Reduced Citizenship Residency Requirements for Canadian Armed Forces Members

Thursday, July 10, 2014

If you have served with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), you may be granted citizenship sooner. The length of time served in the CAF can be counted towards the reduced residency requirement which is now only 2 years for eligible individuals.

The fast-track application process can be used by anyone who is or was a member of the CAF, unless they were released for a reason that wasn’t honourable.  Military members from other countries who were attached or seconded to the CAF may also apply.

To be eligible for this process, applicants must meet all the standard conditions for citizenship, except for the time lived in Canada requirement. This means that applicants must have completed 2 years (730 days) of service in, or with, the CAF in the last 4 years (1460 days) before they apply. If they were a foreign military member attached or seconded to the CAF, the permanent residency requirement does not apply.

More information on this program can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website.

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