Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Citizenship
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Before you travel to Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic restricts most travel to Canada. If you’re eligible to travel to Canada, make sure you know the rules and what you need to do before and after you arrive.
Use the entering Canada requirements checklist to make sure you meet all the requirements.
You need to use ArriveCAN
Use ArriveCAN to provide mandatory travel information required for entry into Canada.
Make sure you’re using the newest version of ArriveCAN. If you previously submitted your information using an older version of ArriveCan, you must download the latest version and resubmit your information.
If you’re a permanent resident
If you’re travelling or planning to travel, find out what you need to re-enter Canada.
You can use an expired permanent resident card (PR card) to
If you’re a dual Canadian citizen
You can only enter Canada with a
Citizenship events
Citizenship tests and interviews
Due to COVID-19, we
- cancelled all in-person citizenship tests and interviews
- now offer online citizenship tests
- have limited capacity to schedule online tests and interviews
- are scheduling urgent requests for the tests and interviews if you qualify and apply for urgent processing
Online citizenship test
We’re now inviting some applicants to take the citizenship test online. Wait for us to invite you.
If you’re outside of Canada
If you get your invitation and plan to take the test while you’re outside Canada, send an email to the address in the Eligibility section of your invitation.
In your email
- put “Outside Canada – Citizenship Test” in the subject line
- in the body of your message, include
- your full name
- your application number
- the start and end date for your test
We’ll contact you with your next steps after we receive your email.
If you can’t or don’t want to do the test online, you may wait until in-person tests resume (date to be determined).
Video oath ceremony (virtual citizenship ceremony)
Due to COVID-19, we cancelled all in-person citizenship ceremonies. We’re inviting applicants to video oath ceremonies instead.
Please wait for us to invite you.
Contact us through the web form if you
- had a ceremony scheduled on or before March 15, 2020, and
- haven’t received an invitation for a video oath ceremony
How we invite you
We’ll contact the email address or phone number you gave in your application. If your contact information changed, tell us using our web form.
By email
If you provided an email address in your application, we’ll email you the invitation.
To avoid missing our emails
- add email addresses ending in “@cic.gc.ca” to your email’s safe sender list
- check your junk or spam folder regularly if you don’t see our message
By phone
Our agent will call you if we don’t have your email address. Our call may show up as
- an “Unknown caller” in your caller ID
- a number from outside of Canada
Answer your phone when you see these numbers so you don’t miss our calls.
After you respond to the phone call, we’ll send you the invitation by mail.
You need to be in Canada to take the Oath of Citizenship. If you get your invitation while you’re outside Canada, reply to the invitation email to explain your situation in detail.
In your email
- put “Outside Canada – Oath of Citizenship” in the subject line
- In the body of your message, include
- your full name
- your application number
- a detailed explanation of your situation
We’ll contact you with your next steps after we receive your email.
How to attend the video oath ceremony
You’ll attend the video oath ceremony via a Zoom videoconference call. We’ll explain how to set up Zoom in your ceremony invitation.
Most in-person citizenship events are cancelled
To keep everyone safe, the following citizenship events are cancelled until further notice:
- in-person citizenship ceremonies
- We’ll contact you to schedule a video oath ceremony
- in-person citizenship tests and retests
- We’ll contact you to invite you for an online citizenship test
- most retests, interviews and hearings (including videoconference hearings)
- Wait for us to contact you.
- If you need to change your appointment, contact the office that sent the invitation.
- The contact information is in the letter we sent.
- citizenship events in our temporary offices (itinerant service trips)
Processing your citizenship application
We’re still accepting new applications for citizenship.
Due to COVID-19, we
- are prioritizing Canadians who are trying to return to Canada
- have limited capacity to process citizenship applications
- can’t provide accurate processing times
It’s taking us longer to
- check that your application is complete
- send you an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter or email with your application number
- We send you the AOR after we receive your application and check that it’s complete.
Until you get your AOR
- the Client Support Centre won’t have information about your application status
- you can’t check your application status online
- don’t submit a Web form to check your application status
Check your application status
After you receive your AOR, you can check your application status online.
If we ask you to submit documents for an application in progress
Last updated: April 12, 2021
Because many applicants can now provide the supporting documents needed for us to process applications, we’ll no longer automatically give more time to submit information.
- We’ll contact you to request the supporting documents.
- This will happen in the next few months.
- You’ll have 30 days from the date we contact you to submit the information.
- Start collecting your documents.
- Do this before we contact you. It can take time to get certain documents.
- Check the last email we sent you to confirm what you need to submit.
- Don’t travel to another city or country to get the supporting documents.
- We’ll consider extending your deadline if you have a reasonable explanation that shows you’re affected by COVID-19.
Find out what to do if you still have documents to provide for your application.
Urgent processing of applications
If you have an emergency, you can request urgent processing of your citizenship application.
- We can only process citizenship applications urgently in special cases.
- We’ll check if your request meets the conditions for urgent processing.
- If it doesn’t meet the conditions, we’ll process your application normally.
Find out when and how to apply urgently
- for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship or naturalization)
- for a Canadian citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship)
- to resume Canadian citizenship
- to give up Canadian citizenship (renunciation)
Time you’ve lived in Canada (physical presence)
Extra days spent abroad due to COVID-19 will not count as days in Canada. You must still meet the physical presence requirement for your citizenship application.
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Updates and related links
- Find more information on COVID-19
- Public Health Agency of Canada: COVID-19 information (available in multiple languages)
Report a problem or mistake on this page
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