Citizenship Requirements - employment record

[Berty3000]

Hi all,

I have PR and am planning to do a three year stint from the autumn with a view to getting citizenship. My question is: if I got PR through the economic class (express entry), are there any requirements that I must be working during the three years? Supposing I traveled around a lot and lived off my savings, plus volunteered - can I still count the time in Canada towards my citizenship application?

Thanks

 

[zardoz]

Hi all,

I have PR and am planning to do a three year stint from the autumn with a view to getting citizenship. My question is: if I got PR through the economic class (express entry), are there any requirements that I must be working during the three years? Supposing I traveled around a lot and lived off my savings, plus volunteered - can I still count the time in Canada towards my citizenship application?

Thanks

No requirement for employment. You can count any time physically in Canada within the eligibility period. There are exceptions to this for things like prison/parole etc but one assumes that you are squeaky clean. Make sure you keep a very good record of all your transits into and out of Canada. You WILL need them.

 

[btbt]

Hi all,

I have PR and am planning to do a three year stint from the autumn with a view to getting citizenship. My question is: if I got PR through the economic class (express entry), are there any requirements that I must be working during the three years? Supposing I traveled around a lot and lived off my savings, plus volunteered - can I still count the time in Canada towards my citizenship application?

Thanks

I expect that as long as you spend the time in Canada it will count towards the physical presence requirement for a citizenship application. Employment is not a requirement to maintain your PR status or a prerequisite for citizenship.

It is highly recommended to not apply the day after you reach your 1095 days of physical presence but to ensure you have some margin, so count on doing a little bit more than a "three year stint", by adding a few weeks. Keep a good log of when you leave Canada and when you return. CBSA (and other border agencies) may not always stamp your passport (or do so accurately), so writing down dates/times/flights/border crossings and keeping ticket stubs etc is highly recommended.

You may end up being asked to prove your physical presence in Canada during that time, so make sure to keep rental agreements/hotel room receipts/ticket stubs/... so you have that documentation. (Search the forum for "RQ" or "PPQ" to find out what kind of information IRCC asks if they doubt you've been in Canada during the time you claimed you were here). We don't know exactly what triggers those more extensive inquiries, but as you won't have an obvious "three years in one place, employed" kind of profile, it's somewhat more likely to happen. So, knowing what to expect if it were to lead to RQ (or similar) can help you make sure you have the documentation you need.

Also, and this is not directly relevant for citizenship, note that for health card eligibility most (all?) provinces and territories have annual physical presence requirements of their own, so make sure to keep that in mind when scheduling your travels, so that you do not lose eligibility (or if you do lose your health card that you have private insurance to rely on).

 

[Berty3000]

Thanks for these very helpful responses guys. Much appreciated - and what I was hoping to hear!

 

[Berty3000]

I just thought of something else... It is unlikely that I would have a permanent address. Is this likely to pose a problem when I apply for citizenship? I am likely to stop at various places volunteering, but would also just be on the road using my motor home. I may get a PO box for mail. I'm unsure whether this would be an issue in terms of health care - I'd be willing to stop in a given province for long enough to keep the health care eligibility, although not at a fixed address. But the main concern is, would this matter in relation to citizenship?

Would it be worthwhile to collect and scan receipts as I go along, for things paid for on my credit card? So fuel and food purchases, etc. As evidence of physical presence in Canada? Presumably electronic flight tickets would also be relevant, although not proof on their own. Email correspondence and references from people I stay with?

 

[btbt]

I just thought of something else... It is unlikely that I would have a permanent address. Is this likely to pose a problem when I apply for citizenship? I am likely to stop at various places volunteering, but would also just be on the road using my motor home. I may get a PO box for mail. I'm unsure whether this would be an issue in terms of health care - I'd be willing to stop in a given province for long enough to keep the health care eligibility, although not at a fixed address. But the main concern is, would this matter in relation to citizenship?

Would it be worthwhile to collect and scan receipts as I go along, for things paid for on my credit card? So fuel and food purchases, etc. As evidence of physical presence in Canada? Presumably electronic flight tickets would also be relevant, although not proof on their own. Email correspondence and references from people I stay with?

As I said, search the forum for RQ and PPQ to find out what kind of information IRCC may request if they have doubts about your presence in Canada during the eligibility period. But yes, you will want to keep documentation of your lodging, expenses, travel tickets,... (it may make sense to go above and beyond what IRCC asks, so you have documentation to take to a citizenship judge or, subsequently, federal court).

As you will be doing something that's not common you may want to read the requirements as they've been written into law and the related regulations (http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/index.html), so you know what all the requirements are. Some of IRCC's operational policies are online, though not all (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship.html).
Beyond that, it may be worthwhile to consult with a citizenship lawyer, as they may be able to tell you about relevant case law.

As far as eligibility for health care goes -- the burden of proof is on you (in at least some provinces), and I don't know what they will or will not accept. Doing some research around that seems highly recommended, so you know what is expected. Also so you know how coverage out of province works, because there are restrictions when you're out of province. Note that IRCC has asked people for an overview of their health care use as part of the proof of physical presence, so having no health care interaction at all may count against you. Sufficient other proof may balance that out, but I don't know how these things are weighed. Again, an immigration/citizenship lawyer may be able to provide more useful information.