Calculator Immigration

Physical presence calculator for Canadian citizenship: count the 1,095 days

Physical presence calculator for Canadian citizenship: count days toward IRCC's 1,095-day rule and find the earliest date the requirement is reached.

By Alex Francisco Updated Oct 11, 2026 Figures checked Oct 11, 2026

Free, no sign-up, runs in your browser

Your two dates

Dates stay in this browser. They are not sent to YieldMaple and are never added to the page address.

Became a permanent resident: year

The date on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence or the PR card.

Became a permanent resident: month

Became a permanent resident: day

e.g. 15

Planned application date: year

The day the application will be signed. The date shown is an example (the day this page was last updated); set the real signing date.

Planned application date: month

Planned application date: day

e.g. 8

Time in Canada before permanent residence

In Canada with temporary status before becoming a PR?

Yes No

Visitor, student, worker, temporary resident permit holder or protected person, inside the eligibility period shown in the result. Time waiting on a refugee claim does not count.

Days physically in Canada with that status

Only days inside the eligibility period and before the PR date. Leave out days spent outside Canada. Each one counts as part of a day, up to IRCC’s maximum credit. e.g. 200

Time outside Canada since becoming a PR

How to enter absences

One total Trip by trip

Trip by trip turns nights away into full days outside Canada, the way IRCC counts an absence.

Full days outside Canada

All trips since becoming a PR, inside the eligibility period. Do not count the day of leaving or the day of returning. e.g. 30

Sentences and cushion

Most readers can leave these as they are.

Days serving a sentence in Canada

Prison, parole or probation inside the eligibility period. IRCC counts every day of the sentence and lists a few exceptions.

Cushion above the minimum

Moves the earliest date later so the count ends above the minimum. IRCC encourages applying with extra days and does not name a number.

Days counted toward Canadian citizenship

Signing on October 14, 2026 counts 970 of the 1,095 days IRCC requires, 125 days short. The count reaches 1,095 on February 16, 2027 if every day until then is spent in Canada.

Days counted toward 1,095

970

870 as a permanent resident + 100 credit for earlier time

Days still needed

125

Short of 1,095 on October 14, 2026

Earliest date at 1,095 days

February 16, 2027

125 days after the application date, all spent in Canada

Credit for time before PR

100 of 365

200 days × 0.5

IRCC's wording on extra days, for planning the date: "We encourage you to apply with more than 1,095 days of living in Canada in case there’s a problem with the calculation."

See the detailed tables

Your decision brief

Why this result looks like this

For a signing date of October 14, 2026, the eligibility period runs from October 14, 2021 to October 13, 2026, 1,826 days. Nothing before it counts.
900 of those days come after becoming a permanent resident on April 27, 2024. Taking off 30 full days outside Canada leaves 870.
200 days in Canada with temporary or protected status, at half a day each: 100.
870 + 100 = 970 days, against the 1,095 required: 125 days short.

What could change this result

30 more full days outside Canada would move the earliest signing date from February 16, 2027 to March 18, 2027.
Signing 30 days later, with all 30 spent in Canada, would count 1,000 days instead of 970.
Up to 530 more temporary-status days could fit in the period before the PR date; each one found in old permits and passport stamps adds half a day, up to a credit of 365.
A 30-day cushion (1,125 days counted) is reached on March 18, 2027.

Assumptions used for this result

This is a planning count from totals, not IRCC's calculation. IRCC states: "You must still use the calculator in your account to apply online." Paper applications include IRCC's calculator printout or form CIT 0407.
Every day from October 14, 2026 to the earliest date is treated as a day in Canada as a permanent resident.
The 30 absence days are treated as falling after the PR date and inside the period, and as staying inside it when the date moves later. Old trips that drop out of the period would bring the date earlier.
The 200 temporary-status days are treated as the most recent days before April 27, 2024, so they stay in the period as long as possible.
Time outside Canada as a Crown servant or a Crown servant’s family member, which IRCC counts as time in Canada, is not modelled.

How the days add up

How to read this table: Read top to bottom. Permanent resident days and the credit for earlier time are counted separately, then added and compared with the days IRCC requires.

