Physical presence calculator
Count your days in Canada for a citizenship application
To apply for Canadian citizenship you need at least 1,095 days in Canada during the five years before you sign. Enter your dates and trips to see where you stand today, and the earliest date you could sign.
Your count
Enter the date you became a permanent resident to see your count.
Calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
How the count works
- Your eligibility period is the five years before the day you sign. The signing day itself is not included.
- Every day in Canada as a permanent resident inside that period counts as one day.
- Every day in Canada before permanent residence, with valid status as a visitor, student, worker, temporary resident permit holder or protected person, counts as half a day. That credit stops at 365 days.
- Only full days outside Canada are absences. The day you leave and the day you return both count as days in Canada, so leaving on July 1 and returning on July 6 is four days away.
- Add the two together. You need at least 1,095.
What this calculator does not cover
- Time in prison, on parole or on probation, and time spent waiting for a decision on a refugee claim, do not count. If any of that applies to you, the real figure is lower than this one.
- Days abroad as a Crown servant, or as the family member of one, can count as days in Canada. This calculator treats them as absences.
- This is an estimate. Your application is judged by IRCC's own calculator: in your online account if you apply online, or the printout or form CIT 0407 if you apply on paper.
Rules from IRCC: Who can apply for citizenship · Calculate your physical presence
Common questions
Does a day trip to the United States count as time outside Canada?
Not as a lost day. If you leave and come back the same day or the next day, IRCC counts zero days absent, because the day you leave and the day you return are both days in Canada. You still have to list the trip on your application.
Does my time as a student or worker count?
Partly. Each day in Canada with valid temporary status, or as a protected person, before you became a permanent resident counts as half a day, up to 365 days of credit. It only counts if it falls inside the five years before you sign.
Can I apply with exactly 1,095 days?
The requirement is at least 1,095 days, so exactly 1,095 meets it. IRCC encourages applying with more, because a single missed trip would leave an application with exactly 1,095 days short.
Do I still need to use IRCC's calculator?
Yes. Online applications must use the calculator inside your IRCC account, and paper applications must include the online calculator's printout or form CIT 0407. Use this page to check where you stand and to plan your date.
Once you can apply, the test comes next
Applicants aged 18 to 54 take the citizenship test: 20 questions, 45 minutes, 15 correct to pass. Start preparing while you wait for your date.
Try free practice questions