What to expect at the ceremony

Find out what you can expect on the day of the ceremony.

On this page

• What happens at the ceremony
• Ceremony etiquette
• What to wear
• Oath of citizenship and national anthem

What happens at the ceremony

Both virtual and in-person ceremonies

• will last a few hours (check your invitation for the arrival time and duration)
• generally include
  • registration and brief ceremony instructions
  • the ceremony itself (including speeches, oath taking, congratulations and national anthem)
  • video presentations
  • an opportunity for photos with the presiding official and special guests, if applicable
  • post-ceremony instructions, such as
    • information about your certificate and a passport
    • what to do after the ceremony
• may include special guests or guest speakers, such as an Indigenous participant, elected officials (in-person ceremonies only), members of the community and performers

Video: The Canadian Citizenship Ceremony: What you need to know

Alternative formats and transcript

What happens at the virtual ceremony

1. Use the link in your invitation to join the ceremony.
   • To protect your privacy, replace your screen name with your seat number (the number is in your invitation).
2. Wait until we let you in the videoconference:
   • At larger ceremonies (where there can be over 100 candidates), you may have to wait up to 30 minutes before we greet you and let you into the virtual ceremony.
3. During the virtual registration, we’ll meet you individually or your family privately to
   • verify your identity, even if you have a face covering
   • ask questions to make sure you’re not in a situation that prevents you from becoming a citizen(opens in a new tab) 
   • cut your PR card with a pair of scissors
4. Before we let you in the virtual ceremony room, you must wait until we register all candidates (even if we already registered you).
5. The ceremony takes place and candidates take the oath of citizenship.
6. Before we end the virtual ceremony, we’ll give you important instructions, including how to sign and submit the Oath or Affirmation of Citizenship form in your invitation.
   • Signing the form confirms that you took the oath, and you must return it.
   • You must sign this form on the day you take the oath of citizenship, not the day before or after.
   • The invitation will also tell you how to sign the form and email it back to us.
   • We’ll tell you when your certificate will be available(opens in a new tab) .

What happens at the in-person ceremony

1. When you arrive at the ceremony location, we:
   • direct you to the registration table
   • verify your identity, even if you have a face covering
   • ask questions to make sure you’re not in a situation that prevents you from becoming a citizen(opens in a new tab) 
   • collect
     • your PR card and
     • the signed personal release and consent form in your invitation
2. Before the ceremony starts, you must wait in the ceremony room until we register all candidates (even if we already registered you). There could be over 100 candidates in the ceremony.
3. The ceremony takes place, and candidates take the oath of citizenship.
4. New citizens receive their certificate, and they’re congratulated.
5. During the ceremony, we ask you to sign the Oath or Affirmation of Citizenship form. Signing this form confirms that you took the oath.
6. We tell you some information about the citizenship certificate.
   • If you confirm that you want a paper citizenship certificate
     • you get it at the ceremony
     • parents get paper certificates for their children if they’re under 14
   • If you confirm that you want an e-certificate, we tell you when your certificate will be available(opens in a new tab) .
7. A reception may take place afterwards and media may be present.

Ceremony etiquette

If you’re a citizenship candidate or guest (family and friends), there are things you must, can and can’t do at the ceremony.

Both virtual and in-person ceremonies

You must

•  dress appropriately
•  behave in a respectful, appropriate and safe manner

You cannot

•  present personal or political views
•  promote your business or sell a product

Virtual ceremony

You must

•  pick a safe and quiet room or area (no noises and disruptions)
•  make sure your head and shoulders are visible through the camera
•  if you use a handheld device, stabilize it so it doesn’t fall
•  sit down throughout the ceremony, even during the oath taking and singing of O Canada

You may

•  display the following behind you:
  • a plain background
  • a Canadian flag or symbol, or
  • the colours red and white
•  take a photo of yourself and your family^{Footnote *}
  • with our Presiding Official and special guests (if applicable)
  • for personal use only

You cannot

•  share the videoconference link with anyone else, even with family members you applied with
•  take photos or recordings during the registration or ceremony
  • If you do, we may pause, delay or reschedule your ceremony.
•  use any virtual backgrounds
•  attend while doing any distracting or dangerous activities, such as driving a car

In-person ceremony

As a citizenship candidate, if you can, you must stand for the oath taking and O Canada.

You may take pictures of yourself and your family during the ceremony for personal use only.

You cannot wear scented products, such as perfumes and colognes. They may cause headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath and skin irritation for others.

What to wear

You should wear business attire that’s appropriate for the occasion.

You can also wear

• traditional, religious or ceremonial clothing
• head coverings
• the colours red and white
• a medical mask
• a face covering

If you have a face covering or medical mask

We’ll ask you to remove it temporarily to verify your identity during registration.

• Whether the ceremony is in person or virtual, we can accommodate you if you want to remove the face covering in a private room.
• If the ceremony is virtual, we’ll use a private virtual room.

You can wear your face covering or mask again after the registration and during the ceremony.

Oath of citizenship and national anthem

At the ceremony, you will swear the words of the citizenship oath and sing the national anthem (O Canada). We encourage you to practise them before the ceremony.

Oath of citizenship

Many people take the oath with you. We encourage you to repeat it after the presiding official in both official languages if you can. This is a symbol of your commitment to respect Canada's 2 official languages, English and French.

English version

I swear (or affirm)
That I will be faithful
And bear true allegiance
To His Majesty
King Charles the Third
King of Canada
His Heirs and Successors
And that I will faithfully observe
The laws of Canada
Including the Constitution
Which recognizes and affirms
The Aboriginal and treaty rights of
First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples
And fulfill my duties
As a Canadian citizen.

Swearing or affirming the oath

You can swear or affirm the oath.

• Swearing is for people who want to refer to their religious belief
  • If you want to swear the oath, you can bring your holy book to the ceremony.
• Affirming is for people who don’t want to refer to a religious belief

French version

Je jure (ou j'affirme solennellement)
Que je serai fidèle
Et porterai sincère allégeance
À Sa Majesté
Le roi Charles Trois
Roi du Canada
À ses héritiers et successeurs
Que j'observerai fidèlement
Les lois du Canada
Y compris la Constitution
Qui reconnaît et confirme les droits
Ancestraux ou issus de traités
Des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis
Et que je remplirai loyalement
Mes obligations
De citoyen canadien.

National anthem: O Canada

We’ll sing a bilingual version of the national anthem at the ceremony. You may choose to sing it in English, in French or bilingually.

You can refer to the lyrics below to practice in advance of the ceremony:

English-first bilingual lyrics

In all provinces and territories, except Quebec, we use the English-first bilingual version (PDF, 824 KB):

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Listen to an English-first bilingual recording performed by our choir and musicians:

Download the bilingual, English first recording of O Canada performed by our choir and musicians (MP3, 2.96 MB)

French-first bilingual lyrics

In Quebec, we use the French-first bilingual version (PDF, 817 KB):

Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Listen to a French-first bilingual recording performed by our choir and musicians:

Download the bilingual, French first recording of O Canada performed by our choir and musicians (MP3, 2.96 MB)

Instrumental recording

Listen to an instrumental recording performed by our musicians:

Download the instrumental recording of O Canada performed by our musicians (MP3, 2.96 MB)