In order to qualify to immigrate, you must:

• be 18 years old to apply for Canadian citizenship for yourself, or on behalf of a child, in which case you must be able to prove that:
• you are the child’s parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian
• the child is a currently a permanent resident of Canada
• one of the child’s parents is a Canadian citizen, or in the process of applying to become a citizen along with the child

Language skills are an extremely important factor when it comes to being assessed as a good candidate to immigrate to Canada. If you are in need of development in this area, 123Visa can assist in identifying the many resources to help you improve your language skills to ensure you are meeting Canadian Language Benchmark standards required for the program through which you are applying.

Language skills requirements vary from province to province and from program to program and employers may specify a level for a position as well. Below is a breakdown of the level of Canadian Language Benchmark standards required for each National Occupational Classification:

• NOC Skill Type 0 – CLB 7 (English) or NCLC 7 (French) for management jobs such as restaurant managers, mine managers, shore captains
• NOC Skill Level A – CLB 7 (English) or NCLC 7 (French) for professional jobs including those which require a university degree such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects
• NOC Skill Level B – CLB 5 (English) or NCLC 5 (French) for technical jobs and skilled trades including those which usually require a college diploma, special training or apprenticeships such as chefs and cooks, butchers and bakers; carpenters, electricians, plumbers; industrial and construction, maintenance and equipment operation trades; supervisory and technical positions in natural resources and agriculture; processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators
• NOC Skill Level C – CLB 4 (English) or NCLC 4 (French) for intermediate jobs include those jobs that require high school and possible training for the position such as food and beverage processing, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing and the long-haul trucking industry
• NOC Skill Level D – CLB 4 (English) or NCLC 4 (French) for labour jobs including those jobs where on-the-job training is usually provided for positions such as cleaning staff, groundskeepers, oil field workers, fruit pickers

In order to prove your language skills or meet the requirements, you must:

• (if you are between the ages of 14 and 64), prove that you have at least basic knowledge of either language and can speak and listen to enough common words and phrases to get by in your community and/or workplace
• know basic grammar and be able to form simple sentences, including using past tense, present tense and future tense
• be able to understand questions, instructions, laws, signage for navigating through a city on foot, bicycles, or in vehicles, reading food and medication labels, etc.
• submit acceptable proof from an accredited source that your language skills meet the requirements to become a Canadian citizen in the form of a diploma, certificate or transcript from one of the following:
• test results from a CIC-approved organization
• secondary a or post-secondary education program (in either English or French), within or outside Canada
• a government-funded language training program
• the citizenship officer in charge of your case will also access your language skills during your interviews
• take the Citizen and Immigration Canada Language test to prove that you meet the Minimum Language Level Canadian Language Benchmark standards in English or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) in French, to prove speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, required by each province, with skilled workers, entrepreneurs and international students requiring a higher level than semi-skilled workers
• submit test results that are less than two years at the time of submitting your application
• you may be able to score points by having a minimum language level CLB 5 in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in a second official language

• establishing permanent residence status in Canada is required in order to be awarded Canadian citizenship
• you can live in Canada as a permanent resident without obtaining Canadian citizenship, or
• you can maintain your permanent resident status and go forward with the citizenship application process, having increased your chances of being considered a good candidate for citizenship by first becoming an established permanent resident
• you must spend at least two years or a minimum of 730 days within a five-year period living in Canada when a permanent resident
• residing outside of Canada for longer periods may cause you to lose your permanent resident status
• you are expected to pay the same taxes as Canadian Citizens on municipal, provincial and federal levels
• you are eligible to receive most the same health care and social benefits, as well as protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• you must abide by all the established Canadian laws in place to protect you and all Canadians
• you cannot vote, seek political appointments or hold high-level security clearance positions

Check out the Permanent Resident Category 

There are several categories under which you can apply to be considered a good candidate for the Permanent Resident Status, including both Economic Classes and Non-economic Classes.

Read more about requirements for Permanent Resident Status on the CIC website.

In order to apply for Canadian Citizenship, you must:

• prove that you have lived as a permanent resident of Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years immediately before submitting your application
• establish yourself as a permanent resident before you start counting the 5 years and also have actually been in Canada for at least 183 days during each of the four of those 6 years. (children and certain Crown servants and their family member may be excepted)

• all personal income tax filings must be up to date in four tax years that are partially or fully within the six years prior to submitting your application
• business and farming entrepreneurs along with investors have to provide more details as far as business ownership, ability to run a successful business, etc. as seen in the requirements for these sections in the Provincial Nominee Programs

During the application process to become a Canadian citizen you are required to declare ‘your intent to reside.  You can demonstrate plans to settle on a permanent basis, by submitting proof of networking on a professional, social and community levels, property rental/ownership, having family ties, etc.

Your choices are to:

• live in Canada
• work as a Crown servant outside of Canada
• live with a family member who is a Crown servant outside of Canada

Canada wishes its new citizens will embrace the many aspects of life in this great country and requires that you complete an exam to determine how familiar you are with life in Canada. The government of Canada has issued a Discover Canada study guide that prepares you for some of the areas that you are required to know about in order to be successful at taking the citizenship test. The test is usually a written test, but you may be asked to attend an interview with a citizenship officer based on a number of factors. This could include taking an oral test with the officer if your ability to read and write in English or French prevents you from writing the exam. The test will cover the following areas:

• values and the laws of the land and various levels of Canadian government
• institutions and systems for participating in your community including voting and understanding policies in Canada’s democracy
• Canadian citizen rights and responsibilities
• Canadian symbols
• Canada’s history
• Canada’s geographic regions

If you are between the ages of 14 and 64 upon applying for citizenship, you must establish your Citizenship Test Date and take the test to become a Canadian citizen.  You are required to bring the following to your written or oral test:

• any original documents you submitted when applying for citizenship and
• any passport or travel documents that you were using in the previous four years before applying for citizenship

You must not have any existing situation that would prohibit you from immigrating to Canada. You must not be:

• currently serving a sentence inside or outside Canada
• currently on parole or on probation in Canada
• currently facing or appealing charges for an indictable offence within Canada  in Canada or an indictable offence outside Canada or convicted of either one within the four years immediately prior to submitting your application for citizenship

You may not count any time incarcerated, on parole or probation as accumulated time residing in Canada and are subject to other factors which govern becoming a Canadian citizen.