CICC Licence R709592 · MAK Canadian Immigration Services
Last reviewed: August 2026
Canadian Citizenship in 2026: Who Qualifies, How to Apply, and What It Costs
To get Canadian citizenship as a permanent resident you apply for a grant of citizenship. IRCC requires at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada inside the five years before the day you sign, and that five year eligibility period must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident. The fee list shows $653 for an adult and $100 for a minor. If you are 18 to 54 on the day you sign, the citizenship test and the language requirement apply to you. Every figure in this box was re-read on IRCC’s own pages on 12 September 2026.
If you are a permanent resident planning to apply for a grant of Canadian citizenship this year, three things decide your plan: what it costs, what the test involves, and whether you or your representative presses submit.
All three were re-checked against the IRCC pages listed at the end on September 12, 2026, including the live fee list. Where IRCC does not publish something, this article says so rather than filling the gap.
How to apply for Canadian citizenship, step by step
Here is the whole route in order. Each step has its own section further down this page.
- Confirm you are on the grant route. A permanent resident who wants to become a citizen applies for a grant of citizenship. Somebody who is already a citizen applies for proof of citizenship instead, and IRCC lists separate applications again for Canadian Armed Forces members, adopted children and stateless persons (canada.ca, Apply for Canadian citizenship, page modified 21 April 2026, read 12 September 2026).
- Check that you meet the requirements. Valid permanent resident status, the physical presence count, income tax filing where you had an obligation to file, and, if you are 18 to 54 on the day you sign, language proof and the citizenship test.
- Count your days. At least 1,095 days physically in Canada during the five years before the day you sign, and that five year eligibility period must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident (canada.ca, Who can apply, page modified 21 April 2026, read 12 September 2026). The calculator now lives inside your IRCC online account.
- Gather your documents, including your language proof if the age band applies to you.
- Pay the fee. $653 for an adult and $100 for a minor, on IRCC’s fee list read on 12 September 2026.
- File online or on paper, knowing before you choose that IRCC will not let a representative submit the online application for you.
- Sit the citizenship test if you are 18 to 54 on the day you signed.
- Take the oath at a ceremony. IRCC calls it the final step before becoming a Canadian citizen.
Almost everybody who reaches step one is already a permanent resident, and most got there through an economic programme. If you do not have permanent residence yet, citizenship is not the application you need. Start with our Express Entry overview and come back to this page once you have status.
This article is about becoming a citizen, not proving you already are one
Read this paragraph before anything else, because a large share of the people searching this topic are on the wrong route.
This article covers the grant of citizenship, which is what people mean when they say Canadian citizenship by naturalization: a permanent resident who is not a citizen becoming one. IRCC’s own pages call it a grant of citizenship rather than naturalization, so that is the phrase you will see on canada.ca. If you were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent, you may already be a citizen, in which case you would not apply for a grant at all. Citizenship by descent is fact-specific and the rules changed on December 15, 2025, so check your own facts rather than assuming either way. A person who is already a citizen applies for a citizenship certificate, which is documentary proof of a status already held, and IRCC’s fee list shows that at $75. Our guides to the second generation born abroad and to Bill C-3 cover the descent route.
What you have to meet before you can apply
Permanent resident status
You must have valid permanent resident status. You must not have unfulfilled conditions attached to your permanent residence, and you must not be under a removal order. An expired PR card does not by itself end your status, and our guide to PR card renewal and the 730 days covers that separately. On immigration or fraud reviews, IRCC does not say you are barred from applying. Its adult “Who can apply” page states: “You can apply for citizenship, but we may not process (suspend) your application while you’re still under review.”
1,095 days of physical presence
You must have been physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five year eligibility period before the date you sign. Each day in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person during that period counts as half a day, and you can use a maximum of 365 days of physical presence that way. That credit is where most people miscount, and it deserves its own working through rather than a compressed paragraph here.
