Three Years in Five, and the Minister Shall Grant It
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Spain on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
107 exceptions recorded across 42 countries · none match Spain to Canada · Becoming a citizen
Canada's naturalisation rule is written as a duty rather than a discretion: the Minister shall grant citizenship to a permanent resident who has been physically present for at least 1,095 days in the five years before the application, has filed the tax returns required of them for three of those years, and if aged between 18 and 54 can show knowledge of English or French and of Canada. Time spent in Canada before permanent residence counts at half a day a day, to a ceiling of 365 days. Nothing in the Act asks what other nationality you hold.
At a glance
- Physical presence
- 1,095 days in the five years before the application
- Credit for time before permanent residence
- Half a day for each day, up to 365 days
- Tax returns
- Three of the five taxation years, where the Income Tax Act required a return
- Language and knowledge
- Required from 18 to 54, not before or after
Paragraphs 5(1)(d) and (e) of the Citizenship Act.
- Whether the grant is discretionary
- No - the Act says the Minister shall grant it
- Renunciation of your existing nationality
- Not required: renouncing Canadian citizenship is a voluntary application, and the Act asks nothing about another nationality
Section 9 of the Citizenship Act.
- Born in Canada
- A citizen
Paragraph 3(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act.
Requirements
- Permanent residence, with no unfulfilled conditions attached to it
- 1,095 days of physical presence in the five years before the application
- Income tax returns for three of those five taxation years, where the Income Tax Act required them
- Between 18 and 54: adequate knowledge of English or French, and of Canada
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Spain
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«5 (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who - (a) makes application for citizenship; - (b) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1] - (c) is a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act , has, subject to the regulations, no unfulfilled conditions under that Act relating to his or her status as a permanent resident and has - (i) been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the five years immediately before the date of his or her application, and - (ii) [Repealed, 2017, c. 14, s. 1] - (iii) met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of three taxation years that are fully or partially within the five years immediately before the date of his or her application;»The quotation ends at the tax-filing condition. The language and knowledge conditions follow in paragraphs (d) and (e) and are quoted separately.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«(1.001) For the purpose of subparagraph (1)(c)(i), the length of physical presence is calculated in the following manner: - (a) for every day during which the person was physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act before becoming a permanent resident, the person accumulates half of a day of physical presence, up to a maximum of 365 days; and - (b) for every day during which the person has been physically present in Canada since becoming a permanent resident, the person accumulates one day of physical presence.»The half-day rule and its ceiling. A student or worker who spent four years in Canada before becoming a permanent resident carries 365 days of it, not 730.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«(d) if 18 years of age or more but less than 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, has an adequate knowledge of one of the official languages of Canada; - (e) if 18 years of age or more but less than 55 years of age at the date of his or her application, demonstrates in one of the official languages of Canada that he or she has an adequate knowledge of Canada and of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship; and»About this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«9 (1) Subject to subsection (2.1), a citizen may, on application, renounce his citizenship if he - (a) is a citizen of a country other than Canada or, if his application is accepted, will become a citizen of a country other than Canada; - (b) is not the subject of a declaration by the Governor in Council made pursuant to section 20; - (c) is not a minor; - (d) is not prevented from understanding the significance of renouncing citizenship by reason of the person having a mental disability; and - (e) does not reside in Canada.»Renunciation is something a citizen may apply for, on conditions that include already holding or being about to acquire another citizenship. It is not a condition of the grant.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«(a) the person was born in Canada after February 14, 1977;»About this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Physical presence is counted in days, not in years of residence, and the Act makes no allowance for absence other than the ones listed for service abroad. A person who meets the test on paper has to be able to account for the days.
The Act commenced counting at February 15, 1977 for birth in Canada, which is why paragraph 3(1)(a) carries a date rather than standing as a bare rule.
- consolidatesCitizenship Act
Justice Laws Website, Department of Justice Canada
About this source
Canada's consolidated federal statutes and regulations, served whole as plain HTML at a stable address built from the Act's chapter or the regulation's registration number. Each consolidation states the date it is current to and the last amendment applied.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidations are official under the Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, but the site itself warns that where a consolidation and the original statute differ, the original prevails. The date a page is current to is printed in a side panel our capture does not carry, so a stored reading here shows the text without the line that dates it. Immigration practice in Canada also sits largely in ministerial instructions and programme delivery guidance, which are not law and are not published here, and Quebec selects its own immigrants under an accord this site does not carry.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source