YEARS TO GET THE PASSPORT- special case

[rescuer]

Hello there,
I'm glad to find your forum and hopefully can get some answers.

Here is my story/question:
My family applied to immigrate to canada 12 years ago which was granted a year ago upon which we did our landing and received our PR cards. However during this 12 years, I went to Canada on a student visa for about 6 years.
I have been outside Canada for 4 years now and I will be returning soon using my PR card. I know that in order to get a passport , one needs to stay in Canada for 2 or 3 consequetive years.
My question:
Do those 6 years of living in Canada as a student count in fulfilling the required number of years in order to get the passport?

thank you

[scylla]

No - the years you spent as a student do not count towards the citizenship total. Normally you can count each day you were in Canada during the year immediately before you became a PR as a 1/2 day towards your citizenship residency obligation. But since you were not in Canada during the year before you became a PR - there are no days you can include from your stay here as a student.

So the short answer is no.

Once you have lived in Canada for three out of the last four years, you will qualify to apply for citizenship.

[Alabaman]

You need 3 years out of the last 4 years. If you were physically present in Canada as a non PR within the 4 years window, you count each day as half day up to a maximum of 1 year.

So in your case, you cant take credit for those early years any more since you have been out for a bit. You have to come back and start afresh to get  your 3 years in the last 4 years.

[unitedbritishphilippines]

1.  You have to satisfy first the residency requirements as a permanent resident for three years within five years.

2.  You have to apply for citizenship and pay the respective citizenship fee.

3.  You have to take the citizenship examinations and passed thereafter.

4.  You must take an oath of citizenship when called to do so.

5.  You must apply for the Canadian passport afterwards.

The Canadian passport is not dependent upon the number of years you have stayed in this great country of ours but depends on your eligibility and full satisfaction of the requirements stated by the CIC and Passport Canada. My suggestion is start a fresh counting and prepare fully for the next steps. And lastly, yours does not qualify for any special case under any existing CIC laws.Cheers.