Income tax filing
You may need to have filed your personal income taxes in Canada for at least three years during the five years right before you apply, in any year where you had an obligation to file. This is checked against the filing obligations that apply to the applicant’s circumstances.
Language, for applicants aged 18 to 54
If you are between 18 and 54 years old on the day you sign, you must show adequate knowledge of English or French. You prove it with a document rather than by sitting a new test at IRCC’s request. IRCC’s document list for the adult application accepts secondary or post-secondary education completed in English or French, results from an approved third party test, a LINC or CLIC course certificate, or a certificate from certain provincial language programs. The third party tests IRCC names are CELPIP-G, CELPIP-General LS, PTE Core, IELTS General Training (the Academic version is not accepted), TEF, TEFAQ, DALF, DELF, TCF, TCFQ and TEF IRN. Book the right version before you pay for a sitting, because an IELTS Academic result will not satisfy this requirement.
If you are 55 or older on the day you sign, this requirement does not apply to you.
The prohibitions
IRCC will not approve a citizenship application where the applicant is under a prohibition. Separately, time spent serving a term of imprisonment, on parole or on probation does not count as time in Canada for the physical presence calculation. Both points need to be checked before you pay, not after.
What it costs in 2026
For an adult aged 18 or over, the grant of citizenship fee is $653. IRCC’s fee list states that the adult fee includes the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee. With the right of citizenship fee shown separately at $123, the processing component is $530.
For a minor under 18, the fee is $100, which IRCC’s fee list describes as the processing fee. Minors do not pay the right of citizenship fee.
Because people mix these up, the same fee list shows a citizenship certificate at $75, a search of citizenship records at $75, resuming citizenship as an adult at $530, and renouncing citizenship at $100.
| Citizenship fee, September 12, 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Grant of citizenship, adult 18 and over | $653 |
| Right of citizenship fee, included in the adult total above | $123 |
| Grant of citizenship, minor under 18 | $100 |
| Citizenship certificate, proof of citizenship | $75 |
| Search of citizenship records | $75 |
| Resume citizenship, adult | $530 |
| Renounce citizenship | $100 |
The fee that changed on March 31, 2026
IRCC announced that the right of citizenship fee would increase by $3.25, from $119.75 to $123, and that applications received on or after March 31, 2026 are subject to the new fee. That is why an adult total of $649.75 still appears on pages written in January and never updated. If a page you are reading still shows $649.75, it is out of date, and so is anything else on it.
What the fee does not include
The $653 is the government fee. IRCC does not publish a wider cost list, so treat this as budgeting rather than as a rule. It does not include a language test if you need to sit one, your photos, translation of any document not in English or French, a police certificate if your circumstances require one, courier or postage on a paper application, or professional fees if you use a representative.
The citizenship test
Who has to take it
If you are between 18 and 54 years old on the day you sign your application, you have to take the citizenship test. Applicants under 18, applicants 55 and over, and applicants with an approved waiver are exempt.
Format, length and pass mark
The test is 20 questions that are either multiple choice or true or false. It is 45 minutes long. You must get at least 15 of the 20 questions right to pass. You can take it in English or French, and it does not contain questions that assess your language skills in either language.
The content comes from the official study guide, Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. Study the guide itself. It is the source the questions are drawn from.
How it is delivered
The default is an online test with webcam monitoring, and you are given 30 days to complete it once you are invited. If you need an accommodation, IRCC sets out alternatives including an in person or Microsoft Teams test, a paper test, an oral test, and alternative formats such as Braille.
What happens if you fail
You have 3 chances to pass the test. Depending on your results you may be invited to a ceremony, an interview, a re-test or a hearing. Failing the first attempt is not the end of the application.
Online or on paper
IRCC says applying online is faster and more efficient than applying on paper, that built-in checks help catch mistakes before you submit, and that you get a confirmation email once the application is submitted. Most applicants can apply online. Two groups cannot, and one of them is the reason this article exists.
