You can, if you meet the residency requirements.
Residency requirements
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) establishes residency requirements and obligations with respect to each 5-year period after an individual obtains permanent resident status.
Pursuant to subsection A28(2), a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation provisions with respect to a 5-year period if, for at least 730 days in that 5-year period, the permanent resident is
- physically present in Canada
- accompanying outside of Canadaa Canadian citizen who is their
- spouse
- common-law partner
- parent, in the case of a child
- employed outside Canadaon a full-time basis by
- a Canadian business or
- the federal or a provincial or territorial public administration
- accompanying outside Canada their spouse, common-law partner, or parent (in the case of a child), where the person they accompany is a permanent resident andis employed on a full-time basis by
- a Canadian business or
- the federal or a provincial or territorial public administration
- referred to in regulations that provide for other means of compliance
Determining if residency requirements are met
Officers shall use the date that an application is officially received in the office in the examination of residency status. Using this date does not disadvantage the applicant in any way if the formal assessment of an application is delayed for any period of time following receipt of the application.
At the examination, it is sufficient for those who have been permanent residents for
- 5 years or more to demonstrate that they have met their residency requirements in the 5 years immediately before the examination
- less than 5 years to demonstrate that they will be able to meet their residency requirements using the day they became a permanent resident as the starting date
Note: Officers may not exclude the possibility that an applicant who has resided abroad for 3 years may still be able to comply with the residency obligation during the remaining 2 years of the 5-year period.