Canada's Citizenship Physical Presence Requirement

At least 1,095 days physically in Canada during the five years before you apply. Here is how the count works.

Last verified: September 2026

In short: a grant of Canadian citizenship requires at least 1,095 days physically in Canada during the five years immediately before the date you sign your application. Departure and return days both count as present. Time in Canada before permanent residence counts as half a day each, capped at 365 days of credit.

Threshold: At least 1,095 days
Counting window: The five years before you sign
A day counts if: You were physically in Canada, travel days included
Time before PR: Half a day each, up to 365 days of credit
Other conditions: PR status, tax filing, language, knowledge test
Applies to: Permanent residents applying for a grant of citizenship
Legal basis: Citizenship Act, s. 5(1)(c)

The rule

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) calls this the physical presence requirement: 1,095 days inside a five-year eligibility period. Three points decide most cases.

The window moves with your application. The eligibility period is the five years immediately before the date you sign, and the signing date itself sits outside it, so you must already meet 1,095 days the day before. The same travel history can fail in March and pass in July.
Travel days count as presence. The day you left Canada and the day you returned are both days present, so only the full days in between are absences. A same-day trip to the United States costs nothing.
Not every day is worth a full day. Days in Canada before permanent residence, as a temporary resident (visitor, student, worker, permit holder) or protected person, count as half a day each, and the credit stops at 365. That cap means at least 730 of the 1,095 must be days as a permanent resident.

How to count it

Fix the date you will sign. The eligibility period runs from five years before that date to the day before it.
Take the part of the period since you became a permanent resident, then subtract only the full days you were abroad.
Do the same for any time inside the period you held temporary resident or protected person status before that, then halve the total and cap the result at 365.
Add the two. If the total reaches 1,095, the requirement is met. IRCC advises applying with more than the minimum, in case there is a problem with the calculation.

Example. You plan to sign on 1 June 2026, so the eligibility period is 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2026. Assume you arrived as a permanent resident on 1 October 2022, nothing to count before: 1,339 days of the period. You left three times, 6 to 27 March 2023, 12 July to 30 August 2024, and 18 December 2025 to 12 January 2026. Excluding departure and return days, that is 20, 48 and 24 full days abroad, 92 total. Physical presence is 1,339 minus 92, or 1,247 days, clearing the minimum by 152.

Had you been on a study or work permit earlier in that window, the arithmetic changes: 900 days as a temporary resident halve to 450, then get cut to the 365 ceiling. AtlasDays counts every logged day in Canada as a full day, so if any of your five years sits before permanent residence, use IRCC's physical presence calculator for the credit.

Beyond the day count

Days are one requirement of several. You need valid permanent resident status when you apply, and may need to have filed Canadian income tax for three of the five years. Between 18 and 54 on the day you sign, you must also show adequate English or French and pass the citizenship test. A prohibition such as a relevant criminal history blocks a grant whatever the count says. AtlasDays tracks the day count; the status, tax, language and knowledge conditions you check yourself. Keeping permanent residence is a separate test, with a lower threshold and its own window: see Canada's PR residency obligation. Canadian tax residence is different again, turning on residential ties and a 183-day deemed-residence rule. With status gaps or a total within a few days of 1,095, IRCC's calculator and an immigration lawyer beat a spreadsheet.

AtlasDays tracks Canada's citizenship physical presence requirement automatically

Log your trips once. The Canada Citizenship Physical Presence preset counts your days in Canada across a rolling five-year window, privately on your iPhone, and tells you when you reach 1,095. Its window ends today, not on your future signing date, so check the total against the real one.

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FAQ

How many days do you need in Canada to apply for citizenship?

At least 1,095 days physically in Canada during the five years immediately before you sign your application. IRCC recommends applying with more than the minimum.

Do the days you fly in and out of Canada count?

Yes. Departure and return days are both days physically present, so only the full days in between count as an absence.

Does time in Canada before permanent residence count?

Yes, at half a day per day, up to 365 days of credit, for time as a temporary resident or protected person inside the five-year period. The cap means at least 730 days must be as a permanent resident.

About this article: AtlasDays provides general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your circumstances, so never rely on it alone: check the linked official source or ask a qualified professional.