How does one obtain Canadian citizenship?

Question

I am an American citizen and am considering dual citizenship.

Answer 1

First of all, you have to apply to get permanent resident status. You cannot simply apply for citizenship, you need PR status first.

To keep your PR status you have to physically reside in Canada for a total of 2 years out of 5 years after landing.

Once you have PR status, there is a residency requirement - you have to reside in Canada for 3 years out of the 4 years preceding the date of your application for citizenship.

Also check out:

http://www.cic.gc.ca

It's the Canadian government's immigration and citizenship website.

Answer 2

I have a friend who has dual citizenship with Ireland and the US. He contacted the Irish Consulate and obtained a form, completed it, provided proof and was granted it. He had to show a STRONG Irish heritage.

Answer 3

Getting Canadian citizenship isn't too easy, but it's one of the easiest to get as far as citizenships go. There's no problem with having dual or multiple Canadian and other citizenships. Dual US and Canadian citizenship is quite common.

How to do it: first, if you are lucky and one of your parents was Canadian, you are automatically a Canadian, just fill in the form at the link below to get a confirmation certificate (you have to do this before you turn 28).

Canadian Citizenship Automatic for Children of Canadians:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/bornout-info.html

If none of your parents, guardians, or grandparents were Canadian, you have to get Permanent Resident status first before you can become a Citizen. This means you have to submit an application for immigration - to become a Permanent Resident (PR) - and that's more complicated. Applications from the US can take a year or two to process. There are different ways or 'Classes' you can immigrate under: If you have relatives in Canada, it's easier under Family Class immigration. If you don't, you can apply under Skilled Worker Class, especially if you have some post-secondary education like a degree or a trade. If you run a business or want to open one in Canada, you can apply under Business Class. If you speak French well it's easier to get in too since the country is looking for more francophones. Finally, a lot of foreign students get a Student Visa to study in Canada (easy to get), study in Canada, then apply for PR status when they graduate. It's easier to be accepted this way becuase you have some expereince living in Canada for your studies, and have some education.

Citizenship & Immigration Canada: Immigration Applications
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html

CIC: Student Visas
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/index.html

For all PR applications, Canada operates a points system to determine if you are accepted or not as anything other than a refugee; you need to score at least 67 points to be accepted (you get more points for things like education, having work expereince, family in the country, etc), and there's a short self-assessment test you can take online for various classes, Skilled Worker for example:

CIC Skilled Worker Class Self-Assessment
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/assess/

If your immigration application is accepted, you can then vist the country and pay a Right of Landing fee ($475) and get your PR papers stamped. Then you can apply to become a Citizen. Note that you don't really need to become a Citizen in order to enjoy most of the rights that citizens enjoy in most other countries - many people live in Canada or abroad for almost their entire lives and never need citizenship, because Canadian PR status confers virtually all they need, unless they want to vote. If you have PR status, you can come & go as you please, work or live anywhere in the country, get drivers licenses, all ID, etc etc etc.

To become a Canadian Citizen, according to CIC you have to:
* be 18 years of age or older;
* be a Permanent Resident of Canada;
* have lived in Canada for at least three of the four years before applying;
* be able to communicate in either English or French;
* know about Canada; and
* know about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

CIC How to Become a Canadian Citizen
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/becoming-howto.html

There is a simple citizenship test to take before they give you Citizenship, but it's easy. The hardest part for most people is the part requiring them to have lived in the country for 3 of the 4 years before they make the application. Since so many people live & work abroad, they often try to find ways around this.

Answer 4

If you straddle the fence to long it is going to start to hurt. Either stay on this side or cross to the other.

Answer 5

first you have to live there and then apply.