Canadian Armed Forces accelerated grant (s.5(1.2)/(1.3))

CA-NAT-03 is the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) accelerated citizenship grant, a fast-track within the s.5(1) adult-naturalization framework that recognizes military service. Under Citizenship Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29, s.5(1.2)/(1.3), a permanent resident serving in or with the CAF (or a foreign military member attached or seconded to the CAF) who has completed three years (1,095 days) of CAF service within the six years (2,190 days) immediately before applying is exempted from the s.5(1)(c) physical-presence requirement, unless released other than honourably. This is NOT a separate citizenship class: the applicant still becomes a citizen by a s.5(1) grant; only the residency limb is replaced by qualifying service. All other standard conditions of citizenship continue to apply, including (for applicants aged 18 to less than 55) adequate language and the knowledge-of-Canada test, the prohibitions in s.22, and the Oath of Citizenship. IRCC publishes a dedicated fast-track application stream. The route is a low-volume but settled pathway honouring service members; the adult-grant fee of CAD 653 applies as for ordinary s.5(1) applicants.

The CAF fast track carries the standard adult citizenship-grant fee, which is CAD 653 total as of 2026-06-01, composed of a CAD 530 processing fee plus the CAD 123 Right of Citizenship Fee (RCF). The RCF rose from CAD 119.75 to CAD 123.00 effective 2026-03-31 (the processing fee remained unchanged at CAD 530.00) and applies to applications received on or after that date; the RCF is indexed annually under the Service Fees Act, so a further small adjustment is expected around spring 2027. The legacy adult-grant total of CAD 630 and an RCF of CAD 100 or CAD 119.75 are stale and must not be cited as current. There is no surcharge or discount specific to the CAF route, and no investment or special service fee applies. A foreign military member attached or seconded who is exempt from the PR requirement nonetheless pays the same grant fee on application. (Fee figures are pinned to the IRCC fee list and RCF-increase notice; numeric facts are not generated from training data.)

The operative statutory authority is the Citizenship Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29, s.5(1.2) and s.5(1.3). Section 5(1.2) exempts a permanent resident who is or was a member of the CAF (or who is or was attached or seconded to the CAF) and who has completed the requisite service from the physical-presence requirement at s.5(1)(c); s.5(1.3) provides the parallel rule for the related class and the honourable-release condition. These provisions operate as an exception inside the s.5(1) adult-grant scheme: s.5(1) opens 'The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who' meets the enumerated criteria, so the grant remains mandatory ('shall') once the (modified) criteria are met, with discretion residing only in the s.5(3) waivers and the s.5(4) special grant. The related Crown-service / CAF physical-presence equivalencies at ss.5(1.01)-(1.03) credit a spouse or child of a CAF member or public-service employee serving abroad with one day for each day abroad; those are distinct from the s.5(1.2)/(1.3) self-service fast track. Bill C-3 (S.C. 2025, c. 5, in force 2025-12-15) did not amend the s.5(1) adult-grant core or the CAF fast-track provisions, which are stable as of 2026-06-01.