Why your representative cannot submit the online application
This is the part almost nobody publishes, and we are a consultancy publishing it about ourselves.
A representative may help you to answer the questions in the online application, may communicate with IRCC for you after you submit, and may provide other assistance, information and advice. But IRCC requires that you create your own account with your own email address, that you do not share your account or password with anyone including your representative, that you fill out the online application yourself, and that you sign, date and submit it yourself.
IRCC’s instruction is explicit: if you want your representative to complete and submit your application for you, apply on paper.
So there is a genuine choice with a cost either way. Online filing is faster and has error checking, but you do the data entry and you press submit, with your consultant advising alongside. Paper filing lets your representative prepare and submit the whole package, but you lose the built-in validation and you add mail time at both ends.
Be sceptical of any representative who offers to log into your IRCC account and submit online for you. That is contrary to IRCC’s instruction not to share your account, and the account is in your name.
Who must apply on paper
Two groups. Applicants whose physical presence calculation counts time spent outside Canada as a Crown servant, or as a family member of one, must apply on paper. So must anyone who wants a representative to complete and submit the application for them.
The paper route, if you use it
You sign the application form, you date it the day you sign it, you make sure the package is complete, and you send it to the address IRCC gives for your delivery method, because regular mail and courier go to two different places. Regular mail goes to Case Processing Centre, Sydney, Citizenship Grants, P.O. Box 7000, Sydney, NS B1P 6V6. Courier goes to the IRCC Digitization Centre, Citizenship, 3050 Wilson Ave, New Waterford, NS B1H 5V8. Check both against IRCC’s how to apply page before you send anything. IRCC’s adult paper package is built around the application form CIT 0002 and the document checklist CIT 0007, plus colour photocopies of the identity pages of every passport and travel document covering your eligibility period, your physical presence calculation, your language document if you are 18 to 54, two pieces of personal identification, two identical printed colour citizenship photos to specification, and your fee receipt. A representative also requires form IMM 5476, and IRCC lists further situational documents such as a police certificate, translations, and name change records.
The physical presence calculator has moved
If you last looked at this a few years ago, the calculator was a standalone tool on the IRCC website. It is not any more. The calculator is now in the IRCC online account, and IRCC states that you can only use the calculator after you create your account.
Paper applicants have two options. You can use the online calculator, print the completed calculation and include the printout with your application, which is what IRCC recommends. Or, if you cannot or would rather not use it, you can fill out and print form CIT 0407 and include that instead.
The oath and the ceremony
If your application is approved, IRCC says most applicants must take the oath of citizenship at a citizenship ceremony, and it calls that the final step before becoming a Canadian citizen (canada.ca, Apply for citizenship: after you apply, page modified 21 April 2026, read 12 September 2026). This article used to print a minimum age for the oath. We have taken it out: the IRCC pages we could load on 12 September 2026 do not agree on the figure and IRCC’s dedicated oath page would not load for us, so follow the instructions in your own invitation rather than a number from an article. Current IRCC guidance is also not fully aligned on test location: the general after-application page says applicants should be available in person in Canada for the test, interview and ceremony, while the test-specific page says most applicants take the online test and can take it from anywhere. Follow the exact instructions in your invitation for the test and any interview or ceremony, and tell IRCC if you plan to leave Canada for more than two weeks in a row.
Processing times
We do not publish a figure. Citizenship processing times move, and a number in an article ages badly and then misleads people planning around it. Use the IRCC processing times tool, and check it again close to the date you intend to sign. Treat any published average as describing routine files. If IRCC asks you for more documents, your file is no longer routine and the average stops describing it.
How MAK helps with a Canadian citizenship application
We are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, with offices in Mississauga and Scarborough. On a citizenship file most of the value is in checking rather than filing, so it is worth naming exactly what the work is.
- The day count. Rebuilding five years of travel from passports and entry and exit records, applying the half day credit correctly, and telling you the earliest date you can safely sign.
