Not living outside Canada as a Crown servant or with a crown servant family member

The IRCC is working on making the portal available to applicants applying with family members, minors under the age of 18, representatives of applicants, and servants of the crown living outside Canada by 2022. 

What Are the Requirements for Canadian Citizenship?

Only Canadian permanent residents who meet the following requirements can apply for Canadian citizenship:

  • Have physically resided in Canada for at least 3 years in the last 5 years
  • Have filed their income tax returns
  • Have passed the citizenship test
  • Met the language proficiency requirements

Having a past criminal record or conviction may make you ineligible for Canadian citizenship based on Criminal Inadmissibility. Once you have met all the requirements and your citizenship application has been approved, you will be required to attend an Oath ceremony to officially become a Canadian citizen. Recently, the IRCC made changes to the Oath of Citizenship.

What Changes Have Been to the Oath of Citizenship?

The permanent residents who take the Oath of Citizenship after June 21, 2021, will be the first ones to take an oath that also recognizes Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Metis and the obligation that all citizens must uphold the treaties between the Crown and the Indigenous nations.

The Oath of Citizenship was amended through Bill C-8, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) made the recommendation to change the oath in their six-volume final report to the Canadian government.

It is part of 94 recommendations curated after hearing the story of more than 6,500 witnesses across the country on what happened when the residential schools were still operational. 

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