Prepare for the citizenship test

You must take the citizenship test if you:

• are between the ages of 14 and 64 when you apply for citizenship, and
• meet the basic conditions for citizenship.

The test shows what you know about Canada. It is usually written, but we may also ask you to come to an interview with a citizenship officer.

During the written exam and the interview, we will ask you questions about:

• the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of Canadian citizens,
• Canada’s democracy and ways to take part in Canadian society,
• Canadian political and military history (including the political system, monarchy and branches of government),
• Canadian social and cultural history and symbols, and
• Canadian physical and political geography.

If we ask you to come to an interview, we can also use it to see if you are able to speak and understand English or French. A parent or guardian may come with their child to a test, interview or hearing, however, they are not allowed to help their child during the testing of the child’s language or knowledge abilities.

Study our official study guide, Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, to prepare for your test. All the test questions are based on information in Discover Canada. You can also take a look at the sample study guide questions to help you prepare for the test.

We will send you a copy of the study guide after you apply. Start studying as soon as you get it. You can also:

• read Discover Canada online,
• download the PDF or eBook,
• listen to the MP3 version or
• order another copy.

Discover Canada is always free.

We will send you a notice with the time and date for your test.

If you are not available on the date and time of your appointment, write us a letter of explanation. Send this letter to the office that scheduled your original appointment. You can send this letter by mail or online, using this Web form. We will schedule your appointment on a different date.

If you do not attend the test, you must contact us the IRCC office handling your application or we will close your application.

Your test may be written or oral. We decide if your test will be written or oral based on a number of things. For example, if you have trouble reading and writing in English or French, you will have an oral test.

Oral tests are done through an interview with a citizenship officer.

When you come for your written or oral test, bring:

• the original documents you sent with your application and
• any passport or travel documents you used in the four years before you applied.

We will give you the results of your test right after you take it. If you pass and meet the other requirements for citizenship, we may give you a ceremony date at the same time we give you the results. If we do not, we will mail you a letter with the date and time of your ceremony.

The ceremony will usually take place within six months after your test. At the ceremony, you will take the Oath of Citizenship and get a citizenship certificate.

If you do not pass the written test, but meet the other requirements for citizenship, we will schedule you for a second test. If you do not pass the second test, we will send you a notice telling you to come to an interview with a citizenship officer.

The interview will last 30 to 90 minutes. At that interview, the citizenship officer will ask you the test questions orally so you have another chance to show that you meet all the requirements (including knowledge and language).

If you are asked to go to an interview, but you applied for citizenship with your family by sending your applications in the same envelope, we will process your application separately from your family's unless you want them to be processed together.