When Can I Apply for Canadian Citizenship?

Canada requires that any adult who wants to apply for Canadian Citizenship must first live in Canada for a specified period of time before they are eligible to apply for Canadian Citizenship. Although there are other Canadian Citizenship Eligibility criteria in addition to time spent in Canada, this post will mainly address the question of “How long do I have to wait until I can apply for Canadian Citizenship?"

There are essentially three categories of people who can apply for Canadian Citizenship, and the timeframe for eligibility for citizenship will be different for each. These are: (1) Permanent Residents (2) minor children of Permanent Residents and (3) members of the Canadian military.

If you qualify to become a Canadian Citizen, you can apply online or in paper to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the processing time can take several months to two years. Any errors with the application or lack of evidence will cause delays or a returned package. So, once you are eligible, the next step is to ensure your forms and supporting documentation are prepared properly to obtain your citizenship without further delay. 

How long after PR can you apply for Citizenship?

One of the most common questions we receive once our clients have successfully achieved Permanent Resident status is “How long before can I apply for Canadian Citizenship?” Although the standard citizenship requirement is that applicants must be physically present in Canada for 3 years within the 5 year period immediately before applying for citizenship, the actual timeline before a given person qualifies will vary for each Canadian permanent resident. Each person has individual factors that make their situation unique.

First, an important note about eligibility and timing when applying for Canadian Citizenship. You have to be eligible for Canadian Citizenship on the day you sign your application. That is the day you are considered to be applying for citizenship, even though it may be after that when you actually submit your application to IRCC. The relevant period is five years ending on the day you sign your citizenship application; that is the period during which you need to accumulate your 1,095 days. 

For example: If you sign on July 7, 2024, the relevant period would be July 7, 2019 to July 6, 2024. 

You should also wait at least a few days over 1,095 before signing your Citizenship application in case of any calculation errors that you may have made with your travel in and out of Canada.

How many days from PR to Citizenship?

The days you can count towards your citizenship eligibility will depend on whether you were physically present in Canada with valid status before becoming a Permanent Resident.

For most applicants who apply for permanent residence from abroad, you will need to provide proof of at least 3 years of living in Canada after arriving as a Permanent Resident to qualify for Citizenship. The time does not need to be continuous - just a total of 1,095 days in the last five years.

If you were already living in Canada as a visitor, international student or foreign worker before you became a Permanent Resident, you can get credit for some of that time. You are able to count 50% of the days spent in Canada with valid temporary resident status (visitor, worker, student) that fall within the 5-year period immediately before signing your Citizenship application. However, the maximum credit you can claim while on temporary status is 12 months. Therefore, even if you lived in Canada for more than 2 years as a temporary resident, you will be credited with 12 months of physical presence. 

This means the soonest anyone is eligible for Citizenship would be two years after becoming a PR. This would be a temporary resident who transitioned to permanent residence while living in Canada and did not leave Canada for even one day in the past 4 years immediately before they apply for citizenship. They would qualify using the following calculation: 

Number of days in Canada as a temp resident divided by two + number of days in Canada as a PR = 1,095 days.

Of course, all days outside Canada in the 5-year period must be deducted. 

Minor children of Canadian Permanent Residents

Sometimes a family will attain Permanent Resident status in Canada and only some family members settle in Canada while others remain overseas to finish up work or study obligations. A common question in this scenario is: “Does a child need to meet the three-year minimum residency requirement to be eligible for Canadian Citizenship if they are applying with their parent?”

The answer depends on the child's age. Children over 18 who apply for citizenship need the 1,095 days physical presence as above. Minor children who are under age 18 at time of their parent's application do not need to meet the Canadian residency requirement for Citizenship as long as one of the following conditions applies:

• they are applying for Canadian Citizenship at the same time as one of their parents, or
• one of their parents is already a Canadian citizen. 

Although the minor child needs to have Permanent Residence status when their application for Canadian Citizenship is submitted, they do not need to be physically present inside Canada for any specific length of time.

