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The majority of citizenship applications are processed within a year; however, you may apply for urgent processing.

Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada can only process citizenship applications urgently in special cases.

When is a case urgent? Citizenship applications can be expedited in the following situations:

• • a request is received from the office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship;
  • the applicant needs to travel because of a death or serious illness in the family and cannot obtain a passport in their present nationality (which includes the Canadian passport);
  • the applicants are Canadian citizens and face loss of employment or of employment opportunity because they are not in possession of a document establishing Canadian citizenship;
  • an application is delayed due to an administrative error;
  • an applicant for grant of citizenship has a successful appeal to the Federal Court;
  • the applicant is in any situation in which not expediting the citizenship application harms them (for instance, need to renounce foreign citizenship by a certain date); or
  • the applicant needs a citizenship certificate to access certain benefits such as a pension, a social insurance number or health care.

Note that documents to support an urgent request must be submitted.

A cautionary note
The foregoing provides only an overview and does not constitute legal advice. Readers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, specific legal advice should be obtained.