Life in Canada
Perks of Getting a Canadian Passport
According to the latest Global Passport Ranking report by Henley and Partners, Canada has secured an eighth place besides Australia, Greece, Malta, and the Czech Republic. Henley and Partners is a global immigration consultancy and ranks passports on the number of other countries a citizen can enter without any kind of visa. The report clearly explains that Canadian passport holders can enter 185 countries without a visa. The firm also ranked the Japanese passport as number #1 in the world as the holder can enter 193 countries. On the other hand, Singapore and South Korea tied for second place at 192 countries. The lowest ranking passport was Afghanistan, which only permits visa-free entry to 27 countries.
Canadian Passport
Once you’re a Canadian passport holder, you may leave and enter Canada without any restrictions, permits, or visas. Although, Canada only offers passports to citizens. Permanent residents and immigrants with temporary status do not qualify for a passport. Getting a Canadian passport does not necessarily require you to give up on your current passport. Canada permits one to hold more than one passport as a dual citizen.
Become a Citizen
To get your hands on a Canadian passport, one must be a Canadian citizen. Here are the various steps that one must take to get citizenship.
- Be a permanent resident
- Meet Canada’s physical presence requirements
- File your taxes, if necessary
- Pass a Canadian citizenship test
- Prove your language skills
Irrespective of how one attains permanent resident status, one must be able to attest that they have spent at least three out of the five years physically in Canada, this concludes to 1095 days. Thus, it takes a minimum of three years to become a Canadian citizen.
How to apply for a passport
Once you have attained citizenship, you must wait until the citizenship ceremony and have your eligibility certificate. Every Canadian is allowed to apply and rarely, one is not eligible. It can only happen if your citizenship is canceled due to factors such as misrepresentation on your application or concerns associated with security, human or international rights violations, or organized crime.
Applying for a Canadian passport is pretty straightforward if one has all the required documents. You may contain the original copy with your application. Even natural-born Canadians are required to submit a birth certificate as proof of citizenship.
Other Benefits
More than 80% of permanent residents in Canada choose to become citizens and there are numerous benefits of becoming a Canadian citizen and having a passport. Once you have a Canadian passport, you are already a citizen and allowed to do all things as every other Canadian. For instance, you can vote in elections and you will discover that it is pretty easy to find employment as there are numerous jobs in Canada which are not available for permanent residents.
One of the biggest advantages of becoming a citizen is that you no longer need to renew your status regularly. Those who choose to stay in Canada as permanent residents are required to renew their status with IRCC every five years. Thus, no fees or having to submit applications or request extensions with IRCC.
