How Do I Ace the Canadian Citizenship Test

Getting Your Canadian Citizenship

Becoming a Canadian citizen means you have reached the milestone for your immigration journey. There are so many privileges and benefits of being a Canadian citizen. For example, Canadian citizens have the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote and even more, actually become involved with a political party or leadership campaign. Furthermore, if you are a Canadian citizen, that means you may travel with ease without worrying about the expiry date of your permanent residence and your residency obligation. In order to obtain your Canadian citizenship, you will undergo three steps: application stage, test, and oath. In this blog, you will learn specifically about the Canadian citizenship test.

Who is Required to Take the Test

If you are between the ages of 18 and 54 when you submit your Canadian citizenship application, then you are required to take the test. Failure to do so will result in the refusal of your application.

What is the Test About

The major point of the test is to show Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada that you fully understand the country. You will be asked questions regarding the rights and responsibilities of Canadians. You are required to understand Canada’s history, geography, economy, government, laws, and symbols.

How Do I Study for the Test

The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada has a study guide, which is called Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, on their website. All test questions are based on information in that study guide. Since the study guide is always on the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s website, you can start preparing for the test at your earliest convenience.

The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada also has sample test questions on their website. You may also take a look at the sample questions to help you better prepare for the test.

Get a Notification to Write the Test

After you receive your acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada will send you a notice with the date, time and location for your citizenship test. If you are unable to attend the test, you may inform the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, explaining the reason for your potential absence. You can email or write to the local office that sent you the notice or use the IRCC online web form.

If you do not take the test without giving any proper explanations to the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, your application will mostly likely not be processed. That being said, your citizenship will not be granted to you, either.

If the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada accepts your explanations for your absence, they will inform you about your new test date and location by email. If they do not have your email address, they will mail the notice to your physical address instead.

What will Happen on the Test Date

When you come for your test, you are required to bring the following:

• the notice inviting you to the test
•  Permanent Resident (PR) card
•  all your passports and travel documents, current and expired, that you listed on the application form
•  all the original documents that support your citizenship application. For example, you may bring your Diploma to show you have resided and completed your education in Canada
• 2 pieces of personal identification (One of the IDs needs to have your photograph and signature. It can be a driver’s license or a health card)

Please note, if one of the IDs is a foreign ID, it needs to be government-issued. If the foreign ID is not in English or French, you must provide a translation with an affidavit from the translation. If you have your Canadian ID, then that does not need to be government-issued.

What is on the Test

The test is in English or French, which are the two official languages of Canada. That being said, you are required to take the test in either language, with no translation available to you. You are also required to answer twenty multiple-choice and true or false questions within thirty minutes. In order for you to pass the test, you need to get fifteen correct answers out of the twenty questions.

Generally, the test is written, but it may be oral in some cases. For example, if you have trouble reading and writing in English or French, a citizenship official may decide on test day that you will have an oral test instead of a written one.

What if I Do not Pass the Test

Everyone deserves a second chance. If you unfortunately do not pass the first test, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada allows you to schedule a second test with them. The second test usually will take place 4 to 8 weeks after the first test, but it may be longer.

If you also do not pass the second test, then the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada will schedule you for a hearing with a citizenship officer. The hearing will take about thirty to ninety minutes, and you will be tested verbally on your knowledge of Canada, language, and so on.

Contact Akrami and Associates

Preparing for the citizenship application can be exhausting and overwhelming. It is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to submit the application. Akrami & Associates work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients obtain Canadian citizenship. So, if you want to become a Canadian citizen, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advise.

With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!