Subsidio de naturalización para adultos (s.5(1))

CA-NAT-01 es la subvención de naturalización de adultos según la sección 5(1) de la Ley de Ciudadanía, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29: la ruta principal por la cual un adulto residente permanente (PR) de Canadá se convierte en ciudadano canadiense. Es la vía de ciudadanía emblemática del país: cada año la gran mayoría de los nuevos ciudadanos canadienses se naturalizan en virtud del artículo 5(1). La disposición está redactada en un lenguaje OBLIGATORIO ('el Ministro CONCEDERÁ la ciudadanía a cualquier persona que...'), por lo que una vez que un solicitante satisface todas las condiciones enumeradas y no se aplica ninguna prohibición, la concesión no es discrecional: la única discreción en la sección 5 se encuentra en las exenciones compasivas del artículo 5(3) y la concesión especial del artículo 5(4). Los requisitos básicos son: estatus de RP; presencia física en Canadá de al menos 1.095 días dentro de los 5 años anteriores a la fecha de solicitud; declaración de impuestos sobre la renta durante 3 de esos 5 años; para solicitantes de 18 a 54 años, conocimiento adecuado de inglés o francés más una prueba (de conocimientos) de ciudadanía aprobada; eliminación de las prohibiciones del artículo 22; y prestar juramento de ciudadanía. El proyecto de ley C-6 (S.C. 2017, c. 14) revirtió el régimen más estricto de 1.460 días/4 de 6 años del proyecto de ley C-24 al estándar actual de 1.095 días/3 de 5 años y derogó elrequisito de intención de residir. La tarifa de la subvención para adultos es de 653 CAD. A partir del 1 de junio de 2026, el proyecto de ley C-3 (S.C. 2025, c. 5) NO modificó el núcleo del artículo 5(1) y está estable.

To be granted citizenship under s.5(1) as of 2026-06-01, an adult applicant must satisfy ALL of the following: (1) make an application (s.5(1)(a)); (2) be a permanent resident under IRPA s.2(1), with no unfulfilled conditions on PR status and not under a removal order (s.5(1)(c), read with s.5(1)(f) and s.22); (3) have been physically present in Canada at least 1,095 days during the 5 years immediately before the application date (s.5(1)(c)(i)) — there is NO annual day minimum since Bill C-6; (4) have met any applicable Income Tax Act filing requirement for 3 taxation years that fall fully or partially within those 5 years (s.5(1)(c)(iii)); (5) if 18 or more but less than 55 at the date of application, demonstrate adequate knowledge of English or French (s.5(1)(d), operationalized as CLB/NCLC Level 4 in speaking and listening) AND adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship (s.5(1)(e), the citizenship test); (6) not be barred by the s.22 prohibitions (criminality, certain security grounds, removal order, or a s.20 Governor-in-Council declaration); and (7) take the Oath of Citizenship (s.3(1)(c) age threshold 14). Because s.5(1) uses 'shall', meeting every condition makes the grant mandatory, subject only to the prohibitions and to any officer-verified eligibility gaps. The intent-to-reside requirement (former s.5(1)(c.1)) was repealed in 2017 and is NOT a current condition.

IRCC processes the adult grant through the 'Apply for Canadian citizenship: adults and minor children' stream. The applicant assembles, per the IRCC document checklist for s.5(1) adults (form CIT 0007): the completed adult citizenship application form (CIT 0002 series); proof of permanent-resident status (PR card and/or Confirmation of Permanent Residence); two pieces of personal identification; proof of language ability for applicants 18 to 54 (an acceptable third-party language test result, a diploma/certificate from a qualifying English/French program, or proof of CLB/NCLC Level 4 — see IRCC language-proof guidance); a completed physical-presence calculation supported by a travel history covering the 5-year (or longer) eligibility period; proof of meeting the Income Tax Act filing requirement for the relevant years; two citizenship photos meeting IRCC specifications; and payment of the fee. Documents not in English or French must be accompanied by a certified translation. Applicants should record all trips outside Canada to substantiate the 1,095-day calculation, because the physical-presence count is the single most-scrutinized element. Exact form numbers and the current checklist must be taken from the live IRCC pages at the time of application, as IRCC updates packages periodically.

