Welcome, Canadian
You took the oath. Here is what comes next.
The hard part is behind you. What is left is a short list of practical things, and one that genuinely matters to get right: what your other country does now that you are Canadian. Everything here points at the official source, because that is the only one that counts.
Your first steps
Roughly in this order. The second one is the one people wish they had read first.
Check your citizenship certificate
1Returning your signed Oath or Affirmation form promptly is what starts the clock, so do that first. When the certificate arrives, read the front and the back and confirm every detail: a correction is far easier now than in three years when you need it urgently. Then keep it somewhere safe rather than in a wallet. You can hold only one valid certificate, paper or electronic, never both.
Do not laminate it or put any plastic coating on it. That voids the certificate: IRCC may no longer be able to confirm the information or read the barcode, which is exactly what gets checked when you apply for a passport.
Do not leave Canada until your passport arrives
Your PR card was collected or cancelled at the ceremony, and a citizenship certificate is not a travel document, so you cannot use it to board a flight back to Canada. That leaves a real gap between the oath and your first Canadian passport. If you already have travel booked, deal with the passport before anything else on this list.
Apply for your Canadian passport
3You can only apply once you have the certificate in hand, and if yours is electronic you have to print it to submit with an adult passport application. Adults and children apply separately. Urgent and express services exist if you have imminent travel, and they want proof of the travel.
A printed e-certificate only counts if it matches IRCC's print spec exactly, and a photocopy or a laminated printout does not. Read the rules before you print.
Update your Social Insurance Number record
4Your SIN number itself does not change, but the record behind it should show that you are now a citizen, which matters for jobs that require citizenship and for some federal positions. Start from Service Canada’s “Update your SIN record” service, and have your certificate ready: that is the document they want.
Register to vote
5This is the one that makes it feel real. Registering with Elections Canada takes a couple of minutes online and puts you on the list for federal elections. For provincial, territorial, and municipal elections you register separately with your own province or territory's election authority.
Find out what your other country just did
6Canada is happy for you to hold both, but the other country gets its own say, and some of them ended your citizenship the moment you took the oath. A few required permission you had to ask for beforehand. Look yours up below, because the answer changes what you should do this month.
Look up your country
What happens to your other citizenship
Canada has allowed dual citizenship since 1977 and asks nothing of you. Your other country decides for itself, and the rules genuinely differ.
This is a starting point, not legal advice, and nationality law changes without warning. Every entry names the body that actually decides and the month we last checked it. Before you renounce anything, surrender a passport, or book travel on the strength of what you read here, confirm it with that country's own authority or its mission in Canada. Decisions in this area are often impossible to undo.
Or browse the list
46 countriesThings that do not change
You no longer have to tell IRCC when you move. That obligation ended with your permanent residence.
Your SIN number itself stays the same. Only the citizenship status attached to it is updated.
Becoming a citizen does not change your legal name. A name change is a separate provincial process.
Canadian tax residency is about where you live, not what passport you hold, so nothing changes there. If you are also a US citizen, that is the exception: the US taxes its citizens wherever they live.
Common questions
When do I actually get my certificate?
It depends on your ceremony and the format you chose. In person, a paper certificate is handed to you on the day. After a virtual ceremony, a paper certificate is mailed two to four weeks after IRCC receives your signed oath form, and an electronic one appears in the IRCC Portal within five business days of the same trigger. For the electronic one, keep the letter IRCC sends: it carries the invitation code, and the Portal account has to be created with the last email address you gave them, which catches anyone who changed email while they were waiting. You cannot apply for a passport until you have it.
What if I lose my citizenship certificate?
You apply to IRCC for a new one, and it takes months. That is why the first step on this page is to keep it somewhere safe. One exception: if you simply cannot download or open an e-certificate, do not apply for a replacement. That is a technical problem, and IRCC has a web form for it.
I have travel booked next week. What now?
Deal with the passport first. Passport Canada has urgent and express services for imminent travel, and they require proof of the travel and the pickup timelines are strict. Do not plan on re-entering Canada with a citizenship certificate, because it is not a travel document and airlines will not board you on it.
Why did they take my PR card?
Because you are not a permanent resident any more, you are a citizen, and citizenship replaces that status entirely. The card is collected or cancelled at check-in on ceremony day. It is a good thing, it just leaves you without travel documents for a while.
Do I still have to tell IRCC when I move?
No. That requirement came with permanent residence and ended with it. You should still keep addresses current with the CRA, your province, and Elections Canada.
Can I sponsor family now?
Citizens can sponsor a spouse, partner, dependent child, parent, or grandparent, and unlike permanent residents you can do it while living outside Canada if you intend to return. The eligibility and income rules are the substantial part, so start with IRCC's sponsorship pages.
This page expands on IRCC's own after the ceremony guidance.
Someone you know is where you were
The person who helped you study is now the person who knows what this felt like. Free practice, no account needed to start.