Eligibility Period - Question 9c - Citizenship 

Moderator

Moderator

Posts: 4075

9. The eligibility period

a.Calculate how long you’ve been in Canada
The eligibility period is five (5) years before the date of your application. The minimum amount of time you need to be physically present in Canada is 1095 days within the five years immediately before applying. We encourage applicants to apply with more than the minimum requirement of 1095 days of physical presence, to account for any miscalculations of absences, or any other aspect that could lower the physical presence total below 1095 days.

Please note that you cannot meet the physical presence requirement without a minimum of two (2) years as a permanent resident.
When calculating your time in Canada:

• only the five (5) years immediately before the date of your application are taken into account;
• each day you were physically present in Canada as an authorized temporary resident or protected person before you became a permanent resident counts as half a day (up to a maximum of 365 days);
• each day you were physically present in Canada after you became a permanent resident counts as one day;
• time spent serving a sentence for an offence in Canada (e.g. serving a term of imprisonment, probation and/or parole) cannot be counted towards your physical presence - there are some exceptions.

In order to help you decide when to apply, the physical presence calculator calculates if and when you will meet the 1,095 day requirement.