Presence in Canada or residence in Canada counted?

[Godzilla9]

I am traveling a lot to US on business - company sends for a week every month. When I apply for citizenship can I consider these travel dates as Canadian residence days too? Or only days of physical presence counted?

P.S. Sorry, if I am cross posting - did not find answer to my question through search tool.

 

[Leon]

No, for citizenship, only physical presence is counted. They also don't have the same way of counting travel days are for PR residency requirements. If you leave on a Sunday and come back on a Friday, your PR requirements would count the Sunday and Friday as days spent in Canada and you would only get absence for 4 days while citizenship requirements would say your absence is 5 days.

 

[frege]

I am traveling a lot to US on business - company sends for a week every month. When I apply for citizenship can I consider these travel dates as Canadian residence days too? Or only days of physical presence counted?

P.S. Sorry, if I am cross posting - did not find answer to my question through search tool.

By far the best thing to do is to wait until you meet the criteria through physical presence alone. Also, it's best to exceed the 1095 days by as wide a margin as possible.

If this is not possible because your work will continue sending you abroad for a week out of every month, it is possible, though by no means guaranteed, that you will be eligible for citizenship. This depends somewhat on which citizenship judge hears your case. In these circumstances, it is possible the citizenship judge will look at the following factors to determine residence, taken from the Koo decision:

a. was the individual physically present in Canada for a long period prior to recent absences which occurred immediately before the application for citizenship;

b. where are the applicant’s immediate family and dependents (and extended family) resident;

c. does the pattern of physical presence in Canada indicate a returning home or merely visiting the country;

d. what is the extent of the physical absences - if an applicant is only a few days short of the 1095 day total it is easier to find deemed residence than if those absences are extensive;

e. is the physical absence caused by a clearly temporary situation such as employment as a missionary abroad, following a course of study abroad as a student, accepting temporary employment abroad, accompanying a spouse who has accepted temporary employment abroad;

f. what is the quality of the connection with Canada: is it more substantial than that which exists with any other country.

See http://canlii.ca/t/fs5f2 for a recent Federal Court judgment on the subject.

If you believe that for the foreseeable future it will be impossible for you to meet the physical presence test, then you might think about applying and hoping for the best, with no guarantees. In this case, you should consult a lawyer to help you with your application.