https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q2
Q2: How is the physical presence requirement for citizenship calculated?
A2: Only the five (5) years preceding the date of your application is considered your eligibility period. Within that five-year period:
- Every day you spent in Canada as a permanent resident counts as a full day.
- Every day you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before you become a permanent resident counts as a half day up to a maximum of 365 days. Therefore, in order to get the maximum 365 day credit you need to be physically present in Canada as a temporary resident for 730 days during your eligibility period.
- Time spent serving a sentence in Canada does not count towards the physical presence requirement (i.e. you cannot count time spent serving a term of imprisonment, probation and/or on parole as physical presence). See Question 11 for exceptions to this rule.
Example:
You entered Canada for the first time as an authorized temporary resident (TR) on April 1, 2012. You were then lawfully admitted to Canada as a permanent resident (PR) on January 1, 2016, and signed the citizenship application on April 1, 2018.
The five-year period begins on
April 1, 2013; no period before that date is applicable to the calculation of physical presence, only the five years immediately before applying can be used.
In this case,
your eligibility period is April 1st, 2013 to March 31st, 2018. During your eligibility period you accumulated the maximum 365 days of physical presence as an authorized temporary resident before becoming a permanent resident, even though you travelled outside of Canada for 44 days before becoming a permanent resident. You have also accumulated 821 days of physical presence after lawful admission as a permanent resident. However, you spent 57 full days outside of Canada, which reduces your physical presence as a permanent resident to 764 days within the five-year period, before the date of application.
- Start of eligibility period = April 1, 2013
- Became a PR on = April 1, 2016
- Absences before becoming a PR = March 1- 31, 2014 (29 days) + December 15-31, 2014 (15 days)
- PR Absence = February 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017 (57 days)
- Date of application = April 1, 2018
- Calculation: Physical presence = 365 TR days + 764 PR days = 1129 days of physical presence. You are eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship
