Regarding minimum time from landing to qualification pursuant to the revised residency requirement (to take effect some time this year):
waqas11 said:
So after we become PR, do we have to wait for 4 years or 6 years before we can apply for the citizenship?
The straight, simple answer has been posted:
screech339 said:
Four years after you become PR, however you still need to report your residency for last 6 years at time of application.
But that has been similarly posted before, and was the gist of the post just above by
scylla as well.
Lest this become another back-and-forth as if a matter of opinion question, which it should not be (the answer is quite certain), first a clarification and then a more thorough explanation:
The clarification:
As stated in the posts above, the answer to "we have to wait for ?" is "Four years after you become PR . . ." The clarification is that this means
1460 days of actual presence in Canada.
(Note: under current law a PR is
eligible to apply three years after landing even if the PR traveled outside Canada -- odds are not good for an applicant with less than 1095 days actual presence, but the applicant is eligible and a CJ can apply a residency test that will result in citizenship despite the absences.)
A further clarification is that there are additional
residency requirements the qualified applicant must satisfy to obtain citizenship:
-- in effect the applicant must continue to reside in Canada while the application is being processed, with an intent to continue residing in Canada if granted citizenship
-- there is also the 4X183/year presence in Canada requirement (the source of exchange above leading to the
"is it four or six years" query)
Still,
the short answer is that a PR who, following the date of landing, spends
four consecutive years (no absences) physically present in Canada, meets both the 1460 days total and 4X183/year requirements.
There appears to be some lingering question, if not doubt, concerning the latter, that the 4X183/year requirement can be met in just four years.
Longer explanation to clarify how the 4X183/year requirement works:
1460
consecutive days actual presence meets the residency requirement (assuming tax law compliance and required intent), but of course following that the application must be made and the process completed, to the point of taking the oath (and generally, given the
intent element, the PR will need to continue residing in Canada while the application is in process). That will take from five to twenty months more (sometimes possibly even longer).
Given that the post by
anon123 was in response to and quoted the post by
Martin29, I understood the exchange about how long it takes before one can become a citizen to be about
qualifying for a passport, as in qualifying for citizenship, not necessarily having a Canadian passport in hand,
in just four years time, in contrast to the suggestion it will take closer to six years, which was suggested in the
Martin29 post.
And in that regard
anon123 got it right, was accurate, consistent with what was posted by
scylla and also by
screech339; that is:
1460
consecutive days actual presence will meet both elements of the revised residency requirement.
For context, the post by
Martin29:
Martin29 said:
First of all you have live in Canada for at least 1,460.So you can apply only after 1460 days physical presence.
(i) been physically present in Canada for at least 1,460 days during the six years immediately before the date of his or her application,
(ii) been physically present in Canada for at least 183 days during each of four calendar years that are fully or partially within the
six years immediately before the date of his or her application
At first I too thought its 183 days each year. But it not 183 days each year. Later I understood its 183 days during each of four calender years. I felt happy its not so difficult. But there is a catch.
As far as I understood now we can apply for citizenship only around 6 years. Not immediately after 4 years stay in Canada.Because if you apply immediately after 4 years then the first year of last 6 year wont satisfy the (ii)condition. It will be partially in 4 calender years and need 183 days to satisfy the (ii) condition.
They used the word partially with that intension I guess. Otherwise its meaning less.
It will take almost 6 years permanent residence to apply for citizenship if this new law comes into effect.
May be I am wrong.
The simplest arithmetic is indeed for the PR who is actually present in Canada for four consecutive years, 1460 consecutive days. Regardless of which day in the calendar year that begins, four years plus a day later the PR has met both the 1460 day requirement
and the 183 days in each of four calendar years partially or fully within the previous six years.
For PR landing prior to July 2 in a given year:
For the applicant who lands and begins this calculation prior to July 2nd in a given year, that year will count toward the 4x183/year, since July 2 through December 31 adds up to 183 days. This applicant will meet the 4X183/year on July 2nd in the third year after landing, which could be up to nearly a year before meeting the full 1460 requirement.
Pre-July 2nd landing example: PR who landed June 15, 2012 and does not travel outside Canada will meet the 4X183/year on July 2, 2015, having been present 183/year for 2012, 2013, 2014, and as of July 2, 2015. But this applicant will not meet the minimum 1460 day requirement until June 16, 2016 (four years plus a day after landing).
For PR landing after July 1 in a given year:
While the year of landing will not count toward the 4X183/year requirement if a PR lands July 2nd or later in a given year, as of the fourth year anniversary (1460 days after landing), that PR meets both requirements (assuming no travel abroad at all).
Example for July 2nd or later in the year landing: PR who landed July 25, 2012 will meet the 1460 day requirement as of July 26, 2016, and in the meantime would have met the 183/year requirement for 2013, 2014, 2015, and as of July 2, 2016.
Meeting the 1460 days presence requirement but not 4X183/year:
The core of the new residency requirement is the 1460 days of actual presence. The vast majority of PRs who meet that requirement will also meet the 4x183/year requirement. There are some arithmetically possible examples to the contrary, but those involve multiple years of extended absence (well beyond mere holidays or brief business travel).
Example for meeting 1460 day requirement but not the 4X183/year requirement:
If an applicant landed January 3, 2012 and remains in Canada without an absence until June 28th, 2015, but then leaves and does not return until July 2nd or later in 2016 -- say there is a terminally ill parent in home country, or the PR needs to spend a year studying in a graduate program only available in the U.S. (say all seats are taken in Canadian university classes for same program) or some other career opportunity requiring a year abroad is too good to pass up. If this applicant returns to Canada July 3rd, 2016, and stays in Canada, he will meet the 1460 day requirement in January 2017 but still have to wait until having spent at least 183 days in 2017 before qualifying, which would be in July 2017 at the earliest.
This applicant would meet the 183/year requirement in 2012, 2013, 2014, but not 2015 or 2016, so would have to wait until meeting it in the year 2017 to qualify, to have 4X183/year (calendar year) in Canada.
In this example, all this individual needed to do was to delay leaving in the summer of 2015 until July 2nd or later, then he would meet the 183/year for 2015 as well. Then, upon returning to Canada, as soon as the 1460 days in Canada requirement was met, he would qualify.
In contrast, if this individual left Canada June 28th, 2015, returned in 2016 after July 1st, but then also needed to be abroad for six months or more in 2017, it would be July 2018 at the soonest before this PR would qualify for citizenship, even though well above 1460 days actual presence before then.
These examples are intended to be illustrative. There are a great many various possibilities, permutations. Again, for the vast majority, once the PR has spent 1460 days in Canada, the 4X183/year requirement will also be met (or will be soon).
Purpose of the 4X183/year requirement:
While the 4X183/year requirement may have a direct impact on a small number of PRs who have extensive absences, it seems obvious to me that this requirement is mostly, if not specifically, intended to make sure qualified applicants have at least four years during which they meet the CRA definition of being a resident in Canada, thus four years in which filing a resident tax return is required. This is probably a lot more about documenting sources of income than it is about paying Canadian taxes, the government interested in the extent to which the applicant continues to have ties abroad (like employment) which might indicate either more absences than those reported or the lack of intent to continue residing in Canada.
