Canadian Permanent Residence Applications

Applying for Canadian Permanent Residence is the first step to becoming a Canadian Citizen.

Permanent Residents may live and work anywhere in Canada, and enjoy most of the same benefits and privileges of Canadian citizens, with the exception of some voting rights.

There are a number of ways to become a Permanent Resident, including applying through one of Canada’s economic immigration programs, or being sponsored for Permanent Residence.

Once you obtain Canadian Permanent Residence, you must renew your status every five years and meet residency requirements in order to maintain your status. After a required residency period in Canada, Permanent Residents may apply to become Canadian citizens.

Maintaining Your PR Status

Becoming a Canadian Permanent Resident means you are allowed to stay in Canada permanently.

You will gain access to most of the same rights and privileges as Canadian citizens, including the right to freely live and work anywhere in Canada and access Canadian social services.

In order to maintain your status as a Permanent Resident, it is important that you continue to make Canada your home. You may lose your status as a Permanent Resident if you become a non-resident of Canada or if you are convicted of a serious crime.

Permanent Residents are required to live in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years. For this reason, Permanent Residents should track all their entries and exits from Canada in order to ensure that they continue to maintain their status. You will need to provide this information in order to prove your continued Permanent Resident status when you renew your Permanent Resident card.

Who Is Eligible For Canadian Citizenship?

Individuals of any age, regardless of Canadian parentage, can apply for citizenship provided they meet the general requirements below.

What Are the Physical Presence Requirements?

To be eligible to apply for Canadian Citizenship, an applicant must have resided in Canada for 3 out of the past 5 years immediately prior to their application. Of note, applicants may now count each day that they were present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship, up to a maximum credit of 365 days.

Children under the age of 18 are not required to meet the residency requirement if they have one parent who is either a Canadian citizen or who is applying to become a Canadian citizen and has met the requirement themselves.

What Else Is Required?

In addition to the above time requirements, applicants must have met their personal income tax obligations in the three relevant years in the five-year time frame.

Further, applicants between the ages of 18 and 54 are required to pass both a language and citizenship test. As part of the language test, applicants must show that they can effectively communicate in one of Canada’s two official languages; English or French. The citizenship test requires sufficient knowledge about Canada’s history, geography and political system.

Applicants will also need to declare an intent to reside in Canada during the citizenship application process. Recent federal amendments no longer require the intention to live in Canada or under another approved arrangement as part of the application once granted citizenship.