Maintaining Canadian Residency

We Help You Maintain your Canadian Residency


Once you have obtained permanent resident status, you will advise you on how to adhere to residency requirements until you acquire Canadian citizenship. We can help you understand this issue and offer valuable recommendations.

Permanent residents are required to have resided in Canada at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period after becoming a permanent resident. There is some flexibility built into this requirement. To comply with this obligation, permanent residents are permitted to count towards the requisite 730 day period, among other instances, the time they have spent outside Canada with their Canadian spouse or common law partner and the time they have spent working for a Canadian company or the Canadian government. The full text of this particular statutory obligation reads as follows:

(1) A permanent resident must comply with a residency obligation with respect to every five-year period.

(2) Application- The following provisions govern the residency obligation under subsection:

  • (a) A permanent resident must comply with a residency with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of 730 days in that five-year period, he or she is
    • (i) physically present in Canada,
    • (ii) outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is [his or her] spouse or common-law partner, or in the case of a child, [his or her] parent,
    • (iii) outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province,
    • (iv) outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident who is [his or her] common-law partner or, in the case of a child, [his or her] parent and who is on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province, or (v) referred to in the regulations providing for other means of compliance.
  • (b) it is sufficient for a permanent resident to demonstrate at examination
    • (i) if [he or she has] been a permanent resident for less than five years, that [he or she] will be able to meet the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately after [he or she] became a permanent resident;
    • (ii) if [he or she has been a permanent resident for five years or more, that [he or she has] met the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately before the examination; and
  • (c) a determination by an officer that humanitarian and compassionate considerations relating to a permanent resident, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected by the determination, justify the retention of permanent resident status overcomes any breach of the residency obligation prior to determination.

Because permanent residents could risk losing their right to retain permanent resident status should their particular circumstances contravene the residency requirements of the Act we therefore urge you to consult with us prior to any foreseeable periods of prolonged absence to ensure compliance with residency requirements.