Section 28 — Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: Residency obligation

A permanent resident must comply with a residency obligation with respect to every five-year period. The following provisions govern the residency obligation under subsection (1): a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that five-year period, they are physically present in Canada, outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent, outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province, outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident who is their spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the federal public administration or the public service of a province, or referred to in regulations providing for other means of compliance; it is sufficient for a permanent resident to demonstrate at examination if they have been a permanent resident for less than five years, that they will be able to meet the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately after they became a permanent resident; if they have been a permanent resident for five years or more, that they have met the residency obligation in respect of the five-year period immediately before the examination; and a determination by an officer that humanitarian and compassionate considerations relating to a permanent resident, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected by the determination, justify the retention of permanent resident status overcomes any breach of the residency obligation prior to the determination.