PR card- help clarify please!

[mimi grie]

Hi there!

I could really use an advice.
I came to Canada and became PR on March 10, 2010. I haven't left Canada until June 23rd, 2013. Since then I haven't returned. I thought I will apply for citizenship because I have over 3 years out of 5 and didn't even think twice about PR status. But I didn't apply for citizenship, always putting that off because I had a lot of stuff going on. It didn't matter to me when will I get it since I was planning on traveling for a couple more years and then returning to Canada and settling down.
So, a few days ago I am finally getting ready to apply for my citizenship and not only do I see the change that took effect few months ago and that will allow me to qualify in a few years (!) but I saw that I could lose PR status and I had to have it all the way until receiving citizenship.
I'm probably an idiot for not knowing this but help me out here please.

So, I have to be in Canada for 2 years out of 5. What I need to know is is that like:
2010-2015 first period of 5 years- checked!
2016-2011 second period of 5 years or

2010-2015, then 2011-2016, then 2012-2017 etc etc.

Anybody can clarify this for me please?

 

[scylla]

No - you don't have a correct understanding of the PR residency obligation. The PR residency obligation is a rolling obligation. This means that at any given time, you must be able to look back at the previous five years and have lived for two out of those five years in Canada.

FYI - the citizenship residency requirement was never 3 years out of 5 - it was actually 3 years out of 4. As you've discovered, it's now 4 years out of 6.

 

[mimi grie]

Ok, so the second case, I didn't know how to explain it well.

Yes, I see, I don't remember that, I just remember that I had to be there for 3 years and that's what I did.

Thank you

 

[Leon]

You did qualify to apply for citizenship in 2013. Back then it was 3 out of the past 4 years you had to have stayed by so you could have applied under the old rules up until June 2014. However, as you didn't, you now would have to spend 4 years under the new rules.

The PR residency obligation works like this:

- a new PR needs to spend at least 730 days (2 years) in Canada during his first 5 years as a PR

- a PR who landed more than 5 years ago always needs to have at least 730 days in Canada in the past 5 years

2 years in Canada in every 5 means you can be gone for up to 3 years at a time so in order to keep your PR, you should return no later than June 23rd 2016 or actually it would be smarter to give yourself a bit of a buffer and return at least a couple of weeks earlier. Then don't leave Canada again until you have renewed your PR card and always make sure that you have 730 days or more in Canada in the past 5 years.

 

[mimi grie]

Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do, I am going in February, thanks!