I just came back with my wife from my citizenship test and wanted to share the experience for people looking forward to it. The accounts I could find (maybe it was what search terms I used) seemed to be pretty vague, 2-sentence summaries so I thought I could go into more detail for others.
Before the test:
The invitation letter we got was a bit ambiguous, it says (paraphrasing) "bring all original documents supporting your application (see the checklist)", but the checklist lists a number of things like the application itself and the physical presence calculator printout. I searched around here and decided to interpret it as "original documents", meaning official papers which you photocopied when applying, "supporting" your application, meaning not the actual application or the physical presence or your tax returns or anything, but things like a university degree for proof of language or a marriage certificate to show you've had multiple names. Basically, if you photocopied it and put it in your application envelope, bring the original. *Critically, this includes your Confirmation of Permanent Residence*, which they will ask for, don't forget it!
If you want to be very thorough, you should also bring travel receipts, etc to prove your absences. We did not end up needing these, but it's probably due to our situation which I'll talk about later.
The invitation said it was very important to bring a photocopy of your passport's photo page. We did not end up needing this, but you should probably play it safe and do what it says.
The test itself:
We live in Toronto but were assigned to the Missisauga office. We don't own a car so this was actually a bit of a problem, and the test being at 7:45 am meant travel time would eat into sleeping time which would be important for actually doing well on the test. We ended up just getting a Lyft, costing about $45 after tip, and took a much slower MiWay bus back home for $3 each. You've already spent thousands of dollars by now, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime event (or is it?) spending 1% of that to get to the test on time makes sense.
The building had some leaking issues in the roof which affected the testing room, so we were almost told to go home, but thankfully after some bureaucratic process we were allowed to take the test in the citizenship ceremony room. Before the test, we turned in our invitation letters and were given multiple-choice "scantron" sheets and pencils. I obviously can't discuss the details of the test. If you are worried about failing, you will probably prepare enough to do just fine.
The interview:
We waited perhaps an hour to be called in for the interview, which we did together as a family. Honestly, this is the part you should worry about more than the test; that's why I started with talking about what forms to bring.
First, the officer checked our physical absence against our passports and the info obtained from Canada Border Services. We have only traveled to the US and back in the 5 years we reported on the application. I made a mistake omitting a single day trip to the US and back on my wife's application, but I didn't make the same mistake on mine so the officer didn't seem bothered beyond just asking for an explanation of what we did. She asked how we calculated our days; except for that one trip we've only left Canada via plane and thus had emails with airline tickets helpfully telling us the exact dates we left and came back.
Canada only knows for sure what dates you entered Canada, and the US stopped stamping our passports a few years ago, so I was worried the passport check would result in issues. Thankfully the officer was already aware this happens now and didn't seem bothered.
We applied immediately after C-6 was passed and the physical presence rules were reverted to the pre-Harper rules; this meant we were over by the requirement by hundreds of days. This may be why the officer didn't seem concerned. It may also help you to have more days than necessary so tiny mistakes and discrepancies don't affect your eligibility.
She also asked for a few details about all of my work experience, mainly whether each job was full-time or not. Since my wife was mostly unemployed or a student in the 5 year period she also asked if I was supporting her the whole time. She asked if my wife received OSAP funding, which she did but only the minimum amount. Maybe she wanted to make sure we could support ourselves? I wonder what would have happened if we ever used EI or my work seemed less stable or part-time. She didn't ask for proof for anything.
The whole process seemed to rely a lot on the particular person looking at our file and interviewing us (it seemed like it was the same person) subjectively feeling like what we were saying was true.
Hope all of this helps!
Before the test:
The invitation letter we got was a bit ambiguous, it says (paraphrasing) "bring all original documents supporting your application (see the checklist)", but the checklist lists a number of things like the application itself and the physical presence calculator printout. I searched around here and decided to interpret it as "original documents", meaning official papers which you photocopied when applying, "supporting" your application, meaning not the actual application or the physical presence or your tax returns or anything, but things like a university degree for proof of language or a marriage certificate to show you've had multiple names. Basically, if you photocopied it and put it in your application envelope, bring the original. *Critically, this includes your Confirmation of Permanent Residence*, which they will ask for, don't forget it!
If you want to be very thorough, you should also bring travel receipts, etc to prove your absences. We did not end up needing these, but it's probably due to our situation which I'll talk about later.
The invitation said it was very important to bring a photocopy of your passport's photo page. We did not end up needing this, but you should probably play it safe and do what it says.
The test itself:
We live in Toronto but were assigned to the Missisauga office. We don't own a car so this was actually a bit of a problem, and the test being at 7:45 am meant travel time would eat into sleeping time which would be important for actually doing well on the test. We ended up just getting a Lyft, costing about $45 after tip, and took a much slower MiWay bus back home for $3 each. You've already spent thousands of dollars by now, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime event (or is it?) spending 1% of that to get to the test on time makes sense.
The building had some leaking issues in the roof which affected the testing room, so we were almost told to go home, but thankfully after some bureaucratic process we were allowed to take the test in the citizenship ceremony room. Before the test, we turned in our invitation letters and were given multiple-choice "scantron" sheets and pencils. I obviously can't discuss the details of the test. If you are worried about failing, you will probably prepare enough to do just fine.
The interview:
We waited perhaps an hour to be called in for the interview, which we did together as a family. Honestly, this is the part you should worry about more than the test; that's why I started with talking about what forms to bring.
First, the officer checked our physical absence against our passports and the info obtained from Canada Border Services. We have only traveled to the US and back in the 5 years we reported on the application. I made a mistake omitting a single day trip to the US and back on my wife's application, but I didn't make the same mistake on mine so the officer didn't seem bothered beyond just asking for an explanation of what we did. She asked how we calculated our days; except for that one trip we've only left Canada via plane and thus had emails with airline tickets helpfully telling us the exact dates we left and came back.
Canada only knows for sure what dates you entered Canada, and the US stopped stamping our passports a few years ago, so I was worried the passport check would result in issues. Thankfully the officer was already aware this happens now and didn't seem bothered.
We applied immediately after C-6 was passed and the physical presence rules were reverted to the pre-Harper rules; this meant we were over by the requirement by hundreds of days. This may be why the officer didn't seem concerned. It may also help you to have more days than necessary so tiny mistakes and discrepancies don't affect your eligibility.
She also asked for a few details about all of my work experience, mainly whether each job was full-time or not. Since my wife was mostly unemployed or a student in the 5 year period she also asked if I was supporting her the whole time. She asked if my wife received OSAP funding, which she did but only the minimum amount. Maybe she wanted to make sure we could support ourselves? I wonder what would have happened if we ever used EI or my work seemed less stable or part-time. She didn't ask for proof for anything.
The whole process seemed to rely a lot on the particular person looking at our file and interviewing us (it seemed like it was the same person) subjectively feeling like what we were saying was true.
Hope all of this helps!