Step	Days	How it is worked out
Eligibility period	1,826	October 14, 2021 to October 13, 2026: the 5 years before the signing date
Days as a permanent resident in the period	900	April 27, 2024 to October 13, 2026
Full days outside Canada	−30	The total entered
Days serving a sentence	0	Every day of the sentence
Counted as a permanent resident	870	900 − 30 − 0
Temporary-status days used	200	Of 926 days in the period before the PR date
Credit for those days	100	200 × 0.5 = 100, maximum 365
Total days counted	970	870 + 100
Days IRCC requires	1,095	In the 5-year eligibility period
Days still needed	125	1,095 − 970

Earliest signing date, with and without a cushion

How to read this table: Each row is the first signing date on which the count reaches the days shown, with every day until then spent in Canada. IRCC encourages applying with more than 1,095 days and does not say how many.

Cushion	Days counted on that date	Earliest signing date	Days after the application date
None	1,095	February 16, 2027	125
7 days	1,102	February 23, 2027	132
14 days	1,109	March 2, 2027	139
30 days	1,125	March 18, 2027	155
60 days	1,155	April 17, 2027	185

What more days outside Canada do to the date

How to read this table: Each row adds full days outside Canada to the count (a forgotten trip, or one still to come) and finds the first signing date that still reaches 1,095 days. Travel days themselves count as days in Canada.

More full days outside Canada	Days counted on the application date	Earliest signing date	Days after the application date
0	970	February 16, 2027	125
7	963	February 23, 2027	132
14	956	March 2, 2027	139
30	940	March 18, 2027	155
60	910	April 17, 2027	185
90	880	May 17, 2027	215

How much the time before PR is worth

How to read this table: Same dates and absences, different amounts of time in Canada before permanent residence. The credit stops at 365 days, which takes 730 days in Canada with temporary or protected status.

Temporary-status days in Canada	Credit	Total days counted	Earliest signing date
0	0	870	May 27, 2027
200 (this count)	100	970	February 16, 2027
365	182.5	1,052.5	November 26, 2026
730	365	1,235	On or before October 14, 2026

How many days of physical presence count toward Canadian citizenship, and when are 1,095 days reached?

A physical presence calculator counts the days a permanent resident spent in Canada toward the 1,095 days IRCC requires in the 5 years before a citizenship application is signed. Days as a permanent resident count in full, earlier days with temporary or protected status count as half a day up to 365, and full days outside Canada count as zero.

IRCC requires at least 1,095 days physically in Canada during the 5 years right before the date the citizenship application is signed; nothing earlier counts.
Each day in Canada as a permanent resident counts as 1 day, and each earlier day as a visitor, student, worker or protected person inside the 5-year period counts as half a day, up to a maximum credit of 365 days.
The day of leaving Canada and the day of returning both count as days in Canada, so only full days outside the country are taken off the count.
Time serving a sentence in Canada (prison, parole or probation, with a few exceptions IRCC lists) and time waiting for a decision on a refugee claim do not count.
IRCC encourages applying with more than 1,095 days in case there is a problem with the calculation, and does not name a number of extra days.
This calculator is a planning count from totals; the calculation attached to an application comes from IRCC's own physical presence calculator, in the online account or as a signed printout.

— YieldMaple, figures checked against official sources on October 11, 2026. Sources

How this calculator works

Takes the date of becoming a permanent resident and the planned application (signing) date, and sets the eligibility period as the 5 years ending the day before the signing date.
Counts the calendar days as a permanent resident inside that period, then takes off full days outside Canada (one total, or trips entered as nights away with both travel days counted as days in Canada) and any days serving a sentence.
Adds half a day for each day in Canada with temporary or protected status before permanent residence, limited to the days of the period that fall before the permanent resident date and to IRCC's maximum credit.
Compares the total with the days IRCC requires and reports the days counted, the days still needed and the first signing date on which the count reaches the requirement if every day until then is spent in Canada.
Repeats the search for extra-day cushions, for more days outside Canada and for different amounts of time before permanent residence, so the effect of each input is visible.

Assumptions and limits

The calculator works from totals, not a dated trip log, so absences are treated as falling after the permanent resident date, inside the eligibility period, and as staying inside it when the signing date moves later.
Every day between the planned application date and the earliest date shown is treated as a day in Canada as a permanent resident.
Temporary-status days are treated as the most recent days before the permanent resident date, so they stay inside the moving 5-year period as long as possible.
Sentence days are taken off in full; IRCC's exceptions (some conditional discharges and youth sentences) and time outside Canada as a Crown servant or a Crown servant's family member are not modelled.
The application date field starts at an example date (the day the page was last built, or the day Reset is pressed); the reader sets the real signing date.

Full method: how YieldMaple builds and checks its calculators.

This is an estimate for planning and education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Confirm anything you act on with the official source or a licensed professional.

