I might not have met the residency obligation. Can I keep my permanent resident status?

You must meet your residency obligation to keep your permanent resident status. This means that in any 5-year period, you must have at least 730 days in which you're either:

• physically inside of Canada, or
• outside of Canada but still meeting certain legal conditions.

730 days is the same as 2 years. Any day you are physically in Canada counts towards your obligation. The days do not have to be one after another. Even part of a day counts as a full day.

Days outside Canada

Sometimes, time you spend outside Canada can also count towards your obligation. You can count days when you:

• accompanied your Canadian citizen spouse, common-law partner, or parent outside Canada
• worked outside Canada full-time as an employee of a Canadian business or organization
• worked outside Canada full-time as an employee of the government of Canada or a province
• accompanied your permanent resident spouse, common-law partner, or parent who was working outside Canada full-time as an employee of a Canadian business or organization, or the government of Canada or a province

In the law, the word accompany usually means that you're sharing a household with the person outside Canada.

Time spent outside Canada accompanying a parent only counts if you were under age 22 and did not have a spouse or common-law partner.

And there are more rules about when time spent working outside Canada counts.

If you want to use time spent outside Canada to meet your residency obligation, it's a best to get legal advice.

Questions about your status

An immigration officer may check that you met the residency obligation at certain times. For example, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) checks that you met the residency obligation if you apply:

• to renew your permanent resident (PR) card
• for a PR travel document
• for Canadian citizenship

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) may also check if you met the residency obligation if you ask to enter Canada at a Port of Entry like an international airport or land border.

Losing status

You do not lose your permanent resident status automatically. You're still a permanent resident until a decision is made to take away your status and your appeal is refused. Or, if you do not appeal, until the time you have to appeal the decision passes.

Get legal help

If you have not met the residency obligation, or if you're not sure, get legal advice about the options you may have to protect your status. If you plan to make any applications, or travel to or from Canada, get legal advice first.

If you have been ordered to leave Canada, you need legal help right away. There may be things you can do. For example, you may be able to appeal the removal order. Act quickly, because the time limit to appeal is 30 days.