Oris Visas How to calculate Canadian citizenship eligibility

An article on the physical presence requirement for Canadian citizenship.

One of the eligibility criteria to become a Canadian citizen is that you need to have been physically present in Canada for three out of the last five years.


Among other criteria, if you are age 18 and older, you need to have been in Canada for at least 1,095 days out of the five years immediately before you apply for citizenship.

The first thing to note when calculating your citizenship eligibility, is that you need to have been a permanent resident for at least two years in order to meet the physical presence requirement. After you become a permanent resident, each day in Canada counts as one full day toward your citizenship application.

Calculate Your Citizenship Eligibility

Each day you were physically in Canada as a temporary resident before you became a permanent resident counts as half a day, up to a maximum of 365 days. So, if you were a temporary resident who did not leave Canada for three years, it would only count for 365 days. Again, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) considers only the five years immediately before the date of your application for the physical presence requirement. If you have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for the past five years, for example, then the time you spent in Canada as a temporary resident does not count. If you were not a temporary resident before you got permanent residence, then you need to have spent at least 1,095 days, or three years, in Canada.

In any case, applying with more than the minimum required number of days ensures you are accounting for any miscalculations. IRCC even recommends on its webpage to apply with more days than you need.