Bill C-6, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act, received Royal Assent on June 19, 2017. The program delivery instructions related to the topics noted below have been updated to reflect the following amendments to the Citizenship Act that came into force upon Royal Assent:
- repeal of the national interest grounds for revocation;
- repeal of the requirement for citizenship applicants to declare their intent to reside in Canada once granted citizenship;
- provision stipulating that time spent under a conditional sentence order cannot be counted toward meeting the physical presence requirements and that those serving a conditional sentence order are prohibited from being granted citizenship or taking the oath of citizenship;
- provision prohibiting applicants from taking the oath of citizenship if they never met or no longer meet the requirements for the grant of citizenship also applying to applications still in process that were received prior to June 11, 2015;
- inclusion of statelessness as a ground for consideration under subsection 5(4).
How Residence and Physical Presence is Calculated
Returning applications that do not meet the residence/physical presence requirement
For all applications received before, on, or after June 11, 2015, applicants must meet the residence/physical presence requirements the day before signing their application for citizenship. The day the applicant applies is not counted.
Applications that are signed or submitted by applicants in error, before they have accumulated the minimum amount of residence/physical presence (the applicant self declares as having less than 1095 days of residence for an application received before June 11, 2015, or less than 1460 days and less than 183 days of physical presence in each of four years for an application received on or after June 11, 2015), are returned to the applicant by the Case Processing Centre in Sydney (CPC-S). The CPC-S returns the application with a full fee refund and a letter advising the applicant that they have not submitted satisfactory evidence of having been a permanent resident for the required amount of time.
In cases where an applicant insists on filing an application without evidence of meeting the residence/physical presence requirement,
- the CPC-S accepts the application for processing, collects the fee, indicates on the File Requirements Checklist that the applicant does not meet the residence/physical presence requirement, and forwards the case to the local office;
- the local office reviews the application and makes a decision for all other requirements but refers to a citizenship judge for a decision on the residence/physical presence requirement.
Calculating residence/physical presence for applications received before June 11, 2015
For applications received before June 11, 2015, under paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Act, the applicant must have accumulated at least three years (1095 days) of residence in Canada within the four years immediately preceding the date the applicant signed the application.
The calculation of residence cannot go beyond the four-year period before the date of application.
Each day of residence in Canada after lawful admission for permanent residence counts as one day.
Each day before lawful admission for permanent residence counts as one half day.
February 29 (leap day) is not counted in either presence or absence.
Either the day the applicant leaves Canada or the day they return is considered an absence, but not both. If the applicant leaves Canada and comes back the same day, it is not considered an absence.
Time spent serving a sentence and absences must be subtracted from the total number of days of residence during the four-year period.
Example
An applicant entered Canada as a temporary resident on March 1, 2000, was lawfully admitted to Canada as a permanent resident on April 12, 2004, and made the citizenship application on April 12, 2006.
The four-year period begins on April 12, 2002; no period before that date is applicable to the calculation of residence.
In this case, the applicant has accumulated one year before lawful admission for permanent residence (two years at half time as a temporary resident) and two years after lawful admission as a permanent resident (two years at full time). This gives the applicant three years within the four-year period before the date of application, as long as the applicant does not have absences or time spent serving a sentence.
Calculating physical presence for applications received on or after June 11, 2015
Amendments to the Citizenship Act through the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act resulted in a revised calculation of time spent in Canada. The change in reference in paragraphs 5(1)(c)(i) and (ii) from years to a specific number of days spent in Canada to meet the various components of the new physical presence requirement, as well as the specification that the requirement is based upon physical presence only altered the calculation. For applications received on or after June 11, 2015, the revised calculation changes in two ways:
In leap years, an applicant will have the opportunity to apply all 366 days towards both the 1460-day requirement and the accumulation of 183 days of physical presence in four calendar years.
Absences will be calculated only for days where an applicant spent no time at all in Canada. Dates that an applicant left Canada or returned to Canada will not be counted as an absence, since the applicant spent at least a portion of both days in Canada.
Residence requirement 1: be physically present in Canada for at least 1460 days in the six years immediately before the date of application
Under subparagraph 5(1)(c)(i) of the Act, the first part of the physical presence calculation is that the applicant must have been physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for at least 1460 days during the six years immediately before the date the applicant signed the application.
The calculation of physical presence cannot go beyond the six-year period before the date of application.
Each day of physical presence in Canada as a permanent resident counts as one day.
Non-permanent resident time does not count.
Time spent serving a sentence and absences must be subtracted from the total number of days of physical presence as a permanent resident during the six-year period.
Example 1
An applicant entered Canada as a temporary resident on March 1, 2010, was lawfully admitted to Canada as a permanent resident on April 12, 2012, and made the citizenship application on April 12, 2016.
The six-year period begins on April 12, 2010. Since the applicant became a permanent resident on April 12, 2012, no time before that date can be counted.
In this example, the applicant has accumulated 1,461 days since becoming a permanent resident. The applicant meets the requirement to be physically present as a permanent resident for at least 1460 days within the six-year period before the date of their application, as long as the applicant does not have any absences or time spent serving a sentence.
Example 2
An applicant entered Canada as a temporary resident on March 1, 2010, was lawfully admitted to Canada as a permanent resident on April 12, 2014, and made the citizenship application April 12, 2016.
The six-year period begins on April 12, 2010. Since the applicant became a permanent resident on April 12, 2014, no time before that date can be counted.
In this example, the applicant has only accumulated 731 days since becoming a permanent resident. Although the person has been in Canada for six years, physical presence only counts as a permanent resident. Therefore, the applicant does not meet the requirement to be physically present as a permanent resident for at least 1460 days within the six-year period before the date of their application.
