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Check your offerCanadian citizenship · 2026
Canadian citizenship,counted properly.
Citizenship turns on 1,095 days of physical presence inside a five-year window — or, for a child under 18, on one question about their parents. Map either below, day by day.
- Built from IRCC rules — not a generic day counter
- Counts every trip — leave and return days both included
- Free to use — no sign-up and no fee
Behind this page: the Oath of Citizenship, taken at every ceremony from age 14.
The requirement
Citizenship turns on days, and IRCC counts them in a particular way.
Days as a permanent resident count in full. Days in Canada before that — as a worker, student or protected person — count at half, up to 365. Every day outside Canada comes off, though the day you leave and the day you return both count as days here. The calculator below applies all of it.
Requirements under the Citizenship Act as applied by IRCC; fees and processing figures below are re-checked before every filing.
The calculator
Your 1,095 days, counted the way IRCC counts them.
Three steps. Answer them on the left and the count on the right updates as you type — PR days in full, pre-PR days at half up to 365, absences off.
Who is applying?
Choose one. It changes which rules apply.
The 1,095-day rule, plus tax filing, language proof and the citizenship test.
Your dates
Use the date pickers, or type the dates in.
Trips outside Canada
One row per trip. The day you leave and the day you return both count as days in Canada.
What still has to be true
No days to count on this route. These three things are what matter.
- The child is a permanent resident of Canada.
- A parent is already a citizen, or is applying at the same time.
- A parent or legal guardian with custody signs.
Add your dates and the field fills in.
Add your dates and the curve appears.
Eligibility
What an adult application asks.
Six requirements, in plain terms. Tick each one that is already true for you — the calculator checks the first two; the rest are records and documents.
- Counted
1,095 days of physical presence
Be in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the five years before the day you apply. The day you leave and the day you return both count as days in Canada.
- Counted
Pre-PR time counts at half value
Days in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person, inside the window, count as half-days — capped at 365 credited days. The calculator applies this for you.
- Tax records
Tax filing, three of the five years
File income taxes for at least three of those five years, if you were required to file under the Income Tax Act.
- Language proof
Language, ages 18 to 54
Show CLB 4 or higher in English or French with accepted proof.
- Knowledge test
Citizenship test, ages 18 to 54
Pass the knowledge test on Canada’s history, values, institutions and rights. See what the test covers, with free practice questions.
- Status
Valid PR and no prohibitions
Hold permanent residence with no unmet conditions, and no criminal or security prohibition that bars citizenship.
How the five-year window is credited
Credited days must reach 1,095 on the day you apply.A buffer of extra days above 1,095 is what protects the file if IRCC counts a trip differently.
What the officer checks first
- 01
The travel history
Every trip outside Canada in the window, in the order IRCC asks for it.
- 02
The count on the application date
Not today — the day the file is received.
- 03
Tax filing for the same years
Assessed against CRA records, not your memory.
Children under 18
Two routes for a child, and only one question decides it.
Does the child have a Canadian parent — or a parent applying at the same time?
Adoptive and legal parents count.
| Minor 5(2) · Canadian parentNo days to count | Minor 5(1) · no Canadian parentThe adult day count, without the test | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $100 | $100 |
| Must be a permanent resident | Yes | Yes |
| 1,095 days of physical presence in the last 5 years | Not requiredNothing to count. This is the whole advantage of the 5(2) route. | RequiredSame rule as an adult. |
| Income tax filing | Not required | Yes, if the child had to fileChildren with income can have a filing obligation. We check this before you submit. |
| Who signs the application | A parent or legal guardian who has custody of the child signs.A child aged 14 or over signs as well. | A parent, a legal guardian with custody, or a person empowered to act on the child’s behalf signs.If nobody can apply on the child’s behalf, the child can request a waiver of this requirement. A child aged 14 or over signs as well. |
| Citizenship test and language proof | Not required | Not required |
| Oath of Citizenship | Yes, from age 14. | Yes, from age 14. |
| How to apply | Online for most applicants, or on paper using the minor 5(2) package. | Online for most applicants, or on paper using the minor 5(1) package. |
Rows where the two routes differ.