What does this physical presence calculator count?

This physical presence calculator counts the days that go toward the 1,095 days Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires for a grant of citizenship, and finds the earliest signing date on which that number is reached. It follows IRCC’s published rule: only the 5 years before the signing date matter, permanent resident days count in full, earlier days with temporary or protected status count as half, and full days outside Canada count as nothing.

It is a planning tool, and it says so plainly. IRCC’s own online physical presence calculator is the one attached to an application: the version inside the IRCC account for online applications, or its signed printout (or form CIT 0407) for paper ones. The count here helps answer a narrower question first: roughly how many days are in hand today, and which date to aim for.

The two dates and the day totals stay in the browser. They are not sent to YieldMaple, they are never added to the page address, and they are not included in analytics. Nothing is kept after the page is closed unless the “Save on this device” button is used, which stores the inputs in that browser only.

How does IRCC count days for Canadian citizenship?

IRCC counts each day inside the 5-year eligibility period according to the status held on that day and whether the day was spent in Canada. The table below is taken from the verified rules file and shows what every kind of day is worth.

What each kind of day is worth toward citizenship

How to read this table: rules as published by IRCC on its physical presence calculator and Who can apply pages. Only days inside the 5 years before the signing date are looked at.

Kind of day	Counts as
A day physically in Canada as a permanent resident	1 day
A day physically in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person, before becoming a permanent resident	Half a day, up to a maximum credit of 365 days (730 calendar days)
The day of leaving Canada and the day of returning	1 day each (both are days in Canada)
A full day outside Canada	0 days
A day serving a sentence in Canada (prison, parole or probation)	0 days, with some exceptions IRCC lists
A day waiting for a decision on a refugee claim or a pre-removal risk assessment	0 days
Any day before the 5-year eligibility period	0 days

Two details change the count more than most people expect. First, travel days count as days in Canada, so a trip that leaves on a Monday and returns the following Monday is 6 full days of absence, not 8. Second, the credit for time before permanent residence has a ceiling. Once it is reached, extra years as a student or worker add nothing, and the rest of the total has to come from permanent resident days.

How do you use this citizenship calculator?

Enter the date of becoming a permanent resident. It is on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence and on the PR card.
Enter the planned application date. This is the day the application will be signed. The date shown at first is an example, so set the real signing date, or a later one to test a future day.
Say whether time was spent in Canada with temporary status before PR. If yes, enter the days physically in Canada as a visitor, student, worker, permit holder or protected person that fall inside the eligibility period shown in the result.
Enter time outside Canada since becoming a PR. Use one total of full days away, or switch to trip by trip and enter the nights away for each trip; the calculator leaves out the two travel days.
Open “Sentences and cushion” if it applies. Add days serving a sentence, or pick a cushion to move the target above the minimum.

The four result cards show the days counted, the days still needed, the earliest signing date and the credit used for time before PR. The tables underneath show each step of the count and how the date moves when an input changes.

What does a worked example look like?

Take someone who became a permanent resident on April 25, 2024, plans to sign on October 11, 2026, spent 200 days in Canada on a work permit inside the period, and has been outside Canada for 30 full days since landing.

Step	Days	How it is worked out
Eligibility period	1,826	the 5 years ending the day before signing
Days as a permanent resident	899	calendar days from the PR date to the end of the period
Counted as a permanent resident	869	full days away taken off
Credit for time before PR	100	half a day for each temporary-status day
Total days counted	969	compared with the days IRCC requires
Days still needed	126	each further day in Canada adds one
Earliest signing date	February 14, 2027	first day the count reaches the requirement

The date moves one day later for every extra full day outside Canada before then. The next table runs the same example again with a cushion above the minimum, with a forgotten trip and with no earlier time in Canada.

Scenario	Days counted on that date	Earliest signing date
Exact minimum	1,095	February 14, 2027
14-day cushion	1,109	February 28, 2027
30-day cushion	1,125	March 16, 2027
60-day cushion	1,155	April 15, 2027
Exact minimum, with 30 more full days outside Canada	1,095	March 16, 2027
Exact minimum, with no temporary-status days at all	1,095	May 25, 2027

IRCC’s own FAQ example is reproduced exactly by the calculator’s tests: a permanent resident from January 1, 2016 who signs on April 1, 2018 with 57 full days outside Canada and the maximum credit for earlier time is counted at 1,129 days.

How does the maths work?

