whistle said:

...the Europeans can tell me if they've been to America if they care to.

(Canadians count as Americans for my purposes)

[Edited 10/2/10 17:03pm]

I have.

retina said:

Lammastide said:

The current law requires that you reside in Canada 2 out of every 5 years to retain Permanent Resident status, so it's not quite as stringent as you think. But, yes, the only way you can escape that ongoing requirement is citizenship, for which you may apply only after holding Permanent Resident status.

I actually am still a temporary resident, here merely on a Post-Graduate Work Permit. I could easily be a permanent resident by now (I've been here for 4 years), but I've honestly been too busy, distracted or lazy to apply. My Post-Graduate Work permit allows me to be in the country for another 3 years, and in that time I do plan to apply for Permanent Resident Status and then immediately for citizenship. At this point, the only real challenge for me in doing this is the money it will cost.

Ok, so do they mean that it has to be 24 consecutive months or can it be 24 months spread out here and there over the five year period (in the latter case it's not at all hard to achieve!)? And are you saying that you have to complete a five year period as permanent resident before you can apply for citizenship? In that case it seems to be quite a long process since you first have to wait sometimes up to a couple of years (at least so I've heard) to even get the permanent residency in the first place. Or can you start the citizenship application process as soon as you've been granted permanent residency, meaning that you could potentially go from "total foreigner" to citizen in only a couple of years?

Sorry about all the follow-up questions and thank you very much for the answers you've already given. It's very helpful!

Having a dual Swedish and Canadian citizenship would be a dream scenario from me, and really facilitate a lot of things. As it is now, the (rude) customs reps just get more and more grumpy and suspicious for every time I request to stay for a few months after having been there previously less than a year ago in some cases. It's a huge hassle and means a lot of emotional tension, not to mention the risk of not being allowed in at all.

Your stay in Canada doesn't have to be a consecutive two years in five to retain permanent resident status. You can spread that time out in any configuration within a given five-year period. Also, if you do leave Canada, but you have a Canadian spouse or common-law partner with you and/or if you are employed by a Canadian business or a provincial or federal government office while you're away, your time still will be counted as if you are in Canada. Cool, eh?

If you're looking further, toward full-on citizenship, there's no minimum requirement for how long you have to hold permanent resident status before you can apply. I believe it can be immediate. You do have to be physically in Canada for three years to be eligible for citizenship, however -- but you could clock up that time as either a permanent or merely temporary (like me) resident.

Long story short: Regardless of your strategy, unless you marry a Canadian, the citizenship process is built in such a way that you must demonstrate at least a total three-year presence in the country. No two-year total-alien-to-citizen trickery, I'm afraid.

If I may ask, what is your tie to Canada?

[Edited 10/4/10 18:54pm]

Thank you very much for the effort and the valuable information! I really appreciate it! Hopefully your investigations resulted in something useful for you as well, and that you'll get your ass in gear and send in the proper applications now.

Lammastide said:

Your stay in Canada doesn't have to be a consecutive two years in five to retain permanent resident status. You can spread that time out in any configuration within a given five-year period. Also, if you do leave Canada, but you have a Canadian spouse or common-law partner with you and/or if you are employed by a Canadian business or a provincial or federal government office while you're away, your time still will be counted as if you are in Canada. Cool, eh?

That is indeed cool and generous too, I must say.

So I guess those three years don't have to be consecutive either then, because otherwise it would be impossible to clock up that amount of time as a temporary resident, right? Or maybe there are special rules for Americans that allow you to stay "temporarily" for years? For the rest of us, the only alternative (that I know of) to permanent residency is to simply show up as a visitor and then there's an absolute maximum of six months at a time, and even that is hard to get without a real dust-up with the customs folks.

Long story short: Regardless of your strategy, unless you marry a Canadian, the citizenship process is built in such a way that you must demonstrate at least a total three-year presence in the country. No two-year total-alien-to-citizen trickery, I'm afraid.

Still, a three-year total-alien-to-citizen waiting time (plus application processing time) isn't too bad either.

I've sent you an org note.

Again, thank you very much for your help!

retina said:

Again, thank you very much for your help!

You're very welcome.

Check your orgnotes.