Permanent Residency in Canada is the condition by which an immigrant can live and work indefinitely within the country.
Along with those two basic and enviable rights, immigrants will also have the right to study without a study permit and the right to travel outside of Canada for limited amounts of time without the government considering their claim to residency abandoned.
However, Permanent Residents of Canada must be careful of how long they can be outside of Canada. A trip that takes too long may be interpreted as the immigrant’s abandonment of their immigration claims.
Permanent Residency is also a precursor to citizenship. Citizens must be able to demonstrate that they were in Canada for the required amount of time.
Permanent Residency Requirements
Permanent Residents must be careful to make sure that they do not lose their immigration status from extensive trips abroad.
Generally, Permanent Residents only have to live in Canada for two years out of a five year period to maintain their immigration status. The easiest way to measure the total amount of time in Canada is by days.
Rounding up years may not be sufficiently accurate.
Permanent Residents can have their Permanent Residency revoked if they commit a serious crime or if they violate the residency requirements.
Citizenship Application Requirements
Permanent Residents may apply for citizenship with the CIC after certain residency requirements are met.
Citizenship also requires other knowledge tests, but before an immigrant is even considered for citizenship they must have been living in Canada for at least three years out of the past four.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada provides a useful immigration calculator that can figure out how many days an immigrant has been living in the country.
A total of 1095 days must have been spent in Canada out of the past four years.
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