How to maintain your PR status in Canada: To maintain your permanent resident status, you must spend at least 730 days (or two years) in Canada over five years. It is important to note that these 730 days do not have to occur consecutively or in a row.

You can still leave the country for brief periods. However, to keep your PR status, you must spend 730 days in Canada within five years since acquiring permanent residence.

Time outside Canada that can count towards 730 days

The 730-day rule of the government has some exceptions. In reality, there are situations when time spent abroad can count toward your 730 days. The two conditions listed below illustrate how your time spent outside of Canada could count toward the residence requirement:

1. You are a full-time employee of a Canadian company or a Canadian federal, provincial, or territorial government based outside Canada.

2. Or the spouse, common-law partner, or dependant child of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident employed abroad in a Canadian company or government.

In both cases, each day spent outside of Canada is treated as if you were physically present in Canada. Therefore, to demonstrate that you have met the 730-day requirement, keep a detailed record of your trips outside Canada. In addition, ensure to include day trips to the United States.

How to prove you meet the 730 days requirement

To maintain your status as a permanent resident, you must demonstrate that you meet the residency requirement. Hence, you must keep a thorough record of your travels outside Canada.

The government of Canada advises permanent residents to keep a notebook to record their out-of-country travel, even day visits. Include details such as the day you left Canada, places you visited, why you left Canada, and when you returned. The immigration officer may never see this notebook, but it is still a helpful tool for recording time spent outside Canada.

Moreover, evidence that you have spent the last 730 days residing in Canada is just as crucial. You can demonstrate this by preserving copies of your leases. In addition to correspondence addressed to your Canadian address, pay stubs, transcripts from your education, and so on.

When do you lose your PR status?

Even though the government has granted you permanent resident status, there are some circumstances under which you may still lose your PR status, if you:

Acquire Canadian citizenship.
Resign (or “renounce”) your status as a permanent resident.
Are not present in Canada for at least 730 days in the previous five years.
Become inadmissible to Canada due to committing a crime, having inadmissible family members, or financial, security, or medical issues.

If you find that you have lost your permanent resident status, you will still have 60 days to appeal the ruling. An appeal would allow immigration officers to review their decision once more before reaching the final decision.

So the number to remember when it comes to maintaining your permanent resident (PR) status in Canada is 730. Learn more on PR status on IRCC’s website.