After acquiring permanent residency of Canada, most immigrants focus on obtaining Canadian citizenship to integrate in the Canadian community. Furthermore, Canada has one of the powerful passports in the world and Canadians enjoy perk of visiting many countries visa-free.

However, for many reasons, your citizenship application may be rejected. This article delves into the 5 most frequent causes of application rejection and what you can do to prevent them.

Not meeting the physical presence requirements

To become a Canadian citizen, applicants must have spent at least three of the five years, or a total of 1,095 days, before submitting their application.

However, many candidates incorrectly believe that the required time period to maintain their permanent resident status (730 days) is the same as the period needed to become a Canadian citizen (1095 days)

To precisely calculate and satisfy your citizenship time requirements, calculate the number of days you spent in Canada.

If you arrived in Canada as a temporary resident and were physically present, you may be able to claim your time towards citizenship physical presence requirements.

Every day you spend in Canada as a temporary resident before becoming a permanent resident counts as a half day, up to a maximum of 365 days.

As a result, to receive the maximum 365-day credit, you must be physically present in Canada as a temporary resident for 730 days within your eligibility period.

Failure to provide tax records

In Canada, filing taxes is a requirement, and prospective citizens must have done so for the previous three years to apply for citizenship.

The simplest way to evidence your tax records is to give IRCC authorization to contact CRA to verify you have submitted your taxes and meet the requirement.

Or you may provide your other personal records proofing that you have been filing taxes. Failure to provide evidence of your tax records may result in refusal.

Unable to pass the citizenship test

The Canadian citizenship test may not be as easy, so don’t take the test lightly. Instead, give yourself enough time to learn and prepare for the test.

Typically, the exam includes twenty multiple-choice and true/false questions covering Canada’s history, geography, economics, government, laws, and symbols. To pass, candidates must get at least 15 correct questions, equating to a 75% or better score.

However, if you do not pass the citizenship test, IRCC will schedule you for a second try, provided you meet all the other requirements.

If you fail the second time, IRCC will reject your application if you don’t pass the oral hearing, which will be held to test your expertise.

Nevertheless, not all is hopeless. You can reapply for citizenship, but you’ll have to retake the test.

Lacking evidence of language proficiency

To be given Canadian citizenship, you must achieve Canadian Language Benchmarks Level 4 (CLB 4) or more in speaking and listening.

Since people typically have to pass a language test to become permanent residents, this shouldn’t be difficult. However, the result of this language test should be on file, even if it has expired.

You can use the same results to demonstrate your language proficiency.

If not, you will have to provide additional documentation to demonstrate that you meet the CLB 4 requirements, which may cause your application to be delayed.

Skipping the citizenship ceremony

All applicants who are 14 years or older must attend the Oath of Citizenship for Canada. But many people might not realize that you must be physically present in the country to do this.

The government has allowed virtual ceremonies for COVID, but the applicant must be in Canada.

If you are traveling or unavailable to attend the Oath of the Citizenship ceremony, you can reschedule for a later date.

Lastly, if your citizenship application is denied, the immigration letter that follows should explain why in detail. You can reapply for citizenship based on that if you’ve resolved the problem that caused your initial application to be denied.

However, the good news is that no time has to pass before you can resubmit your citizenship application.

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) licensed by CICC (formerly known as ICCRC) with member number R708618. He brings extensive knowledge of immigration law and new changes to rapidly evolving IRCC.