- The signing date. The five year window is measured backwards from it, so the date you sign is a decision rather than an afterthought.
- Language proof. Checking whether what you already hold satisfies IRCC before you pay for a test you may not need.
- Online or paper. Working out which route suits your file, given that IRCC will not let us submit the online application for you.
- Risk before you pay. Prohibitions, unfulfilled conditions on your permanent residence, and the kind of travel history that attracts a residence questionnaire.
We will also tell you to wait if waiting is the right advice. Nothing on this page is a prediction that any application will be approved.
Before you sign
The day count and the signature date are connected because the five year window is measured backwards from the day you sign. Both should be checked before the application is submitted.
If you want the count checked, the eligibility period confirmed, and the trade-off between online and paper filing explained for your situation, our licensed consultants in Mississauga can review it before you commit the fee. We will also tell you if you should wait, which is sometimes the right advice.
This article was reviewed by Usman Khalil, RCIC, R709592. It is general information about immigration rules as published by IRCC and is not legal advice about your file. Nothing here is a prediction that any application will be approved.
If you want your day count, your signing date and your filing route checked before you pay the $653, a licensed RCIC in Mississauga can review the file first.
The rest of our Canadian citizenship guides
- The 1,095 days and the half day credit, worked through
- The citizenship residence questionnaire: what triggers it and how to answer
- Applying for a minor child
- The citizenship certificate, for people who are already citizens
- Second generation born abroad
- Citizenship through a grandparent, and Bill C-3
- How to check IRCC processing times yourself
Frequently asked questions
How do I get Canadian citizenship?
If you are a permanent resident, you apply for a grant of citizenship. IRCC requires valid permanent resident status, at least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada during the five years before you sign, a five year eligibility period that includes at least 730 days as a permanent resident, income tax filing for at least three of those five years where you had an obligation to file, and, if you are 18 to 54 on the day you sign, language proof and the citizenship test. Read on IRCC’s Who can apply page, 12 September 2026.
How long do I have to live in Canada before I can apply for citizenship?
At least 1,095 days, which is three years, inside the five years before the date you sign. Days spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person during that period count as half a day each, up to a maximum of 365 days of credit, and the five year period must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident.
What is Canadian citizenship by naturalization?
It is the same thing as a grant of citizenship: a permanent resident who is not a citizen becoming one by applying, meeting the requirements and taking the oath. IRCC’s own pages use the words grant of citizenship rather than naturalization.
Is Canadian citizenship the same as permanent residence?
No. Permanent residence is a status with a residency obligation attached to it and a card that has to be renewed. Citizenship has neither. Our guide to PR card renewal and the 730 days covers the permanent resident side.
How much is the citizenship fee in 2026?
$653 for an adult aged 18 or over, which IRCC’s fee list describes as including the processing fee and the $123 right of citizenship fee, leaving a $530 processing component. $100 for a minor under 18, which is the processing fee. Both figures were re-checked on the live IRCC fee list on September 12, 2026.
Did the citizenship fee go up in 2026?
Yes. IRCC announced that the right of citizenship fee would increase by $3.25, from $119.75 to $123, for applications received on or after March 31, 2026. That moved the adult total from $649.75 to $653.
Can my immigration consultant apply for citizenship for me?
Not through the online system. IRCC requires you to create your own account, fill out the online application yourself, and sign, date and submit it yourself. A representative may help you answer the questions and may communicate with IRCC for you after submission. If you want your representative to complete and submit the application for you, IRCC directs you to apply on paper.
Do I have to take the citizenship test if I am 55?
No. The test applies to applicants who are between 18 and 54 years old on the day they sign the application. The same age band applies to the language requirement. What matters is your age on the signing date.
How many questions are on the citizenship test and what is the pass mark?
20 questions in 45 minutes, and you need at least 15 correct. Questions are multiple choice or true or false, drawn from Discover Canada, and you can take the test in English or French. You have 3 chances to pass.
