If you get approved for PR, do you think you'll apply for citizenship?

[Love_Young]

So if you leave the country for a vacation, you have to start over on the count of days in Canada towards the citizenship requirements? Does it have to be three years of consecutive days?

I am not certain QCSunshine. This unfortunately is what we are all getting confused on.
Maybe someone can volunteer to find out more? (Call CIC, post a thread, etc.) I think it would help if we knew the right answers.

 

[QCSunshine]

This seems helpful. It explains who one would subtract absent days, so that seems to allow for vacations, if I am interpreting it correctly:
http://services3.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do;jsessionid=9314D3D8902A6CBDBCDE5A508AED9F7D?redir=faq#Q3

 

[Love_Young]

Thanks for posting that link. So hopefully if I just take a 2 week vacation then I would just subtract those days that I missed.
If that is the case then I would feel much better about applying for citizenship sooner rather than later.
Thanks again QCSunshine. :-*

 

[kelKel]

Also there is something about time spend in Canada before you became a PR counting as half days towards your citizenship :

 

[the luckiest guy]

My wife is on the fence about it. sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't want to become a citizen

 

[Love_Young]

Also there is something about time spend in Canada before you became a PR counting as half days towards your citizenship :

Yeah all so confusing isn't it? Ugh...couldn't they just explain it in terms that I can understand.
Guess that is too much to ask for.

 

[angelbrat]

From what I read up on. Days spent in Canada before becoming PR count as 1/2 a day up to the maximum of 1 year, 365 days (example 3 years on a work visa before PR only counts as 1 year etc) If you have legally resided in Canada for less than a year before PR. then count 1/2 a day for each day spent in Canada.

To apply for Citizenship, you have to have lived in Canada for a total of 1095 days. Starting from the day of your PR, count every day living in Canada, deduct any day spent outside of Canada. When you reach the magic total of 1095.....apply.

Yes I am applying for citizenship. Yes I have started to count my days and yes I am keeping all proofs needed to show I have lived in Canada for the required number of days.

Someone more experienced will correct me if I am wrong though, I just got this information from CIC website.

 

[Love_Young]

Wow thanks so much angelbrat. We needed someone to help explain it better. *claps hands*
So glad you were here to help us out. I do have a couple of questions though involving the proof for the days.

1. If hubby travels with me to the US I have heard this still counts towards the 1095. How would I prove that he was with me? Itinerary?
2. How would you provide proof that you were in Canada for those amount of days?
3. What if you have to renew your PR card, would that start the count for 1095 days again?

 

[kelKel]

From what I read up on. Days spent in Canada before becoming PR count as 1/2 a day up to the maximum of 1 year, 365 days (example 3 years on a work visa before PR only counts as 1 year etc) If you have legally resided in Canada for less than a year before PR. then count 1/2 a day for each day spent in Canada.

To apply for Citizenship, you have to have lived in Canada for a total of 1095 days. Starting from the day of your PR, count every day living in Canada, deduct any day spent outside of Canada. When you reach the magic total of 1095.....apply.

Yes I am applying for citizenship. Yes I have started to count my days and yes I am keeping all proofs needed to show I have lived in Canada for the required number of days.

Someone more experienced will correct me if I am wrong though, I just got this information from CIC website.

Thanks for clarifying that. So 3 years would count as a year and a half

 

[Love_Young]

Thanks for clarifying that. So 3 years would count as a year and a half

No kelKel, I believe you can only count for 1 year max. So even though it would make since to say a year and a half, they only let you count up to a year of residence before PR.

 

[missmini]

for all of u who want to visit ur family while u r a PR u can don't worry u can go back home, go in vacations for long enough; the 1000 days r not consecutive and nothing will b reset...looool....they r not that strict...if u do stay outside Canada too long make sure u have 2 years of residency in Canada every 5 years, otherwise u could loose ur residency....but that's the only restriction

my advise would b to get ur citizenship until ur PR card expires and as soon as u r eligible apply!! it will take long time the process, up to 1 year; overall, u live in a country, u'll pay taxes in that country so why not be able to vote in that country too, have ur voice heard and be equal from all points of view with the others?

if ur country allows dual citizenship even better; the Canadian passport will open u many doors overall; i know also ppl who gave up their country of birth citizenship for the Canadian one, but that's a personal choice and depends on where u were born

the days before u become a PR count as half days that's right but i'm not aware if there's a limit to them

 

[AlieW]

I did some research for my partner as he is seriously considering becoming a citizen. My understanding is it works as follows:

You need to be physically present in Canada for 1095 days of the prior 4 years before you can apply for citizenship.

This means that within a 4 year perioud you can only be out of Canada for a total of 1 year.

If you are outside of Canada (it doesn't matter if you are with your spouse) then it does NOT count towards your citizenship (this is different from residency where if you leave Canada with your spouse it continues to count towards your residency requirement). I don't believe the renewing you PR starts the clock over again, as long as you meet the residency requirements.

If you leave and come back the same day it does NOT count as an absence. Also, when you leave, only one of your days in transit count as an absence (aka the day you leave counts as an absence but the day you return counts as being present).

For proof, keep all tickets/itineraries, if you are lucky you will get stamps in your passport (you can even ask the boarder to stamp it on your way back into Canada although I'm guessing CBA has a record of when you've left the country and when you returned.

The days you live in canada before a PR are indeed counted as 1/2 days (but not sure if there is a limit or not as this doesn't apply to us so i never looked).

missmini is correct, the process can take more then a year to complete and there is a citizenship test that you need to pass.

The website http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become.asp has a ton of information about this and it seems rather straight forward after the application for PR

 

[Leon]

The 1/2 days are only subject to the 4 year limit, that is to apply for citizenship you need 1095 days (3 years) in a 4 year period. You can not qualify for that using half days until you have at least 730 days (2 years) as a PR because to make up 1095 days for citizenship in a 4 year period, you need the 730 full days since you became PR plus 730 half days counted as 365 since before you got PR or combined 1095 days and that is if you never left Canada.

 

[AllisonVSC]

Thanks AlieW and Leon for weighing in on the requirements. Just to clarify something from AlieW's post.

My understanding is that any part of a day spent in Canada counts as a day (at least for PR requirements). I would assume that same rule applies for citizenship requirements as well (but you know what happens when one assumes...).

So, is the rule the same for both PR and citizenship or is Alie's comment "Also, when you leave, only one of your days in transit count as an absence (aka the day you leave counts as an absence but the day you return counts as being present)" the rule for counting citizenship days?

Any thoughts? Allison


And, yes, when I've accrued my 1095 days, I will apply for citizenship (and hold dual US/CAN). My most compelling reason is the right to VOTE.

 

[QCSunshine]

On the link above that I put, it addresses those travel days and says one day counts as outside Canada, and one day counts as in Canada.