One of the criteria for eligibility for becoming one of the requirements to become a Canadian citizen is to have resided in Canada for three of the past five years. In addition, If you’re 18 or older, You must be within Canada in Canada for at minimum 1,095 days of five years before applying for Citizenship.
One of the first things to consider when determining your eligibility for Citizenship is that you must be permanently resident for at minimum two years to satisfy the requirement for physical presence. Every day spent in Canada counts as an entire day towards your citizenship application when you become a permanent resident.
Every day you lived in Canada as temporary residents before becoming permanent residents is counted as a half-day with a maximum of 365 consecutive days. Therefore, if no temporary resident didn’t quit Canada in the last three years, it will be considered 365 days. Also, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) take into account just the five years before the date of your application to fulfill an obligation to be physically present. As an example, suppose you’ve been physically living in Canada as a permanent resident over the last five years. In that case, the time you spent in Canada as temporary residents does not count. If you weren’t an indefinite resident before the time you obtained permanent residence, then you have to be able to prove that you spent at least 1,095 days or three years in Canada.
Applying using more than the minimum required number of days will ensure that you have accounted for any errors. IRCC even suggests that you apply for more days than what you’ll need on its website.
Other eligibility requirements for Canadian Citizenship
Apart from the requirements for presence physically, here are some other requirements for eligibility for Canadian Citizenship:
- You should be able to speak English or French effectively enough to function with Canadian society. If you’re between the ages of 18 to 54, you need to provide proof of proficiency in the language.
- There is no criminal record that prevents the issuance of Citizenship according to the decision of IRCC.
- You should be aware of the rights and obligations of citizens. You should also have an understanding of Canada’s geography, its political system, and its history.
- You might have to file tax returns in Canada for a minimum of three years within the five years before the date on which you file.
- You must also complete a formal application with the IRCC and pay the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee.
If you satisfy the requirements for eligibility, If you meet the criteria for eligibility, you may apply for Canadian Citizenship. After being approved, those between 18 and 54 must pass the citizenship test. Then, you have to attend a ceremony for Citizenship be awarded a certificate of Canadian Citizenship. You will also have to swear an oath of Citizenship. Then, you have officially become an official Canadian citizen.
Physical presence is a requirement for refugee claimants as well as PRRA applicants. (PRRA) applicants.
If you obtained the permit to work or study when your refugee claim or PRRA was being evaluated and subsequently rejected, the document did not provide you with temporary residence status. So, you cannot apply this time to calculate your physical presence.
Suppose you claim the right to time as a protected individual, and you are claiming time as a protected person. In that case, the maximum amount of time permitted is from the moment you received a favorable decision regarding your claim or PRRA application to the day you were a permanent resident. The days you stay in Canada after your approval and becoming an endless resident count as a full day towards the citizenship application.
If you were in prison in Canada
If you have spent a period in Canada in jail or on probation or parole, these days generally do not count towards the physical activity you have. However, there are exceptions. The time you are on probation in the wake of an order to discharge conditionally may be counted towards physical presence if you do not violate parole or the parole conditions. Additionally, being either in jail or probation doesn’t have to be recorded if you received a youth sentence and were able to contest with the judge to win that sentence successfully. If your time served as the sentence of an offense in Canada occurred longer than five years before the date you applied, it is not required to be reported as it falls outside of the time frame that IRCC evaluates as a physically present requirement.
