How to Determine Eligibility for Canadian Citizenship?

To become a Canadian citizen, you must be physically present in Canada for three of the past five years. Among other requirements, if you are 18 or older, you must have lived in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the five years before your citizenship application.

When determining your citizenship eligibility, keep in mind that you must have been a permanent resident for at least two years to fulfil the physical presence criterion. In addition, after becoming a permanent resident, each day you spend in Canada counts as one full day toward your citizenship application.

Each day you spent as a temporary resident in Canada before becoming a permanent resident counts as half a day, up to a maximum of 365 days. As a result, if you were a temporary resident who did not leave Canada for three years, your stay would only be counted for 365 days. Again, for the physical presence requirement, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) examines just five years immediately before the date of your application. Your time as a temporary resident, for example, does not count if you have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for the past five years.

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If you were not a temporary resident before obtaining permanent residence, you must have spent at least 1,095 days, or three years, in Canada. In any event, applying with more than the minimum needed number of days guarantees that any miscalculations are accounted for. IRCC even advises on its website to apply with more days than you require.

In addition to the physical presence requirement, there are some of the other requirements for Canadian citizenship such as you must be fluent in either English or French in order to communicate in Canadian society. In addition, if you are between the ages of 18 and 54, you must provide proof of language competency. Also, you may be required to submit taxes in Canada for at least three years before the day you apply. According to IRCC, you cannot have a criminal record that prevents you from obtaining citizenship. You must be aware of citizens' rights and obligations and have a fundamental understanding of Canada's geography, political system, and history. In addition, you must file a formal application with IRCC and pay a government processing charge as well as a right of citizenship fee.

You can apply for Canadian citizenship if you satisfy the eligibility requirements. Following approval, candidates between the ages of 18 and 54 will be required to take a citizenship exam. Then you must attend a citizenship ceremony, obtain your Canadian citizenship certificate, and take the Oath of Citizenship. After that, you will be a Canadian citizen.

Requirements for Refugee claimants

These documents did not provide you with temporary resident status if you acquired a job or study permit while your refugee claim or PRRA (Pre-Removal Risk Assessment) was processed. As a result, you cannot utilize this time period in your physical presence calculation.

Suppose you are claiming time as a protected person. In that case, you may only claim time from the day you obtained a favorable decision on your claim or PRRA application until the day you became a permanent residence. The days you spend in Canada following approval but before the permanent residency count as half a day toward your citizenship application.

Additionally, if you served time in jail, on probation, or on parole in Canada, those days are normally not counted against your physical presence. However, there are a couple of exceptions. If you did not violate parole or fail to comply with parole requirements, your time on probation as a consequence of a conditional discharge may count towards physical presence. In addition, time spent in jail or on probation does not have to be mentioned if you got a young sentence and completed it satisfactorily.

If you served a term for an offence in Canada for more than five years and that too before the date of your application, you do not have to declare it since it falls outside of the timeframe considered by IRCC for the physical presence requirement.