Does visit count for citizenship
- Thread starter younes123
- Start date
IRCC has simply reinstated an old rule. Citizenship residency count functioned like this for many years. You can count up to two pre-PR years - which at 1/2 credit per day could give you up to 1 year of pre-PR time towards the citizenship requirement.
Yeah i thought it only applied to students workers etc. Giving visitors a chance is great too. I guess i need to read all the new rules
Another factor to keep in mind when counting visitor days:
While the credit is not directly dependent on a formal visa, without a formal visa IRCC will need to verify status and presence in order to give the credit. This will likely require non-routine processing, at the least some requests for additional information and documentation. This can mean significant delays in processing time. In many scenarios it may even be difficult to prove actual presence in Canada during this time period.
For an individual who was in Canada prior to becoming a PR without a formal visa or permit, such as a visa-exempt traveler, the prudent approach would be to wait to apply with a margin above the minimum that is larger than the visitor-time credit. The visitor-time can and should be part of the calculation, but better to not rely on it to meet the minimum.
In the situation described by the OP, for example, all the individual needs to do is wait an extra three months to apply. That would not only improve the odds of the application being processed routinely, resulting in being scheduled for the oath considerably sooner, but it would dramatically decrease the risk of being denied if IRCC is not persuaded the applicant has sufficiently proven all those days were actually spent in Canada.
While the credit is not directly dependent on a formal visa, without a formal visa IRCC will need to verify status and presence in order to give the credit. This will likely require non-routine processing, at the least some requests for additional information and documentation. This can mean significant delays in processing time. In many scenarios it may even be difficult to prove actual presence in Canada during this time period.
For an individual who was in Canada prior to becoming a PR without a formal visa or permit, such as a visa-exempt traveler, the prudent approach would be to wait to apply with a margin above the minimum that is larger than the visitor-time credit. The visitor-time can and should be part of the calculation, but better to not rely on it to meet the minimum.
In the situation described by the OP, for example, all the individual needs to do is wait an extra three months to apply. That would not only improve the odds of the application being processed routinely, resulting in being scheduled for the oath considerably sooner, but it would dramatically decrease the risk of being denied if IRCC is not persuaded the applicant has sufficiently proven all those days were actually spent in Canada.
Yes, time spent in Canada within the eligibility period before the PR as a student, visitor, worker, temporary resident permit holder, or protected person counts as one half day, with a maximum of 365 days.
To state it clearly: Any time spent in Canada outside the eligibility period is irrelevant to your physical presence.
Good Luck!
Last edited:
Only days spent during the eligibility period count, nothing else does.
And yes, your days spent in Canada as a foreign student will count for half up to 1 year if within this period.
It's still very possible to be approved without nearly that much overage. My husband applied claiming almost one year of pre-PR time (i.e. almost two years at 1/2 credit each day) and with only a month of overage. He was a visa exempt visitor during the pre-PR time and was approved quickly.
Same with a friend. He was from the USA and used two years at 1/2 credit per day (i.e. one year). He was never questioned about the pre-PR time (during which he was only a visitor, and made weekly trips into and out of Canada by car) and received his citizenship (in 2015) in seven months.
That sounds pretty similar to my husband's case. He actually received RQ but even with that - went through the entire process extremely quickly. This was back in 2013.
Geez, I know people who waited years to just get the test with no RQ during that period. It was such a fraught process that it still leaves a bad taste in the mouth years later.