The count is two separate sums added together. The first is permanent resident time: the calendar days from the PR date (or the start of the period, if PR came earlier) to the day before signing, minus full days outside Canada and days serving a sentence. The second is the credit for earlier time: the days in Canada with temporary or protected status that fall inside the period, multiplied by one half and held at IRCC’s maximum.

The earliest date is found by moving the signing date forward one day at a time and counting again each time. That matters because the eligibility period moves too. For someone who has been a permanent resident for less than 5 years, each new day adds a permanent resident day at the end and removes a day from the start. If the day removed is an old temporary-status day, half a day of credit goes with it, so the count can grow by half a day per day instead of one. Once the whole period is permanent resident time, the count stops growing (it shifts by a day when a leap day enters or leaves the period) unless old absences drop out of the period, which only a dated trip list can show.

What does IRCC say about applying with extra days?

IRCC encourages applying with more than the minimum and does not say how many extra days. Its wording, and its other statements that bear on the date, are quoted below from the verified rules file.

What IRCC says about the calculation, in its own words

How to read this table: quotes are verbatim from IRCC pages. The cushion setting in the calculator shows what a chosen number of extra days does to the date; the number itself is the reader's choice, not an IRCC figure.

Topic	IRCC wording	Where it is published
Applying with extra days	We encourage you to apply with more than 1,095 days of living in Canada in case there’s a problem with the calculation.	Who can apply (canada.ca)
Calculator for an online application	You must still use the calculator in your account to apply online.	Calculate your physical presence (canada.ca)
Calculator for a paper application	Include the calculation printout in your application.	Calculate your physical presence (canada.ca)
How an absence is counted	When calculating an absence, the day you leave Canada and the day you return is NOT considered an absence.	Physical Presence Calculator FAQ, A3
Day trips	List all absences, even if you come back the same day	Physical Presence Calculator FAQ, A7
Time serving a sentence	When calculating a sentence, all days are included.	Physical Presence Calculator FAQ, A12
Checking again before applying	When you are eligible to apply, redo the calculation before sending in your application.	Physical Presence Calculator start page
Applying with too few days	you have fewer than the required number of days of physical presence, your application will be refused. Your citizenship processing fee will not be refunded.	Physical Presence Calculator FAQ, A15

The signing date carries weight of its own. IRCC asks that the application date in the calculation, the signature date on the printout and the signature date on the application form all match, and a paper application that arrives too long after the date on the form is returned. The Canadian citizenship application guide covers the full list of requirements, including tax filing, language proof and the test.

Which days do not count toward citizenship?

Days outside the 5-year period, full days outside Canada, days serving a sentence and days in Canada without authorized status do not count. A few cases catch people out:

Refugee claim time. Permits issued while a claim or pre-removal risk assessment was pending did not grant temporary resident status, so those days are left out. Protected person time counts from the positive decision.
Time before the period. Someone who studied in Canada 7 years ago cannot use those days, because only the 5 years before signing are looked at.
Time between visits. Temporary-status days count only when physically in Canada. A work permit that was valid during a long stay abroad adds nothing for the days away.
Probation and parole. These count as serving a sentence, not only time in prison.

Common mistakes with the day count

Taking off travel days. The day of leaving and the day of returning are days in Canada. Subtracting them makes the total look lower than IRCC’s.
Leaving out short trips. A same-day trip is 0 days of absence, but IRCC still asks for every absence to be listed, and a string of weekend trips adds up.
Counting temporary days in full. Each one is worth half a day, and the credit stops at the maximum.
Starting the 5 years at the PR date. The period is tied to the signing date and moves with it.
Mixing up the two residency rules. The citizenship count is not the residency obligation that keeps PR status. The PR card renewal guide explains that separate test.
Reusing an old calculation. IRCC says to redo the calculation before applying, since a later date changes the period and new trips change the total.
Forgetting the other requirements. Days are one condition. The IRCC fee table lists what the application costs, and the newcomer tax guide covers the returns that the tax filing requirement looks at.

When does it make sense to talk to a professional?

A licensed immigration consultant (RCIC) or an immigration lawyer is worth considering when the count depends on a judgment this calculator does not make: a period without status, a refugee claim or protected person decision, any sentence, probation or conditional discharge, time abroad as a Crown servant or with one, or travel records that cannot be rebuilt from passport stamps and tickets. This page is general education, not immigration or legal advice. The numbers to rely on are the ones IRCC’s own calculator produces from exact dates.

Frequently asked questions

How is physical presence calculated for Canadian citizenship?

