Wait for a decision
Learn what happens after you submit your application and how you can track its status.
On this page
- What happens first
- After we process your application
- Check and update your application
- Quality Assurance Program
What happens first
When the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC Sydney) receives your application, the staff there will check that you
- included all the required documents
- paid the correct fees
If your application is complete, we’ll start processing your application and send you an acknowledgement of receipt letter.
If your application is incomplete or missing fees, we’ll return your application to you.
After the initial review, CPC Sydney sends your application to a local IRCC office to make a final decision. You may be asked to attend an interview with a citizenship officer or a citizenship judge.
How to submit your fingerprints (if required)
If we ask you to submit your fingerprints for your citizenship application, you must pay the fees to have your fingerprints taken.
Where to get your fingerprints taken
Your fingerprints must be taken electronically through
- your local police service in Canada
- the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), or
- an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company
Fingerprinting services outside Canada
There are no private fingerprinting companies accredited by the RCMP outside Canada. But some accredited agencies in Canada can digitize fingerprints taken abroad and submit them electronically to the RCMP.
If you use an accredited company
- bring your fingerprint request letter
- make sure they can provide you with a copy of their RCMP accreditation letter
Do not go to a Service Canada Centre
We don’t accept fingerprints taken at a Service Canada Centre for citizenship applications. If you get them taken at a Service Canada Centre
- we can’t use them for your citizenship application and they’ll be deleted
- you’ll need to have your fingerprints retaken at one of the above collection points
After we process your application
If your application is approved
You receive your Canadian citizenship certificate by mail.
If your application is not approved
You receive a letter that explains why your application was refused.
Check and update your application
You can check your application status online only after you’ve received an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter or email.
- You’ll get an AOR once we’ve received your application and have checked that it’s complete.
- It can take some time for you to receive it.
Learn how to understand your application status.
We may contact you to get more information if your case is non-routine.
When to contact us
Do not contact us about your application status if you haven’t received an acknowledgement of receipt letter.
While we are processing your application, contact us if you
- change your address
- change other contact information, such as your email address or telephone number
- plan to leave Canada for more than 2 weeks in a row
- can’t check your application status online, and the normal processing time for your application has passed
- are charged with a crime
- applied as part of a group but now want to continue the application by yourself
- want to update any other information in your application
If you don’t update us
- it may take us longer to process your application or
- we may refuse or abandon (stop processing) your application
Due to privacy laws, we can’t give information about your application to anyone unless you consent in writing. For example, if you have difficulty communicating in English or French, you need to provide consent for a family member to contact us about your application.
If you don’t want to become a Canadian citizen anymore
Quality Assurance Program
Our Quality Assurance Program randomly selects applications for a detailed review. If your application is selected, we’ll
- let you know by email or mail
- ask you to provide additional information
- schedule an interview with our official, which will help us to
- confirm the accuracy of the documents and information you provided
- make sure you filled out your application correctly
- verify that you meet all the citizenship requirements