Two birthdays change the paperwork.
From birth to 13, a parent or legal guardian with custody signs everything; there is no oath, no test and no language proof. From 14, the child signs the application as well and takes the Oath of Citizenship. The fee is $100 on either route.
Enter a date of birth in the calculator to place your child here.
Who signs on the 5(1) route. A parent, a legal guardian with custody, or a person empowered to act on the child’s behalf. If nobody can apply on the child’s behalf, the child can request a waiver of that requirement. Enter the child’s date of birth in the calculator and it places the child on the right route.
After you file
You have sent it. Here is the year that follows.
IRCC publishes one number for a citizenship grant — an average, updated monthly. It hides six stages, two of which only happen to some people. Put in the date on your acknowledgement of receipt and see where your file most likely sits.
Processing time and inventory: IRCC, 10 August 2026. Fees: IRCC fee schedule. Both change — we re-check before every filing.
Not the day you submitted — the day IRCC confirmed the application was complete. Leave it blank to just read the stages.
Grant and proof of citizenship are different queues
A grant is a permanent resident becoming a citizen — that is this page, and the 12-month average above. Proof of citizenship is for people who are already citizens by descent and need the certificate. Since the first-generation limit was removed on 15 December 2025, that second queue has grown to roughly 99,500 files and about 19 months. Applying in the wrong one costs you the fee and the wait.
Which one applies to me ›Practise the test
One hundred practice questions. Marked the way the real one is.
The knowledge test is twenty questions in thirty minutes and fifteen right is a pass, so that is exactly how our sets are built. Work through them in practice mode to see why each answer is right, then switch to exam mode and sit a full timed paper with no help at all. Your best score for each set is kept in your own browser.
- Rights & responsibilities
- History
- Government & law
- Geography & economy
- Symbols & society
Written by our team to mirror the style and difficulty of the real thing. These are not past papers and they are not published by the Government of Canada — treat them as a self-check. The official study guide is Discover Canada.
Read next on citizenship.
Longer guides on the questions this page raises: citizenship by descent after Bill C-3, a direct grant for an adopted child, and what to do when IRCC sits on a file too long.
The first-generation limit is gone: how citizenship by descent works after Bill C-3
Bill C-3 ended the first-generation limit and made citizens of people who never knew they qualified. What the 1,095-day test…Aug 20, 2026· 13 min readProgramsAdopting from abroad: how the direct grant of Canadian citizenship actually works
Canadian parents adopting abroad can skip sponsorship and apply directly for the child's citizenship. How the two-part process…Aug 19, 2026· 7 min readCase lawWhen IRCC will not decide: the court order that forces one
A writ of mandamus is a Federal Court order requiring IRCC to make a decision on an application it has left sitting. What the…Sep 11, 2026· 6 min readGood to know
Questions, answered.
The questions we hear most on this topic, answered by our consultants. The full list is in the Help Centre.
How much time in Canada do I need?
What else is required besides presence?
What is proof of citizenship?
What causes citizenship delays?
How many questions are on the citizenship test?
More questions on this topic are answered in the Help Centre.
Sources
The rules on this page come from the Citizenship Act and the Government of Canada pages below, checked in October 2026. Where an official figure changes, this page is updated before it is used on a file.
Related services
Everything else we handle.
Before you file
Have an RCIC check the count.
A citizenship refusal for a miscounted trip costs a year. Send us your travel history and PR date and we confirm the count, the tax years and the safest filing window before anything is submitted.
CHK Immigration Services — Citizenship Eligibility Calculation
647-948-7200 • hello@chkimmigration.ca
Brampton: Suite 203, 6475 Mayfield Rd, Brampton, ON L6P 4N2
London: Suite 203, 555 Southdale Rd E, London, ON N6E 1A2
Citizenship review
Have you really met the 1,095 days?
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- 01Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant
- 02A written shortlist of the programs you qualify for
- 03Fee-based; the fee and times come by reply
CHK Immigration Services, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions. Prefer to talk first? Call 647-948-7200 or book a paid consultation.