The s.5(1) adult naturalization pathway runs: (1) BECOME A PR and accumulate physical presence — be physically present in Canada at least 1,095 days within the 5 years before applying (pre-PR days credited at one-half each, max 365, under s.5(1.001)); (2) MEET TAX FILING — satisfy the Income Tax Act filing requirement for 3 of those 5 years; (3) PREPARE — complete the application, calculate physical presence, gather language proof (if 18-54) and supporting documents; (4) PAY AND SUBMIT — pay CAD 653 (CAD 530 processing + CAD 123 Right of Citizenship Fee) and submit to IRCC (online or paper); (5) ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT — IRCC reviews completeness, physical presence, prohibitions, and admissibility; (6) CITIZENSHIP TEST AND, where required, LANGUAGE/INTERVIEW — applicants 18-54 take the knowledge test (in English or French) and have language ability assessed; (7) DECISION — because s.5(1) is mandatory, a citizenship officer grants citizenship once all conditions are met and no prohibition applies (officer/Minister discretion is confined to s.5(3)/(4)); (8) OATH OF CITIZENSHIP — the applicant takes the Oath at a citizenship ceremony (virtual or in person); citizenship takes effect and the citizenship certificate is issued. The oath is the final step before becoming a citizen for those 14 and over.

As of 2026-06-01, the IRCC posted processing time for an adult citizenship grant is about 13 months, measured against a published 12-month service standard in the IRCC 2026-27 Departmental Plan (the service standard is a target, distinct from the live posted actual). CRITICAL TEMPORAL CAVEAT: the live IRCC processing-time widget returned a load error at fetch on 2026-06-01, so the 13-month figure is taken from the canada.ca-indexed render of the IRCC apply hub and urgent-processing pages (current to about late-May 2026) rather than a same-instant widget read. IRCC processing times update frequently; any month-count must be re-read same-day from the IRCC 'Check processing times' tool before being relied upon. The safe statement for client materials is 'about 13 months (IRCC posted), against a 12-month service standard.' Urgent processing may be requested in qualifying circumstances (for example, where citizenship is needed to take a job, attend school, or meet a defined deadline) via the IRCC urgent-processing route. The 13-month figure covers the citizenship processing itself; it does not include the years spent accumulating PR residency to reach the 1,095-day threshold, which precede the application.

A partir del 1 de junio de 2026, la tarifa total del IRCC para una concesión de ciudadanía para adultos (mayores de 18 años) según la sección 5(1) es de CAD 653,00, compuesta por una tarifa de procesamiento de CAD 530,00 más la tarifa de derecho de ciudadanía (RCF) de CAD 123,00. El RCF aumentó de CAD 119,75 a CAD 123,00 a partir del 31 de marzo de 2026 (un aumento de CAD 3,25) y se aplica a las solicitudes recibidas en esa fecha o después; el componente de procesamiento CAD 530,00 se mantuvo sin cambios. Las cifras heredadas de un total de CAD 630 o un RCF de CAD 100 o CAD 119,75 están STALE y no deben citarse como actuales. Por el contrario, una subvención para menores (menores de 18 años) es de CAD 100,00 (solo procesamiento, sin RCF); un adulto apátrida nacido de un padre canadiense (s.5(5), CA-SPC-03) es CAD 123,00 (solo RCF); un certificado de ciudadanía/prueba de ciudadanía cuesta 75,00 CAD. El RCF se indexa anualmente según la Ley de Tarifas de Servicio, por lo que se espera un pequeño ajuste adicional alrededor de la primavera de 2027 (solo mecanismo; no se prevé ninguna cifra). Todas las cifras de tarifas deben volver a confirmarse con la lista de tarifas vigente del IRCC en el momento de la solicitud.

