Citizenship Act

Marginal note:Grant of citizenship

• 5 (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who

  • (a) makes application for citizenship;

  • (b) is eighteen years of age or over;

  • (c) is a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and has, within the four years immediately preceding the date of his or her application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada calculated in the following manner:

    • (i) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada before his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one-half of a day of residence, and

    • (ii) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada after his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one day of residence;

  • (d) has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada;

  • (e) has an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship; and

  • (f) is not under a removal order and is not the subject of a declaration by the Governor in Council made pursuant to section 20.

• Marginal note:Residence

  (1.1) Any day during which an applicant for citizenship resided with the applicant’s spouse who at the time was a Canadian citizen and was employed outside of Canada in or with the Canadian armed forces or the federal public administration or the public service of a province, otherwise than as a locally engaged person, shall be treated as equivalent to one day of residence in Canada for the purposes of paragraph (1)(c) and subsection 11(1).

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who

  • (a) is a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and is the minor child of a citizen if an application for citizenship is made to the Minister by a person authorized by regulation to make the application on behalf of the minor child; or

  • (b) was born outside Canada, before February 15, 1977, of a mother who was a citizen at the time of his birth, and was not entitled, immediately before February 15, 1977, to become a citizen under subparagraph 5(1)(b)(i) of the former Act, if, before February 15, 1979, or within such extended period as the Minister may authorize, an application for citizenship is made to the Minister by a person authorized by regulation to make the application.

• Marginal note:Waiver by Minister on compassionate grounds

  (3) The Minister may, in his discretion, waive on compassionate grounds,

  • (a) in the case of any person, the requirements of paragraph (1)(d) or (e);

  • (b) in the case of a minor, the requirement respecting age set out in paragraph (1)(b), the requirement respecting length of residence in Canada set out in paragraph (1)(c) or the requirement to take the oath of citizenship; and

  • (c) in the case of any person who is prevented from understanding the significance of taking the oath of citizenship by reason of a mental disability, the requirement to take the oath.

• Marginal note:Special cases

  (4) In order to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada, and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Governor in Council may, in his discretion, direct the Minister to grant citizenship to any person and, where such a direction is made, the Minister shall forthwith grant citizenship to the person named in the direction.