Do I need an IELTS or CELPIP result to apply for citizenship?
Not necessarily. An approved third party test is one accepted proof, but IRCC also accepts secondary or post-secondary education completed in English or French, a LINC or CLIC certificate, or a certificate from certain provincial language programs. If you already hold one of those, you do not need to sit a new test. If you do sit a test, book the version IRCC names. For IELTS that is IELTS General Training, and IELTS Academic is not on the accepted list. CELPIP-G and CELPIP-General LS are both named.
Can I apply for my children at the same time?
A minor who is a permanent resident can apply, and IRCC’s fee list shows $100 for a grant of citizenship for a minor under 18. The requirements that apply to a minor depend on the family situation, including whether a parent is a citizen or is applying at the same time, so check the minor pages on canada.ca for your own facts.
Do I get my fee back if I am refused?
Partly. IRCC states that in most cases application fees cannot be refunded once it starts processing, so do not plan on recovering the processing fee if the application is refused. The right of citizenship fee is treated differently. IRCC lists it among the fees it refunds where an application is refused or withdrawn. Nothing here is a prediction that any application will be approved.
Official sources reviewed
- IRCC, Fee list. Grant of citizenship adult $653, minor $100, right of citizenship $123, certificate $75, search $75, resume $530, renounce $100. Date modified 2026-07-02. ircc.canada.ca
- IRCC, Notice: The right of citizenship fee is increasing. The $3.25 increase from $119.75 to $123 and the March 31, 2026 effective date. canada.ca
- IRCC, Prepare for the citizenship test. 20 questions, 45 minutes, 15 of 20 to pass, 3 chances, Discover Canada. canada.ca
- IRCC, The citizenship test: how it works. The 18 to 54 age band, exemptions, online delivery with webcam monitoring, and accommodations. canada.ca
- IRCC, Apply for citizenship: How to apply. The representative rule, the two groups who must apply on paper, and the separate regular mail and courier addresses. canada.ca
- IRCC, Apply for citizenship. Online filing and the built-in checks. canada.ca
- IRCC, Apply for citizenship: Who can apply. PR status, 1,095 days, the 365 day credit cap, tax filing, language, the test, prohibitions and the oath. canada.ca
- IRCC, Citizenship eligibility for adults: Who can apply. The wording that you can apply but IRCC may suspend processing while you are under review. canada.ca
- IRCC, Forms and documents for the adult paper application. CIT 0002, CIT 0007, IMM 5476 and the accepted language proof. canada.ca
- IRCC, Calculate your physical presence. The calculator inside the online account and form CIT 0407 for paper applicants. canada.ca
- IRCC, Apply for citizenship: After you apply. Availability in person in Canada and the two week travel notification. canada.ca
- IRCC, Ask for a refund, and the Help Centre answer on refunds after a refusal, which lists the right of citizenship fee as refundable. ircc.canada.ca
- IRCC, Check processing times. canada.ca
- IRCC, Check your application status. The Citizenship Tracker account, which needs your unique client identifier and the application number from your acknowledgement of receipt. Date modified 2026-08-25. canada.ca
Official sources last checked: September 12, 2026. On that date the IRCC fee list still showed $653 for an adult grant, $100 for a minor and $123 for the right of citizenship, with a date modified of 2026-07-02; and the Who can apply page still showed 1,095 days, the 365 day credit cap, the 730 days as a permanent resident and the 18 to 54 age band, with a date modified of 2026-04-21.
One thing we could not verify on September 12, 2026: the minimum age for taking the oath of citizenship. IRCC’s after-you-apply page gives no age and its dedicated oath page would not load for us, so we removed the age this article used to print rather than repeat a figure we cannot show you a source for.
This article is general information about Canadian immigration law and policy. It is not legal advice and it does not create a consultant and client relationship. Immigration rules change without notice. Confirm your own situation with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or a lawyer before you act.
