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Question & Answer
What happens after I send in my application for Canadian citizenship?If you're between 18 and 54 years old and you take the , you get your test results right away.
If your citizenship application is successful
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will:
- give you a date for your citizenship ceremony right away, or
- send it to you later by email or ordinary mail.
The ceremony is usually within the next 3 months. In November 2020, IRCC set up a pilot project to offer some citizenship ceremonies online.
If you're 14 years or older, you have to go to the ceremony and say the oath of citizenship. After you do that, you're a Canadian citizen.
Children under 14 don't have to go to the ceremony or take the oath to become citizens.
If you don’t pass the citizenship test
If you qualify to be a citizen in every other way:
- you get another date to take the test, if this was the first time you did the test
- you get a date for an interview, if you've done the test twice already
If you get an interview, a citizenship officer asks you questions to see if you know enough about Canada to become a citizen.
If you tried but you can't pass the test, you may want to find out about asking for a for what the law calls compassionate reasons. Learn more about this in I can’t pass the citizenship test or speak and understand English or French well enough. Can I become a citizen?
If you disagree with a decision
If you disagree with a decision about your citizenship application, you may want to get legal advice. Act quickly because there may be a time limit for steps you can take if you disagree.
