Residency issues generally arise in two scenarios.
The first is when someone wants to become a Canadian citizen. The Citizenship Act now provides that an individual must have been physically present in the country for three out of the past four years prior to applying in order to qualify for Canadian citizenship.
The second is when someone wants to renew their permanent residence status. A person can lose permanent resident status by failing to fulfill residency obligations. Generally, a person must physically reside in Canada for 730 days out of every five years. There are some exceptions to this, including when:
- A person is outside Canada while accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent;
- Outside of Canada while employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business; or
- Outside Canada while accompanying a permanent resident who is their spouse or common-law partner, or their parent, when that person is employed by a Canadian business.
Our Service
In today’s increasingly globalized environment requiring international travel, many people are finding themselves told that they have failed to meet the residency requirement. The consequence is that years of effort, and thousands of dollars, to become a Canadian may be wasted.
Our office has extensive experience in dealing with this increasingly prevalent issue. If you face losing your permanent resident status, or unable to become a citizen, you should seek legal counsel.
