How do we get permanent residence and citizenship?

Most British people arrive on a work permit. Permanent residence (PR) lets you stay for good, work for anyone and, after three years in Canada, apply for citizenship. Here are the usual routes and the rules that catch people out.

Routes from a work permit to PR

Since 25 March 2025, a job offer no longer adds points in Express Entry. It still matters for some programmes and for many PNP streams. IRCC said in February 2026 that this year it would focus invitations on people with Canadian work experience.

Your CRS score and recent cut-offs

Express Entry ranks everyone in the pool by the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), out of 1,200. Age, education, English or French test results and Canadian work experience matter most. IRCC holds rounds of invitations, and everyone above that round’s cut-off is invited. Recent Canadian Experience Class rounds have invited 2,000 people each, with cut-offs of 523 on 18 August, 521 on 1 September and 519 on 15 September 2026. Provincial nominee rounds have far higher cut-offs, because of the 600 extra points.

If you’re invited, you have 60 days to send a full application with police certificates, medicals and proof of funds where needed. The UK police certificate is an ACRO certificate.

What PR gives you

• Live, work and study anywhere in Canada, for any employer, with no permit to renew
• Provincial health cover and most social benefits on the same terms as citizens
• Domestic tuition fees at most universities and colleges
• Sponsor eligible relatives
• Apply for citizenship once you meet the rules
• PRs can’t vote, can’t hold a Canadian passport, and some jobs need a high-level security clearance that needs citizenship

Keeping your PR status

Your PR card usually lasts 5 years, but your status doesn’t expire with it. To keep PR, you must be physically in Canada for at least 730 days in every 5-year period. The days don’t need to be in a row, and part of a day in Canada counts as a whole day. Some time abroad can count, such as time with a Canadian citizen spouse. Missing the 730 days doesn’t end your status on its own, but an officer can decide you’ve lost it, for example at the border or when you apply for a travel document.

• Airlines need to see a valid PR card or a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) before you fly back to Canada
• If your card has expired or is lost while you’re abroad, apply for a PRTD before you return. It costs C$50, the same as a PR card
• Renew your PR card from inside Canada, well before a long trip
• If you plan a long spell in the UK, count your days first. See How do I leave Canada, and in what order?

Becoming a Canadian citizen

1. Days in Canada: 1,095 days of physical presence in the 5 years before you apply. Each day as a temporary resident (on a work or study permit) before PR counts as half a day, up to 365 days. So you need at least 730 days as a PR. IRCC advises applying with more than the minimum, and the online calculator shows your total
2. Tax: you must have filed Canadian tax returns, where you had to, for 3 years in those 5
3. Language: if you’re 18 to 54, you prove speaking and listening at CLB 4 in English or French. Secondary or post-secondary education in English, including in the UK, can count as proof
4. Test: people aged 18 to 54 take a test of 20 questions on rights, history, geography and government. You need 15 right, and you get up to 3 chances. The free study guide is Discover Canada
5. Ceremony: you become a citizen when you take the oath

The adult fee is C$653: a C$530 processing fee plus a C$123 right of citizenship fee, for applications received on or after 31 March 2026. A child under 18 pays C$100.

Dual citizenship and children

• Canada lets you hold other citizenships, and the UK lets you keep British citizenship when you become Canadian
• Travel to the UK on your British passport. British dual citizens can’t get a UK electronic travel authorisation (ETA)
• A child born in Canada is a Canadian citizen at birth, whatever their parents’ status (children of foreign diplomats are the main exception). The provincial birth certificate is proof of citizenship
• A child born in Canada to a British parent may also be British by descent. Check on GOV.UK before applying for a British passport
• Since 15 December 2025 (Bill C-3), a Canadian parent who was born abroad can pass on citizenship to a child born abroad if they spent 1,095 days in Canada before the birth