The initial ability to apply for Canadian citizenship eligibility is to be present in the country first and foremost for at least three out of five years.
Within this criteria, if you exceed the age of 18, you need to live within the country for at least 1095 days. Only then you can proceed with the Canadian citizenship application.
Initially, the first aspect to take in mind is to calculate your Canadian citizenship eligibility. That thing is to take permanent residency for about two years to proceed with the necessities. Once you are a permanent resident, each day within the country count as a day towards your citizenship application. So it is important to calculate your Canadian citizenship eligibility.
The days living as a temporary resident before permanent residency will add up to half days all the way to 35 days in total. So if you lived in Canada for three years temporarily, this will only add up to 365 days. Furthermore, the IRCC considers the application only once applied for five years proceeding the necessities. If you have been living in Canada with permanent residency for five years, then the time spent as a temporary resident doesn’t add up. However, if you weren’t a temporary resident before applying for permanent residency, then you need to spend 3 years in the country. Either way, applying with more than the minimum days amount is accounting for miscalculations. IRCC advises on its page to apply with more than required days in the application.
Canadian Citizenship Eligibility Criteria
In addition to the basic necessities, there are other factors to take into your Canadian citizenship eligibility criteria.
- You must be able to speak English or French to be able to communicate in Canada. If you exceed the age of 18, then you need to have proof of having proficiency in those languages.
- You should be free from any criminal record that limits the citizenship application by the IRCC.
- You must have the basic information on Canada’s citizen responsibilities, politics as well as history, and laws.
- Notably, you need to file taxes during the five years before you can apply for citizenship.
- Furthermore, you need to apply to IRCC in a formal application with a government and citizenship fee for the process.
Once you have completed all the necessities of the criteria, you can proceed with your citizenship application. Once the application is approved, people aged from 18 to 54 take a citizenship test. You will get the certificate and will take a citizen oath for becoming a Canadian citizen.
Physical Living Requirement for PRRA and Refugee Candidates
If you got a work or study permit during your PRRA or refugee assessment, then you won’t have temporary residency status. That is why you won’t have this time in your physical presence calculation criteria. If you want to claim time being a protected citizen, then the only allowed time is after receiving a positive decision on your PRRA application. You should do and complete all that before you apply for permanent residency.
Imprisoned in Canada
If you have spent time in a Canadian prison, on parole, or similar days, then you can’t count those days within your physical living criteria. However, there are some exceptions in this case. Things like time on probation and time spent in prison or on probation are not declared for applicants. The same also applies if you have just completed this sentence. If your sentence of any offense happens in Canada for over 5 years before the application date, then it is not declared. This period is what the IRCC considers for the physical presence criteria for applicants. All these things can help you secure a better application for success in terms of Canadian citizenship eligibility.
