1. Prove who you are and that you meet the residency requirement

When you apply for Canadian citizenship, you need to prove who you are and how long you’ve been in Canada.

Include identity documents

With your application for citizenship, include copies of all of the passports or travel documents you’ve had in the 5 years before you apply.

If you no longer have those documents, you have to explain why. For example, when you get a new passport, some countries ask you to give back your previous passport.

You have to include a copy of an identity document that:

• was issued by a government
• shows your name and date of birth
• has your photograph

This can be your passport. If you don’t have a passport, you need to include 2 other identity documents. For example, you could use your Ontario health card and your driver’s licence.

You can’t use your permanent resident card as one of your identity documents.

Include proof of your time in Canada

You have to show that in the 5 years before the day you apply, you were in Canada for at least 1,095 days, which is 3 years. This is called meeting the residency requirement.

And there are rules about which days you can include when adding them up.

The best way to figure out the time is to use the government’s online Physical Presence Calculator and print the results.

You can also print and fill out the form called How to Calculate Physical Presence.