Canadian citizenship: the 1,095-day physical presence requirement
To apply for Canadian citizenship, you need to have been physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days — 3 years — in the 5 years before you apply. Days you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident count as half days, up to 365.
Citizenship physical presence calculator
Count your days in Canada in the 5 years before you apply — IRCC’s physical presence calculator and your travel history give you the numbers.
The physical presence requirement
You must have been physically in Canada for at least 1,095 days (3 years) during the 5 years right before you apply.
- As a permanent resident, each day in Canada counts in full.
- Before you became a permanent resident, each day in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person counts as half a day, up to a maximum of 365 days of physical presence.
- Your 5 years must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident.
You also need valid permanent resident status, and you may need to have filed taxes for at least 3 years of the 5.
Worked example
In the 5 years before you apply, you were in Canada 900 days as a permanent resident and 300 days before that on a work permit. The 300 days count as 150: 900 + 150 = 1,050 — 45 days short. Another 45 days in Canada as a permanent resident would meet it.
If you have to keep your PR status too
Keeping permanent resident status is a separate rule — 730 days in Canada in the last 5 years. See the PR residency obligation.
How FlySee counts it
FlySee doesn’t have a Canadian citizenship tracker yet. Its Log records the days you’re in Canada and rebuilds past trips from your photos, and its export lists your trips with dates — what you need to fill in IRCC’s physical presence calculator. The calculator above then applies IRCC’s formula to your totals; it doesn’t decide how a travel day counts.