Keeping your permanent resident status
Your permanent resident status allows you to live in Canada, but there is also a time limit on how long you can live outside the country. To keep your status as a permanent resident, you must live in Canada for at least two years within a five-year period.
For further information on residency obligations, please see Appendix A of Applying for a Permanent Resident Card.
Losing your permanent resident status
There are several ways you could lose your permanent resident status:
• A permanent resident who does not meet their residency obligations could lose permanent resident status.
• If convicted of a serious crime, a permanent resident may be deported from Canada.
When you become a Canadian citizen, you are no longer a permanent resident.
The Permanent Resident Card
If you intend to travel, the Permanent Resident Card is the official proof of your status as a permanent resident in Canada.
This wallet-sized plastic card is used by permanent residents of Canada seeking to re-enter Canada on a commercial carrier (airplane, boat, train or bus).
If you leave the country, you are expected to have this card when returning to Canada. If you do not plan to leave the country, you do not need the card.
Becoming a Canadian citizen: Who can apply
To be eligible to become a Canadian citizen, you must meet the requirements in all of the following areas:
• Age
• Permanent resident status
• Time lived in Canada
• Language abilities
• Criminal history (prohibitions)
• Knowledge of Canada
Age
You must be at least 18 years old to apply for Canadian citizenship.
To apply for citizenship for a child under 18, make sure the following conditions are met:
• the person applying is the child’s parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian
• the child is a permanent resident, but does not need to have lived in Canada for three years; and
• one parent is already a Canadian citizen or is applying to become a citizen at the same time. This also applies to adoptive parents.
Permanent resident status
To become a Canadian citizen, you must have permanent resident status in Canada, and that status must not be in doubt. This means you must not be the subject of an immigration investigation, an immigration inquiry or a removal order (an order from Canadian officials to leave Canada).
Time lived in Canada
To become Canadian citizens, adults must have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the past four years before applying. Children under the age of 18 do not need to meet this requirement.
You may be able to count time you spent in Canada before you became a permanent resident if that time falls within the four-year period.
Use the citizenship calculator to find out if you have lived in Canada long enough to apply for citizenship.
Language abilities
Canada has two official languages—English and French. You need to have adequate knowledge of one of these two languages in order to become a Canadian citizen.
The citizenship knowledge test and your interaction withCIC staff will be used to assess if you have an adequate ability to communicate in either English or French. CICstaff will observe
• your ability to understand basic spoken statements and questions, and
• your ability to communicate basic information or respond to questions.
For example, as part of your interaction with departmental staff or as part of your written test or your interview with a citizenship judge, you will be expected to:
• answer simple questions on familiar topics, using short sentences;
• show that you know enough words for basic everyday communication;
• tell a simple story about everyday activities;
• speak about something you did in the past (or will do in the future);
• give simple everyday instructions and directions; and
• express satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Criminal history (prohibitions)
You cannot become a citizen if you:
• have been convicted of an indictable (criminal) offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act in the three years before you applied;
• are currently charged with an indictable offence or an offence under the Citizenship Act;
• are in prison, on parole or on probation;
• are under a removal order (have been ordered by Canadian officials to leave Canada);
• are under investigation for, are charged with, or have been convicted of a war crime or a crime against humanity; or
• you have had your Canadian citizenship taken away in the past five years.
If you are on probation or are charged with an offence and are awaiting trial, you should wait until after the probation has ended or the trial is over to apply for citizenship.
If you have spent time on probation, on parole or in prison in the last four years, you may not meet the residence requirement for citizenship.
Time in prison or on parole does not count as residence in Canada. Time on probation also does not count as residence in Canada if you were convicted of an offence. If you have spent time on probation from a conditional discharge, it may be counted toward residence. For details, contact the Call Centre.
Knowledge of Canada
To become a citizen, you must understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, such as the right and responsibility to vote in elections. You must also have an understanding of Canada’s history, values, institutions and symbols.
The information you need to know is in our free study guide Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. We will send you a copy of it once we have received your application. The questions in the citizenship test are based on the information in this guide.
