Question & Answer

Question: What is the difference between Permanent Residency and Citizenship?

Answer: A Permanent resident of Canada remains a citizen of his/her country of origin, but is granted the qualified right to live and work in Canada permanently. Canadian Permanent Residents have most of the rights of Canadian citizens. Notable exceptions are the right to vote and the right to run for public office. Permanent Residents must accumulate two years of "residency days" in each five year period or risk losing their permanent residence status.

A permanent resident can be granted Canadian Citizenship after he or she has:

# Resided in Canada for at least three out of four years before applying.
# The ability to communicate in either English or French.
# Passed a citizenship test.