residency obligation

Permanent residents can lose their status if they do not meet the residency obligation. This means that they cannot spend too much time outside Canada. The general rule is that over a period of 5 years, permanent residents must be in Canada for at least 2 years. That’s the same as 730 days. The 730 days do not have to be one after the other. And part of a day counts as a full day.

In some situations, permanent residents can include time spent outside Canada. For example, time spent travelling with a spouse or partner who’s a Canadian citizen.