Becoming a Canadian Citizen officially!

Personally, we do not like the idea of "Passports" as we believe that the world is one and people should be travel freely.  Unfortunately, due to politics, the world is separated with borders.  To cross the borders, we have no choice but to get a valid passport.

An important part of long-term travel is to figure out our passports are not expired.  For group traveling, it will make long-term travel easier if everybody holds the passport with the same nationality.  It looks like it is a minor issue, but when something big happens (for example, COVID, global crisis etc.), you would want to be able to evacuate together. 

For short trips, we use our own travel documents normally.  I am a resident from Hong Kong, so I hold my HKSAR passport.  For Chris, he is a Canadian Citizen, so he holds the Canadian Passport.  To prepare for this long journey, I have been pursuing actively to become a Canadian Citizen, so that I can have a Canadian Passport on hand before we head out.  After so many years of waiting, I finally became a Canadian Citizen in August 2023.

I was grateful to have the opportunity to attend the Canadian Citizenship Oath Taking Ceremony in person.  I know that many people were invited to attend the virtual ceremony only.  So, I am excited to be invited to the in person ceremony. 

The ceremony was held in IRCC Mississauga Office (3085 Glen Erin Dr, Mississauga, ON L5L 1J3). 

It lasted around 2 hours, below is the run-down of the ceremony:

Canadian Citizenship Oath Taking Ceremony Run-down
8:00am Registration starts
9:15am Ceremony starts
9:15-9:30am Clerk's Speech and Welcome video
9:30-9:45am Judge's Speech
9:45-9:50am Oath-taking led by the Judge
9:50-10:15am Distribution of Canadian Citizenship Certificate (One-by-One)
10:15-10:30am National Anthem Signing and Welcome Home Video by Justin Trudeau
10:30-11:15am Photo-taking with the Judge (One-by-One)
11:30am Ceremony finishes

Documents Checklist:
- Letter of invitation (Digital copy also accepted)
- Permanent Residence (PR)  Card (they will collect your PR card as you will get the citizenship certificate)
- Health Card or any identify proof (for example: passport)
- Signed waiver form (attached in the invitation email), but if you forgot to bring a copy, you can also sign it at the venue.

Dress Code:
- Business Attire (Some people also wear casual wear. But, I guess dress like going to an office work will be appropriate)

Feel free to watch the YouTube video for more information.  It is in Cantonese but with English subtitles! Good Luck with everyone who is still waiting.  Trust me, it is just a waiting game, you will finally get there!