IRCC looks only at the 5 years right before the date the application is signed. Inside that period, every day in Canada as a permanent resident counts as 1 day, and every day in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before permanent residence counts as half a day, up to a credit of 365 days. Full days outside Canada and days serving a sentence are taken off. The total has to reach at least 1,095 days.

How many days do I need for Canadian citizenship?

At least 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada in the 5 years before the signing date. IRCC also states that the period must include at least 730 days as a permanent resident; the credit for earlier time stops at 365 days. IRCC encourages applying with more than 1,095 days in case there is a problem with the calculation, but it does not say how many extra days.

Do days before becoming a permanent resident count toward citizenship?

Partly. Each day physically in Canada with authorized temporary resident status (visitor, student, worker or temporary resident permit holder) or as a protected person counts as half a day, as long as it falls inside the 5-year eligibility period and before the permanent resident date. The credit is capped at 365 days, which takes 730 days in Canada to reach. Time in Canada without status does not count.

Do the day I leave and the day I return count as days in Canada?

Yes. IRCC's calculator treats both the day of departure and the day of return as days of physical presence, because part of each day was spent in Canada. Its own example: an absence between July 1 and July 15 equals 13 days of absence, and leaving one day and returning the next equals 0 days. Every trip still has to be listed in IRCC's calculator, including same-day trips to the United States.

Can I apply for citizenship with exactly 1,095 days?

The rule is at least 1,095 days, so an application signed on the day the count reaches that number meets it on paper. IRCC's published wording is that it encourages applicants to apply with more than 1,095 days in case there is a problem with the calculation. A forgotten trip or a wrong date can pull the total under the minimum, and IRCC says an application found short during processing is refused without a refund of the processing fee.

Is this the calculator IRCC accepts with an application?

No. This calculator is a planning tool that works from totals. IRCC states that an online application uses the calculator inside the applicant's IRCC account, and that a paper application includes the printout from IRCC's online physical presence calculator or form CIT 0407. IRCC's calculator asks for the exact dates of every trip and works out the days itself, so its result is the one that counts.

Does time as a refugee claimant count toward the 1,095 days?

Not while the claim is being decided. IRCC states that work or study permits issued while a refugee claim or pre-removal risk assessment was being assessed did not grant temporary resident status, so that period cannot be used. Time as a protected person counts at half a day per day from the positive decision until the day before becoming a permanent resident, within the 5-year period and up to the same 365-day maximum credit.

What happens if I apply for citizenship with too few days?

IRCC's calculator page says a person who does not meet the physical presence requirement is not eligible to apply. Its FAQ adds that if a miscalculation is found while the application is being processed and the total is under the required number of days, the application is refused and the citizenship processing fee is not refunded. A new application, with the fee paid again, is then needed once the days are there.

Does the 5-year period start when I became a permanent resident?

No. The eligibility period is always the 5 years ending the day before the application is signed, whatever the permanent resident date. Someone who became a permanent resident more than 5 years ago has a period made up entirely of permanent resident time, and earlier temporary-status days no longer count. Someone who became a permanent resident more recently can add half days for earlier time in Canada that falls inside the period.

Is the citizenship day count the same as the PR card residency obligation?

No. They are two separate counts. The citizenship rule needs 1,095 days physically in Canada in the 5 years before signing and gives half credit for time before permanent residence. The residency obligation for keeping permanent resident status has its own threshold and its own list of days outside Canada that still count. Meeting one does not prove the other, so each is checked on its own.

Rules, rates and sources

Last verified: September 30, 2026
Next scheduled check: December 30, 2026

Rule or table	In effect from	Verified
Canadian citizenship (grant) eligibility rules for adults and minors	April 21, 2026	September 30, 2026
How IRCC counts physical presence days for a citizenship application	July 17, 2026	October 11, 2026

Official sources

Canadian citizenship for adults and minor children: Who can apply - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Citizenship test: Study for the test - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Citizenship test: Test results and next steps - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Citizenship test: How the test works - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Apply for Canadian citizenship: How to apply - Canada.ca (refunds) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Find out if you have the language proof for citizenship: Step 1 - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Find out if you have the language proof for citizenship: Step 2 - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Apply for Canadian citizenship: After you apply - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Citizenship ceremony: Who has to take the oath - Canada.ca — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Physical Presence Calculator - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (half-day credit) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Physical Presence Calculator FAQ - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (how an absence is counted) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Apply for citizenship: Calculate your physical presence - Canada.ca (online applications) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

How we check figures: our methodology and editorial policy.