After becoming permanent resident, you may travel outside Canada. You will have to meet the residency obligations to maintain your status as a permanent resident.

To meet these residency obligations, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period. These 730 days don’t need to be continuous.

Some of your time spent abroad may count towards the 730 days if you meet any one  of these conditions:

You work full-time outside Canada for

• a Canadian business or organization, or
• the Canadian federal, provincial or territorial government

You travel abroad with a spouse or common-law partner who needs to be:

• a Canadian citizen, or
• a permanent resident working full-time outside Canada, employed by:
  • a Canadian business, or
  • the Canadian federal, provincial or territorial government

You’re a dependent child * and travel with your parent who needs to be

• a Canadian citizen, or
• a permanent resident working full-time outside Canada, employed by:
  • a Canadian business or
  • the Canadian federal, provincial or territorial government

* Definition of a dependent child as of October 24, 2017

Children qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:

• they’re under 22 years old, and
• they don’t have a spouse or common-law partner.

Children 22 years old or older (also known as an overage dependent children) qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:

• they have depended on their parents for financial support since before the age of 22, and
• they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition.

If you are applying for Canadian citizenship, please note that time spent outside of Canada cannot be counted towards the citizenship residency requirements. You must spend at least 3 of the last 5 years (1,095 days) in Canada as a legal resident of Canada to be eligible to apply for citizenship