Citizenship
i. Eligibility - To be eligible to become a Canadian citizen, you must: have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years; have filed your taxes, if you need to pass a citizenship test and prove your language skills.
ii. Applying For Citizenship – You will need to satisfy several requirements to submit your Canada Citizenship application. To apply you need to get the application package. Pay the processing fee and then send your application through mail or courier.
iii. Rights And Responsibilities - Canadian permanent residents enjoy many, but not all, of the rights of Canadian citizens. These rights include:
- Legal rights
- Equality rights
- Mobility rights
- Aboriginal Peoples' rights
- The right to peaceful assembly
- The right to vote
- Freedom of thought
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom to practice religion
It is important to recognize that these rights and freedoms come with responsibility. These responsibilities include:
- To obey Canadian law.
- To express ones opinions freely while respecting the rights and freedoms of others.
- To help those in your community, for example, through volunteering.
- To take responsibility to protect our environment and preserve our heritage.
- To eliminate discrimination and injustice.
iv. Dual Citizenship - People can become dual citizens if they were born in one country and moved to another, and eventually obtained a new country's citizenship while keeping their original. Dual citizenship is when more than one country recognizes you as a citizen. Canada allows its citizens to keep their Canadian citizenship and take on foreign citizenship. But dual citizenship is not legally recognized in all countries like it is here in Canada.