Example 3
An applicant was lawfully admitted to Canada as a permanent resident on March 1, 1999, and made the citizenship application on April 12, 2016.
The six-year period begins on April 12, 2010. Since the applicant became a permanent resident before this date, the entire period between April 12, 2010, and April 12, 2016, can be counted.
In this example, the applicant has accumulated 2192 days after lawful admission as a permanent resident. As long as the applicant does not have more than 732 days of absences (or time spent serving a sentence), the applicant meets the requirement to be physically present as a permanent resident for at least 1460 days within the six-year period before the date of their application.
Residence requirement 2: be physically present for at least 183 days in each of four calendar years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date of application
Under subparagraph 5(1)(c)(ii) of the Act, the second part of the physical presence requirement is that the applicant must have been physically present as a permanent resident in Canada for at least 183 days during each of four calendar years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date the applicant signed the application.
The calculation of physical presence cannot go beyond the six-year period before the date of application.
Each day of physical presence in Canada as a permanent resident counts as one day.
Non-permanent resident time does not count.
Time spent serving a sentence and absences must be subtracted from the total number of days of physical presence as a permanent resident each year during the six-year period.
Up to seven calendar years could fall fully or partially within the six-year period.
Example 1
An applicant made the citizenship application on June 1, 2020. The six-year period begins June 1, 2014. The calendar years that are fully or partially within that six-year period are as follows:
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Depending on when the applicant applied for citizenship and when the applicant became a permanent resident, there may not be enough eligible days in a calendar year to meet the 183-day requirement.
There are 183 days between January 1 and July 3, or July 2 in a leap year. This means that if an applicant applies before July 3 (or July 2 in a leap year), the year in which they apply cannot be used towards the 183-day requirement.
There are 183 days from July 2 to December 31, inclusive. This means that if the first year of the relevant period (i.e., six years before the date of application) or the date they became a permanent resident, whichever is most recent, begins after July 2, that year cannot be used towards the 183-day requirement.
Example 2
If an applicant became a permanent resident on August 2, 2014, they could not meet the 183-day requirement in that calendar year (only 151 days remaining in 2014).
If an applicant signed their application on June 2, 2016, they could not meet the 183-day requirement for that calendar year (application filed on day 154 of 2016).
Example 3
Which years can be considered in assessing the 183-day requirement?
Example A
Date of permanent residence: May 5, 2014
Date of application: May 6, 2020
Calendar years:
2014: Yes
2015: Yes
2016: Yes
2017: Yes
2018: Yes
2019: Yes
2020: NoNote 3
Example B
Date of permanent residence: August 2, 2014
Date of application: August 3, 2020
Calendar years:
2014: NoNote 1
2015: Yes
2016: Yes
2017: Yes
2018: Yes
2019: Yes
2020: Yes
Example C
Date of permanent residence: May 5, 2016
Date of application: May 6, 2020
Calendar years:
2014: NoNote 2
2015: NoNote 2
2016: Yes
2017: Yes
2018: Yes
2019: Yes
2020: NoNote 3
Example D
Date of permanent residence: August 2, 2016
Date of application: August 3, 2020
Calendar years:
2014: NoNote 2
2015: NoNote 2
2016: NoNote 1
2017: Yes
2018: Yes
2019: Yes
2020: Yes
Notes
Note 1
There are not enough days between August 2 and December 31 to be able to amount to 183 days.
Return to footnote 1 referrer
Note 2
The applicant is not yet a permanent resident.
Return to footnote 2 referrer
Note 3
There are not enough days between January 1 and May 6 to be able to amount to 183 days.
Return to footnote 3 referrer
The applicants in examples A, B, C, and D could all meet the requirement to be physically present as a permanent resident for 183 days in four calendar years that fall fully or partially within the six-year period (depending on time spent serving a sentence and absences). However, only certain years can be considered in assessing the 183-day requirement.
It is possible for an applicant to meet one component of the physical presence requirement but not the other. The applicant must meet both residence requirements in order to meet the physical presence requirement for citizenship.
Example 4
An applicant became a permanent resident on February 1, 2008, and applied for citizenship on February 1, 2016.
Number of days in Canada:
2010: 331 days
2011: 365 days
2012: 366 days (leap year)
2013: 130 days
2014: 130 days
2015: 130 days
2016: 31 days
In this example, the applicant has been in Canada as a permanent resident for 1483 days, and therefore meets the requirement to be physically present for at least 1460 days in the six years immediately before application. However, the applicant was not present in Canada for at least 183 days during four of the calendar years that fall within the six-year period.
Time residing outside Canada as a permanent resident employed as a Crown servant can be counted as physical presence
For applications received on or after June 11, 2015, under subsection 5(1.02) of the Act, any day during which an applicant was a permanent resident and was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province, otherwise than as a locally engaged person, is equivalent to one day of physical presence in Canada. This time can count towards meeting both the requirement for physical presence for 1460 days in the six years immediately before application and physical presence for 183 days in four of the calendar years fully or partially within the six years.
The applicant must provide a completed Residence outside Canada form [CIT 0177 (PDF, 667.46 KB)] and proof of employment that confirms the applicant was not a locally engaged person.
During the relevant period, if the applicant travelled outside the country of residence for their employment with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province, this time can be counted as physical presence.
If the applicant travelled outside the country of residence (other than to Canada) for any other reason (e.g., vacation) this time is counted as an absence.
Time residing with certain family members outside Canada
For all applications received before, on, or after June 11, 2015, time residing with certain family members who are employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, federal public administration or public service of a province could be counted towards the residence/physical presence requirement.
Periods that cannot be counted as residence/physical presence
For all applications, section 21 of the Act stipulates that no period may be counted as residence/physical presence where the applicant has
- Been under a probation order;
- Been a paroled inmate; or
- Served a term of imprisonment.
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