2. Learn the rules about time spent outside Canada

The general rule is that only days when you're in Canada count towards your residency obligation.

But, in some situations, you can include time spent outside Canada.

Time outside Canada with a Canadian citizen

You can include time you spent outside Canada when you were travelling and living with your spouse or common-law partner who's a Canadian citizen.

You may also be able to include time you were travelling and living with your parent who's a Canadian citizen. You can do this if you did not have a spouse or common-law partner and:

• you were under the age of 22, for time on or after October 24, 2017
• you were under the age of 19, for time before October 24, 2017

Time outside Canada because of work

You can include time spent outside Canada because you were:

• working as a full-time employee of a Canadian business
• working as a full-time employee of the government of Canada or a Canadian province or territory

And you can include time that you lived outside Canada with your spouse or common-law partner who was:

• working as a full-time employee of a Canadian business
• working as a full-time employee of the Government of Canada or a Canadian province or territory

At the end of this step, there's information about when the rules about working outside Canada apply.

Time outside Canada with a parent who’s a permanent resident

If you did not have a spouse or common-law partner, you may be able to include time that you lived outside Canada with your parent who's a permanent resident.

Your parent must have been:

• working as a full-time employee of a Canadian business
• working as a full-time employee of the Government of Canada or a Canadian province or territory

You can include time spent on or after October 24, 2017, if you were under the age of 22.

You can include time spent before October 24, 2017, if you were under the age of 19.

When rules about working outside Canada apply

To rely on the rules about working outside Canada, you need to show that:

• the employment is only temporarily outside Canada, and
• work with the same employer will continue in Canada when the worker returns.