Canadian citizenship’s eligibility requirements also include specific physical presence requirements. Canada demands aspiring Canadian citizens to have an experience of living in the country for three years within the previous five years. This accounts for precisely 1,095 days before an individual applies for Canadian citizenship.
For instance, if the aspiring applicants have previously lived as temporary residents or protected persons, they can mention this period in their physical presence requirement. Moreover, any Canadian who previously spent time as a temporary resident or protected individual in the country in the past five years must note that each day will remain equivalent to half a day in Canada. 365 days or 1 year is the total time such individuals can include in their physical presence requirement.
Essentially, in order to claim the period as a temporary resident or protected person, one can only claim the time when an individual received a positive decision on the protected person’s claim as a refugee or PRPA application. However, this will apply only a day before that individual gains permanent residence.
Essentially, serving a period in jail in Canada doesn’t reflect under the physical presence requirement.
Exceptional cases
Generally speaking, individuals can’t consider the period spent outside Canada towards the calculation of 1,095 days for Canadian citizenship. However, considering specific exceptional cases will require judges under Canadian citizenship to analyze each case based on individual circumstances.
Exceptional cases will make the 1,095 days rule more flexible under the following conditions:
- The applicant has managed to be physically present most of the time. However, he has been absent only recently before the submission of the Canadian citizenship application.
- In the case of the applicant’s regular absence for specific periods, his family members and dependents continue residing in Canada.
- Analyzing their previous physical presence pattern in Canada implies that they normally come back to the country and don’t just visit Canada.
- Even after lacking physical presence repetitively, their absences are lesser than the period of physical presence.
- The physical absence has resulted from temporary situations like employment or studies.
- The applicant has a stronger connection with Canada compared to other countries. However, they must demonstrate this through their Canadian work experience, business pursuits, participation in communities, and payment of Canada’s income tax.
Canadian citizenship’s eligibility- a brief
To gain eligibility for Canadian citizenship, individuals must fulfill all essential criteria relevant to the Canadian system. Furthermore, to match Canadian physical presence conditions, individuals must:
- Hold permanent residency;
- File their taxes, if and when applicable.
- Clear the Canadian citizenship test (between 18 and 54 years); and
- Demonstrate their language proficiency (18-54 years)
