For Canadian citizenship, your stay duration must consist of your physical presence in Canada, with a minimum of 1,095 days resulting from the previous five years These five years imply the period before applying for citizenship in Canada. However, it is noteworthy that each day might not be calculated as equal as far as the eligibility for Canadian citizenship is concerned.
The days that are calculated as complete days account for all the days an individual physically stayed in Canada as a permanent resident. Therefore, an individual seeking Canadian citizenship must live in Canada for a minimum of two years as a permanent resident by meeting the requirement of being physically present.
Suppose a candidate lives in Canada as a temporary resident, his stay duration in Canada will be calculated based on half days reaching 365 days. One day of that individual will be equal to a half day, so he will need to have spent two years to meet the requirement. Being a temporary resident is not the essential requirement for getting Canadian citizenship. But, to calculate your time as a temporary resident you need to calculate your time in the context of physical presence.
As reported by IRCC, you will need a stay duration in Canada of at least 1.095 days before applying for Canadian citizenship.
Canadian citizenship- other essential requirements
There are other eligibility requirements for Canadian citizenship apart from being physically present in Canada:
- Language proficiency in English and French is compulsory because you must demonstrate your language abilities from 18 to 54. Your language skills will help you a great deal in conversing well with others in society.
- According to IRCC, if you wish for Canadian citizenship, you are not supposed to have any criminal record.
- To acquire Canadian citizenship, you must be well-informed about all your rights and responsibilities. You must also know about Canadian geography, history, and political system.
- Filing for taxation in Canada for a minimum of three years during the five years before applying date is essential.
- You must apply to the IRCC officially and pay the government’s processing fee and citizenship rights fee.
After you fulfill all other eligibility requirements, you must begin with your Canadian citizenship application.
Anyone aged 18 to 54 years, with their approved Canadian citizenship application, will need to give a citizenship test. After the test, they will also need to mark their presence at the Citizenship Ceremony. He will further receive the Citizenship certificate, and after receiving it he will take the citizenship oath. All this will eventually make you a Canadian citizen.
Refugee and Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) applicants- meeting the physical presence requirement
Suppose your refugee claim or PRRA is under evaluation, in the meanwhile; you attain a work permit or study permit, remember that you will not obtain the temporary resident status. The time invested during this period will not come under calculation for your physical presence requirement.
For instance, the only period which will be calculated, if you seek to claim time, will be that specific time in which you received a positive response on your PRRA decision or refugee claim, even one day before attaining permanent residency.
The time spent during approval and the day of acquiring permanent residency is calculated based on half days, progressing toward Canadian citizenship application.
Imprisonment record in Canada
The days you spend in a Canadian prison will not account for your physical presence, whether you stayed only on probation or temporarily, or for a particular purpose. However, there could be a few exceptions to this; they are as follows:
- Your probation time might account for physical presence if there was no breach of the parole’s conditions. Also, you could live up to the conditions of parole.
- You will not necessarily require to announce the stay duration of the imprisonment if you happened to complete it during your youth.
- You need not mention the time you served your sentence for a Canadian offense if it occurred five years before your application date. IRCC won’t calculate that duration for the physical presence requirement.
