How long can i stay outside of Canada as a PR AFTER applying for citizenship?

[Leon]

your one statement was lil confusing...am aware that i can't stay for more than 3 months outside Canada in a year to qualify...but when u say that if someone does that...will NEVER qualify for citizenship...there r so many ppl who complete their 1095 days in a period of 5 yrs or even 10...coz they keep staying outside and count exact days they were in Canada...so the 'never qualify' thing doesn't apply...or has the law changed about this as well?? please lemme know..becuase i did hear a year back that it was ok before to complete ur days in as many years possible but now they want new immigrants to do it in a period of 4 yrs...and if u don't there will be delays in your application...

As far as I know, it was always 4 years. If you for example would visit your husband 4 months a year, you would only manage 8 months a year in Canada and that is only 32 months in 4 years so you would not be eligible to apply for citizenship if you kept doing that. However, if you would visit him 3 months a year or a little less, you would manage 36 months (1095 days) in a 4 year period and could apply.

People who reach 1095 days in Canada only after 5 or 10 years are generially not eligible to apply for citizenship. There is a special case consideration for people who have strong ties to Canada but are unable to meet the residency requirements. Such an application would take a long time but may be considered for example for a person who is living in Canada but who is frequently sent away on business by a Canadian employer. I do not think that such a consideration would be made for a spouse whose Canadian husband has simply chosen to live in the US.

Of course what you do after applying for citizenship is up to you. Once you have applied, you could leave Canada and stay outside as long as you don't lose your PR. However, if you do that, it is likely that immigration will want to take a closer look at your application.

i provided them with every little detail of my visits to my husband...with entry/exit dates...and all the proof that established that i stayed in Canada...they stopped my kids child tax benefit for 3 months to review my case...and result was in my favour,got convinced and i started receiving the money again...this happened like 5 months ago...so my Q....is this a plus point for my application???

You should keep all the documents regarding that. Not everybody is in agreement on if it is a good idea to send more data with your citizenship application that is requested. Some people even think that sending more documents could look suspicious to immigration and could cause them to investigate your application further. However, if they do investigate and ask you for more documents, you can send the ones from CRA along with other things they ask for. What you should send with your application is your entry/exit records from the US as well as checkmark the box on the application that allows CIC to get your entry/exit records from CBSA. You can order the US records here: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/976/~/record-of-my-travel-in-and-out-of-the-united-states,-foia

 

[Sagar_shah]

The PR requirements are completely different and unrelated to the citizenship requirements aside from the fact that if you were to apply for citizenship and then lose your PR for not meeting the PR requirements while your citizenship application is still being processed, you would not be able to get citizenship.

The PR requirements are 730 days stayed in Canada in any rolling 5 year period. Time spent outside Canada with a Canadian citizen spouse counts as days in Canada as well.

The citizenship requirements is having spent 1095 days in Canada in the previous 4 years before you apply. Time spent in Canada before gaining PR counts as 1 day for every 2 spent. Time spent outside Canada with a citizen spouse does not count for citizenship unless your spouse is working for the Canadian government or military and is stationed by them in another country. Therefore, if you are trying to qualify for citizeship and your spouse is staying in the US, you can stay with him for 2-3 months a year without a problem but every month you stay with him delays you qualifying for citizenship. You need 1095 days in Canada so 3 years or 36 months. Say if you stay with him for 3 months a year, every year you stay in Canada 9 months so it would take you 4 years to reach 36 months. You can not visit him for more than 3 months a year on average because then you will never qualify.

You can leave Canada after applying for citizenship and you will keep your PR forever if you are living with your Canadian spouse in another country. However, immigration may see it as a red flag when a person stays in Canada the minimum number of days in order to apply for citizenship and then leaves. They may question if you were really staying in Canada as much as you said you were. Therefore, they may take a lot longer on your application to verify that.

The only problem is when immigration decides not to believe that you were really in Canada. This can add months to your application processing time.