Canadian Armed Forces Citizenship

Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals serving with the Canadian Armed Forces are eligible to apply for Citizenship through a fast track program after serving for a 3-year period of time (1,095 days) within a 6-year period. Note that physical presence inside Canada is not required, as the eligibility rests upon the amount of time you have served with the Canadian Armed Forces. These applications are processed on a priority basis and normally take much less time to finalize than a regular Citizenship application.

Can I get Canadian Citizenship without first getting PR status?

Most applicants need to qualify on the basis of obtaining Permanent Resident status first, and then apply for Citizenship after living in Canada. The limited exceptions to this rule are for foreign military members who are serving within the Canadian Armed Forces as above. 

The second category is children born abroad to Canadian parents who are already considered to be Canadian citizens at birth, and just need to apply for proof of Canadian Citizenship. For many years, children born outside of Canada to Canadian parents after 2009 were not guaranteed to receive Canadian Citizenship, however; in 2024 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada started working to revise the rules regarding those born outside of Canada. If both you and your Canadian parent were born outside of Canada, you would benefit from professional guidance to determine whether or not you are actually entitled to Canadian citizenship.

Can I get Canadian Citizenship without living in Canada?

There are very limited exceptions as to who can obtain Canadian Citizenship without living in Canada first – foreign military members who serve with the Canadian Armed Forces and children who are born abroad to Canadian parents. Neither of these categories of people not need to meet the physical presence requirements to obtain Canadian Citizenship. Anyone else does need to spend time in Canada if they wish to become a Canadian citizen. 

Keeping track of time in Canada (physical presence)

It’s important for anyone intending to apply for Canadian citizenship in future to keep track of all travel to and from Canada. As part of the application for Canadian Citizenship, you will be required to provide the dates of any time spent outside of Canada within the five year period immediately before you apply. 

If you spend any portion of the day (even an hour) with your feet on the ground in Canada, it counts as a day of physical presence. So travel days count - both the day of travel out of Canada and the day of travel back.

Do I have to apply for Canadian Citizenship as soon as I become eligible?

No, there is no requirement to submit a Canadian Citizenship application as soon as you are eligible, or anytime really. You can remain a Permanent Resident forever if you wish. As long as you continue to meet the PR residency requirement of 2 years inside Canada within every 5-year period, you can keep your PR status indefinitely.

However, it is usually a good idea to apply for Canadian Citizenship when you are eligible because Citizenship gives you many benefits that Permanent Residence does not, including the ability to stop keeping records of your travels. Once you have your Canadian passport, there is no longer any physical presence requirement and you can live anywhere in the world and still retain your Canadian citizenship.

Citizenship status is also more secure. A Permanent Resident may be deported for serious trouble with the law, whereas a Canadian citizen cannot be. Deportation as a Permanent Resident can even happen to people who are generally law abiding. The most common example is causing a serious car accident. This type of conviction can lead to being removed from Canada. 

By the way, Canada has no issue with dual citizenship, so you can maintain status in your own country as well if you wish - although you might want to confirm the dual citizenship rules of your country of origin to see if they allow the same thing. 

What are the 3 requirements to become a Canadian Citizen?

Counting the days is not the only consideration when planning for a Canadian Citizenship application, it is just the one that causes the most confusion. Other factors that must be addressed as well by adult applicants include the need to:

• File income tax returns for at least 3 years within the 5-year period (not applicable to foreign military)
• Demonstrate language skills for speaking and listening in either English or French equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmarks CLB 4 or higher
• Pass a Canadian Citizenship test to demonstrate adequate knowledge of Canadian history and institutions, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizenship

Experience counts! 

Our team at The Way Immigration has over 16 years of experience in assisting people to become Canadian Citizens. We have dealt with many different scenarios, including foreign military applications for Citizenship and difficult cases where historical documents have been lost. Are you eligible for Canadian Citizenship? Contact our office today to ensure that your application for Citizenship is approved in the quickest timeframe possible.