Canadian Citizenship

Canadian Citizenship
Citizenship in Canada is one of the most prized statuses in the world. Every year, around 170,000 permanent residents pass the examinations and qualifications required and are granted full Canadian citizenship. The first step, of course, is to establish yourself as a permanent resident of the country.

There are several ways to achieve an immigrant visa to live and work in Canada full time. Most pathways are through employment or business. This includes both working for a Canadian company as a highly-skilled employee or opening up your own business as an entrepreneur. If you have enough cash you can even invest your way into a permanent residency visa.

The next step is to live full time in Canada. You cannot even apply for Canadian citizenship until you have lived in the country for at least three years out of four. Basically, you have to be in Canada for 1,095 days within a four-year period to qualify for this part of the application.

Language is another major component in the citizenship process. Canada recognises both English and French as official languages, and you will need to demonstrate a high proficiency in at least one of them. Every applicant must take the citizenship knowledge test that is based around facts about Canada and its government and then undergo an interview with CIC staff. During these two steps, the staff will be able to determine if your language skills are adequate.

Any history of criminal activity anywhere in the world will make it very hard to achieve Canadian citizenship. This includes being convicted of a criminal act within three years prior to applying for citizenship, being under investigation for crimes against humanity or being on parole or probation at the time of application.

To become a Canadian citizen it is essential that you fully understand the responsibilities and rights of being a citizen. You need to understand the history, institutions, values and symbols of Canada as well as understand the responsibility to vote in elections. All of these subjects are tested in the citizenship exam and during the interview with CIC staff.

Overall, gaining citizenship in Canada is not particularly difficult or daunting as long as you meet the criteria and have taken the time to learn English or French and the history of Canada. Canada encourages emigrants to strive for citizenship, so there is a lot of support and resources available to help. There is an excellent resource for the steps involved in Canadian citizenship on the government's immigration website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become-eligibility.asp.