Time to live in Canada to get Citizenship

[kau_pandya]

Hi there...I have applied skilled immigration visa for Canada...I would grateful if you someone can let me know how long do I need to stay in canada to get citizenship after three years..

Thanks

[BobbyB]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/index.asp

[Leon]

After you get your PR and land in Canada, you need 1095 days (3 years) in Canada before you can apply for citizenship.  If you take vacations outside Canada, those days will not count towards the 1095 so you will have to wait longer.  The 1095 days need to be within a 4 year period.

Processing citizenship takes on average another year.

[kau_pandya]

Thank you very much for you help...I understand that I need to be in cadana for three years (1095 days) out of four years (1460 days)...

can I spend whole year (365 days) outside canada or is that any time limit that I can't stay more than _____ days continuously outside canada..

Sorry to ask this question..but I have to be outside canada for sometime to settle my accounts.....Thanks

[Leon]

Any period that you spend outside Canada will delay the date you can apply for citizenship.  If you stay in Canada the whole time, you can apply 3 years after becoming PR.  If you leave for a year during your first 4 years as a PR, you can apply for citizenship after 4 years as a PR.  If you leave for more than a year, you have to start counting to 3 again when you get back.  For citizenship, it doesn't matter if you spend time inside/outside Canada in one stretch or in bits and pieces as long as you have 1095+ days in Canada in the previous 4 years before you apply.

The residency requirements to keep your PR are not the same as the ones for citizenship.  To keep your PR, you can not be outside Canada more than 1095 days in any 5 year period.

[Honolulu]

What about dependents?
If my daughter chooses to finish her studies in the US (4 years) - and my wife and I remain in Canada - will they deny her citizenship and only give it to me and my wife?

[aanbaan]

What about dependents?
If my daughter chooses to finish her studies in the US (4 years) - and my wife and I remain in Canada - will they deny her citizenship and only give it to me and my wife?

each of your family member is a PR in him/herself... so, the citizenship of your daughter can be sorted out later. But, she will issues in maintaining her PR status if she choses to spend 4 years in US... there's a condition of spending 3 out of 5 years in Canada to maintain PR status...

[maple]

After you get your PR and land in Canada, you need 1095 days (3 years) in Canada before you can apply for citizenship.  If you take vacations outside Canada, those days will not count towards the 1095 so you will have to wait longer.  The 1095 days need to be within a 4 year period.

Processing citizenship takes on average another year.

Do you mean that it takes a year only for immigration to give you a decision regarding your application for Canadian citizenship? If so, that sure is a positive thing!

[Leon]

Honolulu : Each PR is responsible for keeping within the PR residency requirements of staying in Canada 2 out of every 5 years or they will lose their PR and each PR needs to qualify for citizenship by staying in Canada 1095 days in a 4 year period only with the exception of children under 18 who are being applied for by a parent. 
When you and wife apply for citizenship, you will each have to answer how many days you have stayed in Canada.  If your daughter tried applying for citizenship at the same time stating that she had been living in the US 9 months a year because of her studies, she would be denied.

maple: The average processing time of a citizenship application is around a year.  It can be faster or slower.  I have heard about people getting it in 8 months.  Mine took 2 and a half years without any further documents being asked for by immigration.  I never inquired about it because I was not in any hurry to get it but I had started to think they probably lost it when all of a sudden they sent me a letter to appear for test so I guess if they lost it, they found it again.  Maybe it fell behind a cabinet and was found again only during spring cleaning a year later :)