After you become a citizen
The ceremony is the end of the immigration process and the start of a much shorter list. Nine things: two at the ceremony, three in the first months, and four changes that are simply true from now on.
0 of 9 done
Citizenship isn't conditional on where you live, what you earn, or whether you keep a job. The only serious risk to it is fraud in the original application.
At the ceremony
0 / 2One document replaces another. Treat the new one as irreplaceable, because replacing it takes months.
You surrender your PR card at the ceremony. From that moment the certificate is your proof of status, and unlike the card it doesn't expire.
It's the document you'll be asked for by employers, passport offices and pension plans. A replacement is a separate application taking several months.
In the first months
0 / 3Three things the certificate lets you do that the PR card never did.
A citizenship certificate is proof of status, not a travel document. The passport application needs the certificate, photos and a guarantor.
Add yourself to the National Register of Electors, and to your provincial and municipal lists. This is the right permanent residence didn't include.
Canada allows it; some countries don't, and may treat you only as their own citizen when you visit. Check before you travel there, not after you land.
What changes from now on
0 / 4Not tasks — four facts worth knowing once and then forgetting about.
You can live outside Canada for as long as you like without putting your status at risk. There's no card to renew and no days to count.
Citizens may sponsor a spouse, partner or child from outside Canada if they intend to return; permanent residents must be living in Canada to sponsor.
Canadian consulates can assist you overseas, except in a country that considers you its own citizen. Dual citizens should know which countries those are.
Juries are drawn from citizens. Ontario mails an eligibility form each year and a summons can follow; your employer must give you the time, and the province pays selected jurors a daily amount.
General information for newcomers, not legal advice. Rules, fees and obligations change — each item links to the government page that decides it.