A PR about to become citizenship-eligible asked whether they could move back to India, keep renewing the PR card, and apply for citizenship years later from abroad.
What the thread established:
- Citizenship eligibility is a rolling window, not a badge you keep. You must have physically lived in Canada 3 of the 5 years immediately before applying. If you move abroad, your qualifying days age out of the 5-year window — you don't stay 'eligible forever' just because you once crossed the threshold.
- Pre-PR time counts partially. Days in Canada on temporary status (study/work) before becoming a PR can be credited, up to a maximum of 1 year, within the same 5-year window. One member walked through an example: entry to Canada Jan 2020, PR granted Feb 2024 — the temporary-status time before PR contributes up to the 1-year cap.
- The 'get it first, then leave' route has a catch for Indians. The obvious suggestion — take citizenship in Nov 2024, then move — means renouncing the Indian passport, since India does not permit dual citizenship. That is a significant, often irreversible trade-off members urged weighing carefully.
Bottom line from the thread: you cannot bank citizenship eligibility and redeem it from India in 2028; you'd need to return and rebuild 3 years of physical presence, or take citizenship before leaving and give up Indian nationality.