La disposición de control es la sección 5 (1) de la Ley de Ciudadanía, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29. Sus subpárrafos clave son: artículo 5(1)(a) (presenta una solicitud); s.5(1)(c) (es un residente permanente según IRPA s.2(1) sin condiciones de PR no cumplidas); s.5(1)(c)(i) (presente físicamente en Canadá al menos 1.095 días durante los 5 años inmediatamente anteriores a la solicitud); s.5(1)(c)(iii) (cumplió con cualquier requisito de presentación de la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta aplicable durante 3 años impositivos que se encuentren total o parcialmente dentro de esos 5 años); artículo 5(1)(d) (conocimiento adecuado de inglés o francés si tiene 18 años o más pero menos de 55); s.5(1)(e) (conocimiento adecuado de Canadá y de las responsabilidades y privilegios de la ciudadanía si tiene 18 años o más pero menos de 55); y s.5(1)(f) leído junto con el s.22 (no prohibido; no bajo una orden de expulsión). El crédito de presencia física anterior a las relaciones públicas se sitúa en la sección 5 (1.001). El umbral del juramento de ciudadanía se encuentra en el artículo 3(1)(c) ("14 años de edad o más"). Las exenciones discrecionales se encuentran en el artículo 5(3)/(3.1) y la subvención especial en el artículo 5(4). La procedencia moderna de la subvención es S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 108 (en vigor el 15 de febrero de 1977), revisado en R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29; el estándar operativo de residencia/idioma es la reversión del Proyecto de Ley C-6 (S.C. 2017, c.14). 'Tribunal' para cualquier revisión significa el Tribunal Federal (s.2(1)).

The decision-maker for a s.5(1) adult grant is the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, acting through citizenship officers at IRCC under delegated authority. Because s.5(1) is cast in mandatory terms ('the Minister SHALL grant'), the officer's role is to verify that each statutory condition is met and that no prohibition (s.22 or a s.20 GiC declaration) applies — it is an entitlement-style decision, not a discretionary weighing of factors. Discretion within section 5 is confined to the s.5(3)/(3.1) compassionate waivers (of language, knowledge, the minor presence requirement, or the oath) and the s.5(4) special grant (statelessness / special and unusual hardship / services of exceptional value), both of which are separate from the s.5(1) entitlement. Citizenship is an exclusively federal jurisdiction under s.91(25) of the Constitution Act, 1867 ('Naturalization and Aliens'); no province — including Quebec, which selects immigrants under the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord — grants citizenship. There is therefore no provincial role in a naturalization decision, and no such thing as 'Quebec citizenship'.

There is no statutory administrative appeal tribunal for a citizenship-grant refusal; the avenue is judicial review in the Federal Court (the s.2(1) definition of 'Court' is the Federal Court), brought under the Federal Courts Act framework and within the Citizenship Act review provisions. The governing standard of review is presumptive REASONABLENESS, established by Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, [2019] 4 SCR 653, which sets the administrative-law framework for review of IRCC and Ministerial citizenship decisions; correctness is reserved for limited categories such as constitutional questions and general questions of law of central importance. On review of a s.5(1) refusal, the live issues are typically factual: whether the 1,095-day physical presence was correctly calculated, whether the tax-filing requirement was met, whether the language/knowledge requirements (for 18-54 applicants) were satisfied, and whether a s.22 prohibition was correctly applied. Because the grant is mandatory once conditions are met, an unreasonable physical-presence or prohibition finding is the usual ground of challenge. Notably, Vavilov itself arose in a citizenship-certificate context, making it directly apposite to citizenship-status decisions.

Canada permits dual (and multiple) citizenship without restriction, and has done so since 15 February 1977, the commencement of the modern Citizenship Act (S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 108). A person naturalized under s.5(1) is therefore NOT required to renounce any existing foreign nationality, and the current Act contains no provision requiring renunciation of a foreign citizenship upon naturalization. This is a deliberate contrast with the pre-1977 regime under the 1947 Canadian Citizenship Act, under which a Canadian who voluntarily acquired a foreign nationality generally lost Canadian citizenship automatically; the 1977 Act removed that automatic-loss-on-foreign-naturalization rule and the preferential status of British subjects. The Oath of Citizenship taken at the ceremony does not require renouncing other allegiances; the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the oath against Charter challenge in McAteer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2014 ONCA 578 (oath read purposively as to Canada's form of government, not the monarch personally). Applicants should, however, separately verify whether their OTHER country of nationality restricts dual citizenship or treats Canadian naturalization as a loss event — that is outside Canadian jurisdiction and requires that country's legal advice.