Canada
Physical presence calculator: when can I apply?
Enter your PR date, your time in Canada before it and every trip abroad, past or planned: the first day your application meets the 1,095 days appears on the right.
Earliest date you can apply
You can apply today
On that date
| Permanent resident before applying | met |
| Days of physical presence credited (1,503 / needed 1,095) | met |
Days before PR: 568, credited half: 284
This calculator finds the first date on which you meet the physical presence requirement for Canadian citizenship: 1,095 days in Canada within the 5 years before the date you apply. It tries each day from today onwards and stops at the first one that works. Days as a permanent resident count in full; each day in Canada before that, as a temporary resident or protected person, counts as half a day, with at most 365 days of credit, so at least 730 days must be as a permanent resident. A day of absence is a day spent entirely outside Canada: as IRCC's instructions put it, absences are calculated only for days with no time at all in Canada, so the days you leave and come back count as present. The day of the application itself is not counted. Because you can enter trips you have only planned, you can see how a long holiday next summer moves your date before you book it.
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions and dates are built
How the count works, with an example
Suppose you arrived on a work permit on 1 September 2021, became a permanent resident on 15 May 2023 and travelled twice: from 20 December 2024 to 10 January 2025, and from 1 to 21 July 2026. The days on the work permit inside the window count for half, up to 365; the days as a permanent resident count in full; each trip removes only its whole days abroad (20 days for the first, 19 for the second). The calculator above opens on exactly these dates, so you can see the result and then replace them with your own.
| Rule | How it is applied |
|---|---|
| Window | the 5 years ending the day before you apply |
| Required | 1,095 days |
| Before PR | each day counts as half, at most 365 days in total |
| As PR | each day counts in full |
| Absence | only a day spent entirely outside Canada |
| Not counted | time in prison, on parole or on probation |
Why the official calculator and this one differ
IRCC's online calculator answers one question: on the date you choose, are your days enough? This page answers the next one: which is the first date that works? It also lets you add trips you have not taken yet. The two should agree on any given date; if they do not, check the dates you typed in each, and rely on the official one, which IRCC uses.
Where to find your dates
The date you became a permanent resident is on your confirmation of permanent residence. For temporary residence, use the date you first entered Canada with a permit or as a visitor whose stay led to it. For trips, passport stamps help but are rarely complete; travel bookings, boarding passes and the travel history the Canada Border Services Agency can provide on request fill the gaps. Enter each trip with the day you left and the day you returned.
What the date does not include
Being present long enough is one condition. You also need valid permanent resident status, tax filing where required, and for applicants aged 18 to 54 language proof and the citizenship test. The eligibility page lists them, and the fee page adds up what the application costs.