How to Become a Citizenship Judge in Canada

In Canada, a citizenship judge is an official who reviews citizenship applications to determine whether the applicants will make good Canadian citizens. They preside over the citizenship ceremonies for new Canadian citizens and administer the oath of citizenship. This is their only function; they are not judges in the traditional sense of presiding over civil or criminal trials. Citizenship judges simply need to be respectable members of the community. Citizenship judges are appointed for a particular region of Canada on recommendations from the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

1. Step 1

   Citizenship Judges must be Canadian citizens, although they do not have to be born in Canada. In fact, many citizenship judges are naturalized citizens who came to Canada from other countries and see becoming a citizenship judge as a way to give something back to their adopted country.

2. Step 2

   As English and French are the official languages of Canada, Citizenship Judges must speak at least one of these languages with fluency.

3. Step 3

   Since citizenship judges will be deciding whether other people should be allowed to become citizens of Canada, they must be worthy citizens themselves. This requirement i typically means that the Advisory Panel that reviews applications likes to see experience with volunteer or professional organizations. Some current citizenship judges have served with organizations including the Catholic Civil Rights League, the Nova Scotia Arts Council and the Advanced Education Council of British Columbia.

4. Step 4

   You begin the application process by sending your CV and any other information you think might be relevant to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (address below). A simple cover letter indicating your interest and why you believe you would be a good citizenship judge is all you need. There is no actual application form.

5. Step 5

   Candidates who appear to meet the initial requirements of citizenship, language skills and background will be invited to take an essay test. The test asks questions designed to evaluate the candidate's judgment, cultural sensitivity, analytical thinking and general approach to the decision making process.

6. Step 6

   Assuming the written test goes well, candidates will be interviewed by the Advisory Panel. Once again, the purpose of the interview is to assess the candidate's knowledge of Canada, commitment to the citizenship process, interactive communication skills and self-control.

7. Step 7

   Once the written essay and interview are complete, references checked and all the paperwork assembled, the Advisory Panel will forward the information and their own reports to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for his or her consideration. From this point on, there's nothing else you can do. The Minister will either select you or not. Appointments can be full or part-time, and typically last no longer than three years. Some judges may be re-appointed.

William Shakespeare

- To be, or not to be (from Hamlet 3/1)

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.