Canada
Canadian citizenship eligibility: what an adult must meet
Enter your days in Canada: the tool says how many are still missing. The conditions IRCC sets for adults follow.
How many days am I missing?
Days missing
45
| Days credited | 1,050 |
| Credit before PR (half, max 365) | 150 |
| Required | 1,095 |
To apply for Canadian citizenship as an adult you must meet six conditions on the day you apply, as IRCC lists them. You must hold valid permanent resident status. You must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days, three years, in the 5 years before you apply, including at least 730 days as a permanent resident; each day as a temporary resident or protected person in that window counts as half a day, up to 365 days. You may need to have filed taxes for at least 3 of those 5 years. If you are 18 to 54, you must prove English or French at level CLB/NCLC 4 and pass the citizenship test. And you must not be under a prohibition. The tool above turns your days into the number still missing; the physical presence calculator gives the exact first date with your trips.
Do I have to take the test?
Test and language proof
Yes, both
| Ages concerned | 18 to 54 |
| Questions | 20, 15 right to pass |
| Time | 45 minutes |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions and dates are built
The six conditions, one by one
| Condition | Rule for an adult | Checked by this site |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent resident status | valid PR status on the day you apply | no |
| Physical presence | 1,095 days in 5 years, of which 730 as PR | yes, day by day |
| Income tax | filed for 3 of the 5 years, if required | no |
| Language | level CLB/NCLC 4 in English or French, ages 18 to 54 | no |
| Citizenship test | 15 of 20, ages 18 to 54 | practice only |
| Prohibitions | none in force | no |
Physical presence: where most applications go wrong
The 1,095 days are counted on a moving window: the 5 years that end the day before your application. Each day of the window is either a day in Canada or a day of absence. A day of absence is a day spent entirely outside Canada: the day you leave and the day you come back both count as days in Canada. Days before permanent residence count for half, up to the cap. The result changes every day: a trip from four years ago may leave the window next month and give you days back, while a long trip planned for the summer may push your date later. That is why the calculator asks for every trip, past and planned.
IRCC provides its own physical presence calculator, and it is worth running before you apply: it checks the date you give it. Ours searches forward for the first date on which the count is met, so the two are complementary.
Tax filing
IRCC asks applicants who were required to file taxes under the Income Tax Act to have done so for at least 3 of the 5 years. Whether you were required depends on your income and situation each year, under the rules of the Canada Revenue Agency; this site does not assess it.
Language and test
Between 18 and 54 on the day you sign, you send proof of speaking and listening at level CLB/NCLC 4 with your application, from an accepted test, diploma or certificate, and you later take the citizenship test. Outside that age band neither is required, which the small tool above shows.
Prohibitions
Some situations stop an application whatever the days, such as a sentence being served; IRCC lists them on its eligibility pages. They are assessed on your file and this site does not judge them.