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Apr 30, 2026
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Hello everyone,

  • I arrived in Canada on December 21, 2021.
  • I submitted my refugee claim on August 30, 2022.
  • My hearing took place on September 12, 2023, and my Notice of Decision (NOD) date is September 23, 2023 (protected person status).
  • My PR card was issued on August 20, 2024. I have not left the country since my first arrival.
Could you please help me understand when I will be eligible to apply for citizenship? Based on my calculations, it should be around the end of this year.

Thanks,
 
Hello everyone,

  • I arrived in Canada on December 21, 2021.
  • I submitted my refugee claim on August 30, 2022.
  • My hearing took place on September 12, 2023, and my Notice of Decision (NOD) date is September 23, 2023 (protected person status).
  • My PR card was issued on August 20, 2024. I have not left the country since my first arrival.
Could you please help me understand when I will be eligible to apply for citizenship? Based on my calculations, it should be around the end of this year.

Thanks,
To apply for Canadian citizenship you need 1,095 days (3 years) of physical presence in Canada within the last 5 years before applying.
Lets calculate:
the day from you became protected person(Sep 23, 2023) until you receive PR (Aug 20,2024) each day counts half day(0.5 day). 332/2 = 166 days
From PR till today 30/04/2026 = 618
your total presence days = 784
days remaining= 1095-784 = 311 days
 
To apply for Canadian citizenship you need 1,095 days (3 years) of physical presence in Canada within the last 5 years before applying.
Lets calculate:
the day from you became protected person(Sep 23, 2023) until you receive PR (Aug 20,2024) each day counts half day(0.5 day). 332/2 = 166 days
From PR till today 30/04/2026 = 618
your total presence days = 784
days remaining= 1095-784 = 311 days
Thank you for the explanation. Just to confirm, the time before submitting my claim is not counted, correct? I held a temporary visa until I submitted my claim.
 
actully my calculation could be wrong. you can calculate your physical presence day on here:
https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/resCalcStartNew.do?lang=en
Yes Your calculation is incorrect because pre-PR time is counted as half days up to a maximum of 365 days, not just from protected person status.

In this case, the person has enough pre-PR time to hit the full 365-day cap.

So the correct total is:

365 (pre-PR capped) + 618 (post-PR) = 983 days

That means about 112 days remaining, making them eligible around August 2026
 
Yes Your calculation is incorrect because pre-PR time is counted as half days up to a maximum of 365 days, not just from protected person status.

In this case, the person has enough pre-PR time to hit the full 365-day cap.

So the correct total is:

365 (pre-PR capped) + 618 (post-PR) = 983 days

That means about 112 days remaining, making them eligible around August 2026

But i dont know if they count his days while he was asylum claimant. What i know is they count if he was on temporary visa(visitor, study, work etc).
 
they dont count days until he get protected person status. its major drawback for asylum claimnants and the asylum claimnants have to wait for many years due to their backlog. thats not fair
 
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Hello everyone,

  • I arrived in Canada on December 21, 2021.
  • I submitted my refugee claim on August 30, 2022.
  • My hearing took place on September 12, 2023, and my Notice of Decision (NOD) date is September 23, 2023 (protected person status).
  • My PR card was issued on August 20, 2024. I have not left the country since my first arrival.
Could you please help me understand when I will be eligible to apply for citizenship? Based on my calculations, it should be around the end of this year.

Thanks,
you can submit your application march 2027
 
You need 1,095 days... your claimant days do not count. They count 50% from the day you became protected person until you became PR with a cap of 365 (meaning there's a mandatory 730 days as PR regardless)... so.

  • My hearing took place on September 12, 2023, and my Notice of Decision (NOD) date is September 23, 2023 (protected person status).
  • My PR card was issued on August 20, 2024. I have not left the country since my first arrival.

Between Sept. 12 2023 and Aug 20 2024 there's 332 days, but they count as half so that's 166 days.
That means you need 1095 - 166 = 929 days as PR... from Aug 20 2024 until today there is: 618 days, meaning you still need to wait 311 days or March 8th, 2027 as faithfulgh said...

I'd leave a buffer of at least 2 weeks before sending the application.. so around Monday March 22nd, 2027...
 
You need 1,095 days... your claimant days do not count. They count 50% from the day you became protected person until you became PR with a cap of 365 (meaning there's a mandatory 730 days as PR regardless)... so.

  • My hearing took place on September 12, 2023, and my Notice of Decision (NOD) date is September 23, 2023 (protected person status).
  • My PR card was issued on August 20, 2024. I have not left the country since my first arrival.

Between Sept. 12 2023 and Aug 20 2024 there's 332 days, but they count as half so that's 166 days.
That means you need 1095 - 166 = 929 days as PR... from Aug 20 2024 until today there is: 618 days, meaning you still need to wait 311 days or March 8th, 2027 as faithfulgh said...

I'd leave a buffer of at least 2 weeks before sending the application.. so around Monday March 22nd, 2027...
Hey, thank you for the clarification. What about the dates before the claim submission? I entered Canada on December 21, 2021, and submitted my claim on August 30, 2022. Are the days between these dates counted?
 
Hey, thank you for the clarification. What about the dates before the claim submission? I entered Canada on December 21, 2021, and submitted my claim on August 30, 2022. Are the days between these dates counted?
Those days don't count. Time as Refugee Claimant count 0. Time as visitor count 0.

It only counts 50% from the day you become a Protected Person until the day you become PR; again with a 365 days cap, so if you spent more than 2 years - not your case - as protected person, the maximum number of days counted towards you physical presence will be 365 days.. meaning you HAVE to be PR for a minimum of 2 years (730 days) before applying for a citizenship grant.

In your case, you only have 166 as protected person and you need 929 as PR (which is greater to the 730 minimum) so you are good to apply on (or after) March 10, 2027.... Again, give it a buffer of 2 weeks, you don't want them to return you application back causing more delays.