Am I eligible to apply for citizenship?

[jnb845]

I arrived in Canada for the first time on May 7, 2008 as a student.
And I traveled for few.countries. And I also stayed as a visitor in Canada for 51 days.
Eventually, I became a Permanent resident on August 4, 2010.

........... so here's my question.
My total staying days in Canada Before I became a Permanent resident was 629 days.
I have to count this as a halfday, so it's 314 days. Right?

I am confused that whether I should apply for citizenship on September 24 this year because I fulfilled my 2 years as a PR already, And this late September will actually satisfy whole 3 years. And I have never left Canada since became PR.

Am I eligible to apply for citizenship? OR Do I have to wait until August 4, 2013 or 2014??

 

[desibabu]

as far as I know your stay before becoming the PR, will count as half day.
so if you have completed 2 years stay prior to PR and 2 after the PR. you should be good to apply for the citizenship.

use the online calculator from immigration canada website. to calculate.

call immigration and citizenship , agent can also confirm.

read the eligibility to become citizen guide.also.
we never when they change the rules,

always apply with corect information and documents, check twice, if there is mistake they send it back.
and count from the resent date only. so you avoid un necessary delays.

good luck.

 

[jnb845]

My days in Canada before I became PR was 629 days NOT 2 years(730days).
so it is 314 days and as I said, September 24 will be completing whole 3 years in Canada

 

[desibabu]

The residence calculator is for permanent residents applying for citizenship as adults (18 years of age or older).

You can use the calculator to find out if you have lived in Canada long enough to be eligible for citizenship. If you have, the calculator will tell you that you are eligible to apply. If you have not, it will tell you when you will be eligible to apply.

What is the residence requirement?
To be eligible for Canadian citizenship, you must have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) out of the four years (1,460 days) preceding your application. Please note that you cannot meet the residence requirements for citizenship without a minimum of two (2) years as a permanent resident.

When calculating your time in Canada:

only the four (4) years preceding the date of your application are taken into account;
each day you lived in Canada before you became a permanent resident counts as half a day;
each day you lived in Canada after you became a permanent resident counts as one day;
time spent serving a sentence for an offence in Canada (e.g. prison, penitentiary, jail, reformatory, conditional sentence, probation and/or parole) cannot be counted toward residence - there are some exceptions to this rule;
absences from Canada may have an impact on your residence. Only a citizenship judge can determine if you meet the residence requirements with fewer than 1,095 days of physical presence.


from the citizenship website. go govt website citizenship and immigration on google search for "canadian citizenship Residence Calculator"

 

[Leon]

Keep in mind that they only count the past 4 years so if you want to apply on September 24, 2012, you can only count days since September 24, 2008 and the days before you got your PR count as half days. You should have 1095 days on the day before you sign your citizenship application. It is better to have a couple of more weeks just in case.

 

[jnb845]

Thanks Leon

Really? they only count past 4 years from my sign date on application?
that is so confusing....

Okay then if I wait until August next year(2013), am I eligible for it?
including or excluding days before I became PR??

Or just fulfil 4 years as a PR and then apply?

 

[scylla]

Really? they only count past 4 years from my sign date on application?
that is so confusing....

Yes - only the past four years from the date you sign the application. Don't apply until you have a minimum of 1095 days (I would wait until you have a few more just to be safe).

 

[paraug99]

jnb845,
I agree with all the suggestions posted up by the members but i strongly recommend (as desibabu mentioned earlier in his post) to use the residence calculator on the cic website. Thus, if you do not meet the requirements, the calculator will tell you on what date can you apply. Then you can wait for a couple of weeks (just a precautionary measure) and then apply for your citizenship.
Hope this helps.
$0.02

 

[scylla]

jnb845,
I agree with all the suggestions posted up by the members but i strongly recommend (as desibabu mentioned earlier in his post) to use the residence calculator on the cic website. Thus, if you do not meet the requirements, the calculator will tell you on what date can you apply. Then you can wait for a couple of weeks (just a precautionary measure) and then apply for your citizenship.
Hope this helps.
$0.02

Very good advice. The residence calculator is there for a reason.

 

[Leon]

Thanks Leon

Really? they only count past 4 years from my sign date on application?
that is so confusing....

Okay then if I wait until August next year(2013), am I eligible for it?
including or excluding days before I became PR??

Or just fulfil 4 years as a PR and then apply?

Yes, they only count the previous 4 years. That is not confusing. Just the rules. They want you to actually live in Canada in order to gain the right to apply for citizenship. They don't want you to qualify by only spending a short time in Canada every year for many years.

If you had never left Canada at all in the 2 years before getting your PR, you would be eligible after 2 years as a PR. That would be 2 years of days that count at half rate so 365 days counted plus 2 years of PR add 730 days so 1095 total. In any case, if you never left Canada after getting your PR, you would surely be eligible to apply after 3 years as a PR because the 3 years = 1095 days regardless of where you were before your PR.

Like other people have said, use the residency calculator.