I waited to pass the Canadian citizenship exam before writing this post.
At first, I was playing the waiting game for the fee to decrease but based on the consistent fee increase in the past, I decided to not take any chances.
I applied as soon as I was qualified. How did I do? I passed the exam.
My goal is to at least pass and not to retake the exam like when I passed the Alberta Driving Exam (Class 7).
I am happy with the result and surprise; more details later on.
First Things First
I am adding here all the blog post related to Canadian Citizenship so you can refer to it whenever the need arise.
- How Did I Study For The Canadian Citizenship Exam
- Cultural Access Pass: The Perks Of Becoming A Canadian Citizen
- Canadian Embassy And Consulate In The Philippines
- How To Apply For Dual Citizenship (Filipino And Canadian) In Calgary
- Did You Miss The Canadian Citizenship Ceremony
- How To Apply For A Canadian Passport In Canada
- Why You Should Check Online Your Canadian Citizenship Application
- Is The Caregiver Program In Canada About To End?
- Do I Need A Police Clearance For Canadian Citizenship Application?
- How Naturalized Canadian Can Apply For Dual Citizenship In The Philippines
- Translation Service Of Immigrant Services Calgary
- Are You Qualified For The Canadian Citizenship Application?
- Free Canadian Citizenship Practice Tests
- How To Apply For Dual Citizenship (Filipino And Canadian) In Canada
- How To Renew SIN Card In Calgary
If you have question, ask away on the post that is relevant above.
How Did I Study for the Exam
Since taking the exam, I’ve been ask many times how did I study for the Canadian Citizenship exam.
I gave a short answer but here, I’ll share the process that I went through to finally become a Canadian from a temporary foreign worker (caregiver program).
We’ll do this in chronological order.
1.) 3 months before I submitted my application for Canadian citizenship.
I was waiting for Bill C-6 to be approved so I’ll be qualified based on my number of years as a permanent resident.
While waiting, I prepared the application and order online Discover Canada, a free reviewer. I started reading the reviewer.
- Highlighted important words. Use your favourite highlighter if you like.
- Write notes on the side and back of the reviewer.
But I didn’t memorize anything yet. I was deliberating if I would make flash cards to quiz myself. Result: I didn’t make any visual reviewer.
2.) After passing the application.
When I confirmed (through CIC email) that I submitted a complete application, I started reviewing and memorizing because I don’t want to be pressured.
I have no idea when will I receive the schedule for the exam. Will I have one month preparation or weeks.
These are the lessons I studied online apart from Discover Canada
- Citizenship Counts (online quiz, study guide, and flashcards)
- Discover Canada Study Guide (19 videos)
- Apna Toronto (practice test)
- V-Soul – Free Online Canadian Citizenship Practice Test (recommended)
- O Canada (song and lyrics)
- God Save the Queen – Royal Anthem (lyrics)
I also downloaded the Canadian Citizenship Tests and used it for a while. Because it’s an old app (not free), I wouldn’t recommend you to use it.
Instead, I used V-Soul to quiz myself using my phone. I was able to review whenever I want through its website that I shared with friends. So far all of them passed the exam.
3.) 3 months after passing the application.
I received my schedule for the exam. It says that I have one month to prepare. For a month I focused on Discover Canada, memorizing as much as I could.
The questions in the exam can be anything from the book. I cannot leave any stone unturned.
This time I only use V-Soul and the reviewer. I used pen and paper to help me remember the correct answer and not my best guess.
How was I feeling with only a month to prepare?
A bit nervous. Only a little. I’m glad I gave myself enough time to prepare knowing how nervous I can be if there’s only a short period of preparation.
I’m counting the days as I do light reading. And I relax by watching Netflix, a reward for diligence.
4.) A Day before the exam.
I gather all the documents and the letter and probably watch Netflix or read a book.
Review? By this time I did what I could do to prepare so I didn’t study. Anything I did that day has nothing to do with the exam except for preparing my stuff.
With all the hard work for the past months I am confident that I’ll pass. Months of preparation help me to relax and not to panic.
All I wanted is to get this over with. I can almost see the end of the road.
5.) The day of exam.
I ace the test. I am not sure if I chose the correct answer for four questions so I spent five minutes reviewing.
If I get these questions wrong, I still have 16 questions with answers that I am confident to get right.
So I was surprised to get everything right.
The truth is anything can happen in the exam but if you prepare there’s 100% chance of passing. Isn’t that what we all want?
Once you become a Canadian citizen, you can use the Cultural Access Pass to visit museum, park, theatre for free for a year wherever in Canada.
Final Thoughts
You can do it. You’ve gone so far and passing the Canadian citizenship test is the last thing to do to become a Canadian eligible to get a Canadian passport.
Have enough time and apply as soon as you are qualified especially if you have a child not born in Canada. They should apply to become a citizen before they turn 18 so they wouldn’t have to take the exam.
An application for a child that meets the qualification is enough for your child to also become a citizen.
To everyone taking the exam, best of luck. It’s going to be all right.
What are the advantages of being a Canadian Citizen?
That’s a good question and could be answered in a blog post. For starter, a Canadian citizen have rights:
This include having a Canadian passport that can be used to enter USA, Europe, etc without having a visa. But rights come with responsibilities