A citizenship test is an examination, written or oral, required to achieve

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

in a country. It can be a follow up to fulfilling other requirements such as spending a certain amount of time in the country to qualify for applying for citizenship. Some North American countries where they exist are the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Among European countries, written citizenship tests are in place in the UK,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Oral citizenship tests are used in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

History

The practice of testing individuals as part of the naturalization process began in the United States in the late 1880s as a literacy test. In 2017 a lifelong resident of Switzerland made headlines after failing her citizenship test. The United States citizenship test increased from 10 to 20 questions on December 1, 2020 (with 12 correct answers required to pass) and involved more conservative philosophy, more advanced English, and less simple geography than the previous test which had remained unchanged since 2008. According to a 2018 survey by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, less than one third of Americans could pass a multiple choice citizenship test, with the majority of respondents failing to choose the correct number of Supreme Court justices and the opponents of the United States in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Australia

The Australian citizenship test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, 15 of which must be answered correctly to pass, and has been in place since 2007. It is only available in English, and it is required of applicants between 18 and 59. Australian naturalization can occur with either the standard 45-minute examination, a combination of a 90-minute examination with consultation) and a prior completion of a 400-hour English course, or as part of a citizenship course (required for applicants that fail three citizenship examinations). After the written test, applicants do a face-to-face interview with an Australian Immigration and Border Protection officer.

Germany

The German citizenship test is required of German nationality applicants age 16 or older who did not attend German school or German higher education in law or social, political, or administrative sciences. has 33 questions including three questions specific to the German state where the applicant lives. The time limit is 60 minutes. The minimum number of correct answers is 17, and a repeat test is permitted for those who fail. The German government reports that more than 90% of applicants pass.

Examples

American Civics Test The American Civics Test (also known as the American Citizenship Test, U.S. Civics Test, U.S Citizenship Test, and U.S. Naturalization Test) is an oral examination that is administered to immigrants who are applying for Citizenship of the United ...

Australian citizenship test The Australian citizenship test is a test applicants for Australian citizenship who also meet the basic requirements for citizenship are required to take. In order to be able to take the test, one must be a permanent resident of Australia and one ...

Canadian Citizenship Test The Canadian Citizenship Test is a test, administered by the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, that is required for all applicants for Canadian citizenship who are aged between 18 and 54 and who meet the basic requirements for ...

Citizenship of the United States Citizenship of the United States is a citizenship, legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by ...

Life in the United Kingdom test Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, r ...

Integration law for immigrants to the Netherlands The integration law for immigrants to the Netherlands, known as the Civil Integration Act 2021 (), is a law designed to ensure that long-term immigrants to the Netherlands, who are not citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area (Icelan ...

References

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