Hi,
I've tried to find it myself but not much success...
I've been in Canada since 2014 on working holiday, young professional (
YP), closed work permit (
CWP) and now I'm
permanent resident.
Between my YP and CWP I was in
implied status for about 3 months and also with
no status for about 14 days (after my work permit extension was refused so my implied status expired but I had to stay in Canada for 14 days before leaving the country for few weeks before coming back with my closed work permit).
My questions:
1) Implied status for about 3 months: As far as I know, this counts towards my physical presence, correct?
2) No status for about 14 days: Does this count towards my physical presence?
Thank you!
Some approach the physical presence calculation as if it is comparable to debits and credits in a bank account, with a definite balance. That is not how it works.
Rather the physical presence calculation is more like claiming business expense deductions when filing a tax return. There are rules governing what "counts" . . . as either a business expense (for taxes) or as a day present (for meeting grant citizenship requirements). It is up to the tax filer or the citizenship applicant, respectively, to apply and comply with those rules when declaring a deductible business expense (for taxes) or declaring days present (for meeting citizenship requirements). Just like CRA makes its assessment based on the information provided by the taxpayer UNLESS CRA has reason to question the taxpayer's accounting, IRCC Citizenship likewise makes its assessment based on the information provided by the applicant UNLESS IRCC perceives reason to question the applicant's accounting.
Most people prefer to NOT have CRA question their tax returns (no one likes an audit). Most citizenship applicants prefer to NOT have IRCC question or challenge their physical presence calculation.
BUT yes, sure, the applicant can count days present in Canada with "implied status" as days present for purposes of meeting the citizenship presence requirement. And the applicant should enter information accordingly in the presence calculator AND in item 9.b. in the current version of the citizenship application.
And of course the applicant should NOT attempt to mislead IRCC about status for days the applicant did NOT have status. (Note: the fact of having been in Canada without status will NOT have any negative effect (time in Canada without status is CURED as soon as the individual does have status) . . . unless it reveals having made a material misrepresentation of fact in obtaining PR status.)
HOWEVER, the prudent applicant, and particularly the applicant who is hoping to avoid RQ-related non-routine processing, will have a buffer larger than the total of implied status days PLUS some. Particularly since typically this does NOT mean having to wait much longer to apply (in the situation queried here, for example, three months implied status is only worth 45 days credit, and waiting an extra seven to ten weeks to apply should be so easy as to virtually be a no-brainer).
Implied status is implied, NOT explicit, NOT directly documented. Indeed, the documentation itself will typically NOT show the fact of status during that period of time. Status is inferred. Implied.
If IRCC has a question about the applicant's status and entitlement to credit for a period of time, even the least disruptive RQ-related requests for additional information or documents can easily add one to three or four months to the process timeline, and the more extensive RQ-related requests and processing can potentially add much more than that.
There is NO guaranteed way to avoid RQ-related requests and processing. But most applicants prefer to minimize the risk. And there are a number of circumstances in which waiting longer to apply, building a bigger margin over the minimum requirement, can significantly improve the odds of actually taking the oath SOONER. Applicants including days based on implied status are among those for whom it would be prudent to wait and build more of a buffer.
