Does time spent abroad with my Canadian spouse count?
Short answer
In Canada, s. 28 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that days spent outside Canada accompanying a spouse or common-law partner who is a Canadian citizen count toward the 730 days of the residency obligation; the same applies to a child accompanying a parent.
In detail
Section 28 lists the situations in which days spent outside Canada are counted. One of them covers a permanent resident who is outside Canada accompanying their spouse or common-law partner who is a Canadian citizen — or, in the case of a child, their parent.
Another covers a permanent resident accompanying a spouse, common-law partner or parent who is themselves a permanent resident, where that person is employed on a full-time basis outside Canada by a Canadian business or in the federal or provincial public service.
These exceptions rest on facts that have to be established: the status of the person being accompanied, the nature of the relationship, and the period concerned.
What to document
Proof of the status of the person you are accompanying (citizenship certificate, passport, PR card), proof of the relationship (marriage certificate, dated proof of living together), and the exact periods you spent abroad together. These are three separate elements, and each has to be capable of being shown.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
Related questions
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- I went over my days outside Canada do I automatically lose my permanent residence?
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- Do I need to have filed my taxes to apply for citizenship?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.