Applying Citizenship after 5yrs?

[mehmeh]

Hi everyone =)

Just need some advice from you.......I already completed the 3yrs residency requirement to be eligible for citizenship application but have not decided yet to apply or not, then went to live in another country for 2yrs, and after renewing my Canada PR card have decided to apply for citizenship......do I need to live in Canada for another 3yrs to be eligible or the previous 3yrs still counted?

thanks!

[aussiepete]

you have to live in Canada for 3 of the last 4 years so the time you lived in Canada before moving away does not count any more

[Leon]

aussiepete is right.  If you apply now, they will look at the past 4 years and see that you have lived in Canada for 2 and then outside Canada for 2 and that is not enough.  If you move to Canada and stay for another year, one of the years you stayed previously moves outside the 4 year window so they would see 1 year in Canada, 2 outside and then 1 year in Canada.  Therefore you must stay another 3 years in Canada before you can apply.

[mehmeh]

Actually, I had lived in Canada for 2-1/2 yrs since I first landed, then went to live outside of Canada for almost 6months, then came back to live again in Canada for another year which now totals to 3-1/2 yrs of residency in Canada. So does that make me eligible to apply for citizenship?

And can I submit the application from outside Canada?  I will be leaving the country to visit my mom very soon and have no time to prepare for my application now.

[Leon]

Actually, I had lived in Canada for 2-1/2 yrs since I first landed, then went to live outside of Canada for almost 6months, then came back to live again in Canada for another year which now totals to 3-1/2 yrs of residency in Canada. So does that make me eligible to apply for citizenship?

And can I submit the application from outside Canada?  I will be leaving the country to visit my mom very soon and have no time to prepare for my application now.

As I said before, they will look at the last 4 years.  If you look at the period from October 16th 2007 until today, how many days did you spend in Canada during that time?  If it was 1095 or more, you can apply.  If you apply later, say November 15th, they would look at November 15th 2007 - November 15th 2011. 

You must be in Canada when you apply but you may leave after you have applied.

[mehmeh]

Thanks again for replying ......I guess I really have to decide quick before I loose the 3-1/2 yrs of sacrifices living away from my family back home

[scylla]

You can also use the residence calculator on the CIC site to find out if you have enough residency days to apply:

https://eservicesak.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/resCalcStartNew.do?&lang=en