Citizenships are not easily granted. The process involved in attaining citizenship of a country is lengthy and irksome. There are eligibility concerns, stack of documents to be gathered and submitted, tests, interviews and finally the oath ceremony that ends the whole process. Granting an individual, citizenship of a country means he can exercise all the rights and duties like other citizens.
Immigration citizenship procedures therefore need to be carefully carried out. Only after proper verification of one's background, he is granted the citizenship. In this case, interviews play a major role.
Different countries have different procedures lined up for permanent immigration of applicants. Even the pattern of interviews varies to a great extent. However, here is some general information about immigration citizenship interviews.
First, the interviewer will ensure that all your documents are in an order. These documents are essentially proofs of your stay in the country for a specified time, your work records, marital status, residence proof like lease / ownership agreements, financial standing etc.
Thus, make it a point to bring in all your documents neatly filed in a portfolio. Also, do not forget to bring along your identification like the Permanent Resident Card, passport and other important papers.
A detailed question answer round that discusses these information about you, will take up major part of the interview. You must be able to clarify any doubts or differences in your applications. Other questions may be asked to ensure that you are eligible for citizenship.
While the interview progresses further, questions will be based on you character, attachment and commitment to the country and willingness to take an oath.
The interviews do not just end there. Applicants have to undergo an MCQ test. This Multiple Choice Questions test basically examines your knowledge and awareness about the country's history, current affairs, and general information. Also, some countries conduct the language tests to examine the lingual skills. Your ability to read, write and speak the language will be checked by this test. Reading and speaking are oral tests that may be conducted during the interview with the immigration officer.
The next part of the test is a civic test that tests the knowledge about the government of the country. Questions like Which economic system does our country follow? or What is the name of our President? are comprised in this test. Thus, general awareness about the country's economic system and politics to some extent is a must.
These tests can also be conducted orally during the interview. Interviewer may ask some information about the national flag and details about it. Geographical questions are also included by some countries, like asking about the state capitals, where some important monuments are situated, etc.
Being a citizen of a country means huge commitments to it. By becoming a citizen, you can avail of all the rights and duties. The right to vote, freedom to tour around the country without application of visa, right to purchase and sell property etc. are some of the many rights that you can exercise.