The Physical Presence Rule: 1,095 Days in Five Years

Physical presence is the requirement most applications turn on. It is also the one people most often get slightly wrong, usually by counting a day that does not count. This is IRCC's rule, from its page on who can apply for citizenship, checked on 23 September 2026.

The rule

You must have been physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days, which is three years, during your five-year eligibility period.

The eligibility period:

• is the five years before the date you sign your application
• must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident
• does not include time in prison, on parole or on probation, or time spent waiting for a decision on a refugee claim

The days do not need to be in a row. What matters is the total within that five-year window.

Time before you were a permanent resident

Some time spent in Canada before you became a permanent resident counts, but at half value.

• Each day as a temporary resident or protected person during the eligibility period counts as half a day.
• You can count a maximum of 365 days this way, which means 730 calendar days at half value.

A temporary resident here means someone in Canada with valid status as a visitor, student, worker or temporary resident permit holder. Time as a protected person counts only from the day the claim or application was approved until the day before you became a permanent resident.

Time outside Canada that still counts

Each day spent outside Canada as a Crown servant, or as the spouse, common-law partner or child of one, counts as a full day of physical presence. A Crown servant is someone employed in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration, or a provincial or territorial public service, but not a locally engaged employee hired abroad.

Leave yourself a margin

IRCC encourages applicants to apply with more than 1,095 days, in case there is a problem with the calculation. A missing trip or a miscounted day can leave an application just short, and the margin costs you only a few weeks of waiting.

How to calculate it

IRCC's page on calculating physical presence sets out the options:

• Online application: use the calculator in your online account. You can only use it once the account exists.
• Paper application: use the online physical presence calculator and include the printout, or fill in form CIT 0407 instead.

IRCC also offers an optional travel journal to record trips outside Canada as they happen. It is far easier to keep a list now than to reconstruct five years of travel later from passport stamps.

The other requirements

Physical presence sits alongside the rest: valid permanent resident status, tax filing where required, language proof and the citizenship test if you are 18 to 54, and not being under a prohibition. The test is the part you can prepare for directly, and our free practice questions and study guide are built for it.