Hi there,

I really appreciate that you help applicants a lot using your valuable knowledge in Canadian Immigration.
My situation is little bit different.
I've already stayed 730 days in Canada since the date of my PR issuance. My 5 years time limit is going to finish in June 2025.
My wife is at my home country, and we both would like to go to UK to study Master of Science.
I have also finished my 1095 days stay to be eligible for Citizenship application.
My concern is that should I apply for my citizenship, and then leave the country for two years and come back before June 2025 to avoid revoking of my PR status. Is it ok if I stay out of country for two years after applying for Citizenship?
Needed your suggestion.
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[xuan]

you are replying to a 10 year topic .... lol
are you really expecting an answer from him 10 years later ?

 

[Sagar_shah]

Hello everyone,

I really appreciate that you help applicants a lot using your valuable knowledge in Canadian Immigration.
My situation is little bit different.
I've already stayed 730 days in Canada since the date of my PR issuance. My 5 years time limit is going to finish in June 2025.
My wife is at my home country, and we both would like to go to UK to study Master of Science.
I have also finished my 1095 days stay to be eligible for Citizenship application.
My concern is that should I apply for my citizenship, and then leave the country for two years and come back before June 2025 to avoid revoking of my PR status. Is it ok if I stay out of country for two years after applying for Citizenship?
Needed your suggestion.
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Sagar_shah]

you are replying to a 10 year topic .... lol
are you really expecting an answer from him 10 years later ?

LOL.
I didn't check the that.
can you please help me with this situation?
should I leave Canada for study purpose after applying for Citizenship? Can I go away for 2 years?
I am going to maintain my PR status on my returning to Canada after 2 years.
really appreciate your help.
thanks.

 

[Dreamlad]

Hello everyone,

I really appreciate that you help applicants a lot using your valuable knowledge in Canadian Immigration.
My situation is little bit different.
I've already stayed 730 days in Canada since the date of my PR issuance. My 5 years time limit is going to finish in June 2025.
My wife is at my home country, and we both would like to go to UK to study Master of Science.
I have also finished my 1095 days stay to be eligible for Citizenship application.
My concern is that should I apply for my citizenship, and then leave the country for two years and come back before June 2025 to avoid revoking of my PR status. Is it ok if I stay out of country for two years after applying for Citizenship?
Needed your suggestion.
Thanks in advance for your help.

I think it's ok as long as you continue to meet 2 out of 5 yrs requirement.

 

[Sagar_shah]

I think it's ok as long as you continue to meet 2 out of 5 yrs requirement.

Thanks for your help.
I have one more question.
Can I apply for my wife's Sponsorship file during this time period?
Please note that in this situation I will be out of country for two years for study and I will have two active applications. (1) My citizenship (2) My wife's spousal Sponsorship.
Really appreciate your help.

 

[xuan]

LOL.
I didn't check the that.
can you please help me with this situation?
should I leave Canada for study purpose after applying for Citizenship? Can I go away for 2 years?
I am going to maintain my PR status on my returning to Canada after 2 years.
really appreciate your help.
thanks.

Don't worry you are almost same situation as me, but me it's for a PhD


Have you stayed in Canada 3 years ? if YES of course you can leave and stay up to 2 year and 11 month then come back to retain your PR status.


But you have to come back everytime for Test Invitation and OATH to Canada ( you can do test outside but it will take more time and make your application more longer and complicated)

 

[Sagar_shah]

Don't worry you are almost same situation as me, but me it's for a PhD


Have you stayed in Canada 3 years ? if YES of course you can leave and stay up to 2 year and 11 month then come back to retain your PR status.


But you have to come back everytime for Test Invitation and OATH to Canada ( you can do test outside but it will take more time and make your application more longer and complicated)

Thank you very much.
I have one more question.
Can I apply for spousal sponsorship file while my Citizenship file is still being processed?
And can I leave country for study purpose during this time period?
can I go out of country while I have two active applications. (1) my citizenship and (2) outland spousal sponsorship file for my wife.
Really appreciate your help.
Thanks.

 

[xuan]

Thank you very much.
I have one more question.
Can I apply for spousal sponsorship file while my Citizenship file is still being processed?
And can I leave country for study purpose during this time period?
can I go out of country while I have two active applications. (1) my citizenship and (2) outland spousal sponsorship file for my wife.
Really appreciate your help.
Thanks.

Regarding spousal sponsorship i really can't tell you something i am not sure of, i never did a spousal sponsorship.
i suggest you to ask in the sponsorship section of the forum, people there have more accurate than here.