Citizenship application Minor - Physical presence less than 1 year

[nvap23]

Hello:
I believe they generally say that if Adults are eligible to apply for Citizenship, they can include minors application although they might not meet the 1095 days physical presence calculation. I would like to include my kids Citizenship application along with mine and I am wondering if I can or cannot.

From below link:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0003-application-canadian-citizenship-minors-under-18-years.html
Step 1 – Make sure the minor is eligible
To be eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship, the minor must:
be under 18 years of age at the time the application is signed;
be a permanent resident of Canada;
have at least one parent (includes legally adoptive parent) who is a Canadian citizen or who will become a citizen at the same time as the minor (applying together as a family).

My kid landed with us as a permanent resident back in Nov 2019 but travelled internationally in Jan 2020 and was stuck outside Canada during COVID lockdowns and has been living with us in permanent resident status since Nov 2021.

Considering that that the minor kid is with us in permanent residence status in Canada for less than a year, do you think we can include the minor application or not?

Thanks.

 

[RamyMN]

According to the application guide, there are no physical presence requirements for minor children as long as they have a Canadian parent or a parent that is applying for citizenship with the kids has completed the physical presence requirement . You can apply for your children along with your application. This is going to be a paper application though.

 

[BlueJays2017]

My husband and kids got their citizenship when only my husband was eligible in terms of presence calculator. Rest assured, minors are not required to go through presence calculator if their application is included along with their eligible parents.

 

[nvap23]

Good to know. Thank you for prompt responses.
Just since the guideline suggests that they should be permanent residents we were wondering if the minors should be residents for at least 2 years.

 

[Minor Passport]

My husband and kids got their citizenship when only my husband was eligible in terms of presence calculator. Rest assured, minors are not required to go through presence calculator if their application is included along with their eligible parents.

How did you apply the application? Paper or Online
Did you fill physical presence calculator of Minor. I am trying online but the system did not accept below 3 yrs. Can you suggest to me
how to do?

 

[AliRampur]

I have a similar issue. My son is now with my wife in Canada. My wife will complete her requirements in Feb'25 but my son joined her 8 months later. So do we have to do a paper application? or we can use the online one itself given my son hasnt met the 1095 days criteria. If they are asking in the form "You must let us know if the minor left Canada for a total of 730 days or more in the past five (5) years or since becoming a permanent resident. If “Yes”, complete the chart. If you require more space, add rows by pressing the plus sign (+) button." - then does that mean they will reject his application if he applies with my wife who will meet all the physical presence requiremnets?

"

 

[forw.jane]

I have a similar issue. My son is now with my wife in Canada. My wife will complete her requirements in Feb'25 but my son joined her 8 months later. So do we have to do a paper application? or we can use the online one itself given my son hasnt met the 1095 days criteria. If they are asking in the form "You must let us know if the minor left Canada for a total of 730 days or more in the past five (5) years or since becoming a permanent resident. If “Yes”, complete the chart. If you require more space, add rows by pressing the plus sign (+) button." - then does that mean they will reject his application if he applies with my wife who will meet all the physical presence requiremnets?

"

Kids don't have physical presence requirement if applying with parents. You can apply online too.

 

[armoured]

I have a similar issue. My son is now with my wife in Canada. My wife will complete her requirements in Feb'25 but my son joined her 8 months later. So do we have to do a paper application? or we can use the online one itself given my son hasnt met the 1095 days criteria. If they are asking in the form "You must let us know if the minor left Canada for a total of 730 days or more in the past five (5) years or since becoming a permanent resident. If “Yes”, complete the chart. If you require more space, add rows by pressing the plus sign (+) button." - then does that mean they will reject his application if he applies with my wife who will meet all the physical presence requiremnets?"

Are you already a citizen?

 

[AliRampur]

Are you already a citizen?

no. my wife will be eligible in Feb'25, but my son would have at the time be around 8 month short of 1095 days.

 

[YEGAsh]

Minors applying with parents do not need to fulfil any physical presence requirements. There are two types of minor applications:

Under subsection 5(2) of the Citizenship Act: These minors do not need to meet the physical presence requirement. They only need to be a permanent resident with no unfulfilled PR requirements. They also need to pass all background checks. When minors apply with their parents, they are granted citizenship after their parent takes the oath, even if you all apply together as a family. If the parent in the application is refused, the minor will also be refused because they have no Canadian parent.

Under subsection 5(1): These minor applications are processed more or less like adult applications except they do not need to meet the language or knowledge requirements. They DO need to meet physical presence, but they do not need a Canadian parent. The adult applying on behalf of the minor, however, must be able to provide proof of guardianship, even if that parent/guardian is not a Canadian.

In most situations, a minor will apply under 5(2) and therefore they do not need to meet the physical presence requirement. If you are concerned that your application may not be approved for whatever reason and you still want your child to go on to obtain citizenship, you can apply for your minor under 5(1) assuming they meet the PP requirement.

 

[AliRampur]

@YEGAsh Thank you so much. This is extremely helpful. Just last question, given your above response, it doesn't then matter if my wife does an online application and includes my son in it? or does she have to do a paper one?

The reason i ask is because i read on another forum that for such cases where the child hasnt met PP requirements but is applying with parent, paper application is necessary.

 

[YEGAsh]

@YEGAsh Thank you so much. This is extremely helpful. Just last question, given your above response, it doesn't then matter if my wife does an online application and includes my son in it? or does she have to do a paper one?

The reason i ask is because i read on another forum that for such cases where the child hasnt met PP requirements but is applying with parent, paper application is necessary.

Hmmm I am not aware of this restriction. Afaik it shouldn't matter if you apply online or on paper but then again, I've never had to go through that process so I can't say for certain.

 

[armoured]

For a while the instructions stated early that if applying as a family, only paper application. I do not know what it says now. Just follow the instructions.

 

[YEGAsh]

For a while the instructions stated early that if applying as a family, only paper application. I do not know what it says now. Just follow the instructions.

Ah yes you're right, I forgot about that. Families can apply through either online or paper application now. I know there's sometimes an issue with families getting split up into separate applications. Not sure why that happens though.