IMM 5644 Appendix A: proof of your residency obligation
IMM 5644 asks for proof that you met the residency obligation and points you to Appendix A for the list. Here is that list in IRCC's own words, what each item is, and where it goes in the PR Portal.
Checked Sep 25, 2026 against Guide 5445, Appendix A730 days in 5 years
What Appendix A is
The IMM 5644 document checklist has one line for residency: "Proof showing that you met the residency obligation in the past five (5) years immediately before the application or since becoming a PR if it has been less than 5 years. Please refer to Appendix A: Residency obligation of the instruction guide for a list of the documents required."
So "IMM 5644 Appendix A" is not a separate form. It is the last section of the instruction guide, Guide 5445, Applying for a permanent resident card, on canada.ca. There is nothing to fill in or sign: it lists the proof, explains the days abroad that can count, and covers humanitarian grounds.
The checklist also says IRCC will return your application if it is incomplete or a supporting document you need to include is missing.1
Appendix A describes; it does not decide. An officer assesses the residency obligation from your whole application. Nothing on this page, or on any site, can tell you in advance what IRCC will decide.
You must meet the residency obligation to get a PR card. If you have been a permanent resident for five (5) years or more, you must have been physically present in Canada for a minimum of 730 days within the past five (5) years. If you have been a permanent resident for less than five (5) years, you must show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days of physical presence in Canada within five (5) years of the date you became a permanent resident.2
You do
PR for five years or more: count your days in Canada in the five years before the day you apply. You need at least 730.
PR for less than five years: count from the day you became a permanent resident, and check that the days left in your first five years can still bring you to the total.
The days do not have to be in a row. The IMM 5444 table asks for every absence in that period; Appendix A's special situations come into play if you were outside Canada for more than 1,095 days.
Residency days calculator
Free. Enter your trips and get the totals the PR Portal asks for.
IRCC asks for copies of 2 pieces of evidence showing you met the residency obligation in the five years before you apply (or since you became a PR, if that is less than five years). Appendix A calls the list "some examples", so it is not a closed list. The first column is IRCC's wording, in its order.
Appendix A item
What it is
Where it goes in the PR Portal
Employment records or pay stubs
Records from a job in Canada: pay stubs, T4 slips, an employer letter.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Bank statements
Statements from a Canadian account that show day-to-day activity.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Notice of Assessment for the five (5) years immediately before the application
The notice CRA sends after each tax return. Downloadable from CRA My Account.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Evidence that you received benefits from Canadian government programs
For example, letters or statements from a federal or provincial benefit program.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Rental agreements
A lease for a home in Canada.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Club memberships
A membership in a Canadian club or association.
Proof of Residency in Canada
Or any other documents that prove you met your residency obligation
Appendix A leaves the door open to other documents.
Proof of Residency in Canada
2
Picking your two and uploading them
IRCC says
You must provide copies of 2 pieces of evidence that can show you have met the residency in Canada in the five (5) years immediately before the application, or since becoming a PR if it has been less than 5 years. Do not send original documents, as they will not be returned to you.2
You do
IRCC does not rank the items. Our suggestion: choose documents that together cover the whole period, not one month of it. CRA Notices of Assessment for each of the five years are the one item Appendix A itself ties to the full five years.
Add a second, different kind of document: a lease, pay stubs or T4 slips, or bank statements.
Upload copies, never originals, in the portal slot Proof of Residency in Canada. Each file must be PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG and 4 MB or less.
A document that is not in English or French needs a translation, the translator's affidavit and a certified copy of the original (IMM 5644's rule for every document).
You must provide all your absences from Canada in the past 5 years in the table provided on the IMM 5444 application. If you have spent fewer than 1,095 days outside Canada, submitting the supporting documents listed below is not mandatory. However, failing to provide them may impact the assessment of your residency obligation. If you were outside Canada for more than 1,095 days, you may count days you spent outside Canada towards the days required in these situations.2
You do
Situation A, employment outside Canada: you are an employee of, or under contract to, a Canadian business or the public service of Canada or of a province or territory; you are assigned full time to a position, an affiliated enterprise or a client outside Canada as a term of the job; and you will continue working for the employer in Canada after the assignment.
Situation B, accompanying a Canadian citizen: the citizen is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (if you were a child under 19 before October 24, 2017, or under 22 after that date).
Situation C, accompanying a permanent resident: the PR is your spouse, common-law partner or parent (same ages), and was employed full time by a Canadian business or the public service of Canada, a province or a territory while you were with them.
In the IMM 5444 table, each trip has a reason: A, B, C or Other. Only A, B and C trips can count.
Appendix A lists these per situation. "Mandatory" is IRCC's word; the last column is what it says you may also include.
Situation
IRCC asks for
You may also include
A. Employment outside Canada
A letter signed by an official of the business confirming: the signing official's position and title; the nature of the business and how it fits the definition of a Canadian business; details of your assignment or contract abroad (its length, that you are full time, and a description or copy of the position profile); that you will continue working for the employer in Canada after it ends; and that the business was not created mainly to meet your residency obligation.
Articles of incorporation and business licences; partnership agreements or corporate annual reports; corporate Notices of Assessment or financial statements; the Employee Assignment Agreement or Contract; agreements between the Canadian business and the business or client abroad; pay statements; your Notices of Assessment for the five years before the application; T4 slips; any other proof.
B. Accompanying a Canadian citizen
Mandatory: all passports or travel documents the citizen used in the five years before the application; documents showing their citizenship, including the date they became a citizen; proof of their residential addresses for those five years; a marriage licence or proof of common-law partnership (spouse or partner), or your birth certificate, baptismal document, or adoption or legal guardianship document (parent).
Notices of Assessment for the past two years; school or employment records; association or club memberships; any other documents.
C. Accompanying a permanent resident
Mandatory: documents showing the person you accompany meets the residency obligation; all passports or travel documents they used in the five years before the application; a marriage licence or proof of common-law partnership (spouse or partner), or your birth certificate, baptismal document, or adoption or legal guardianship document (parent).
School or employment records; Notices of Assessment; association or club memberships; any other documents.
4
If you are short of 730 days
Get advice
IRCC says
If you cannot meet the residency obligation, it may still be possible to keep your status as a permanent resident of Canada. To assess your application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, you must show that there were exceptional circumstances or factors beyond your control that have kept you living outside Canada. An officer will consider the factors of your case and will make a decision based on the information and documents you provide with your application.2
You do
Appendix A says you must answer question 5.7 on the application form, provide proof of compelling humanitarian and compassionate factors, describe why you could not meet the obligation, and describe the hardship losing your status would cause you, family members directly affected and any child directly affected.
Appendix A says there are no guidelines about the supporting documents to submit. What to send depends on your own circumstances.
This is a case for a licensed immigration consultant or a lawyer before you apply, not for a checklist. Canada.ca explains who is allowed to represent you for a fee.
Who can represent you
IRCC's page on licensed consultants, lawyers and Quebec notaries. Opens on canada.ca.
Appendix A is the "Residency obligation" section of Guide 5445, the instruction guide IMM 5644 refers to. It restates the rule (730 days of physical presence in Canada in five years), lists the proof IRCC asks for, and explains the days outside Canada that can count.
How do I prove my residency obligation for a PR card?
With copies of 2 pieces of evidence covering the five years before you apply, such as employment records or pay stubs, bank statements, CRA Notices of Assessment, proof of Canadian government benefits, rental agreements or club memberships. Online, they go in the PR Portal slot Proof of Residency in Canada.
Can I renew my PR card without meeting the residency obligation?
Appendix A says you must meet the residency obligation to get a PR card, and that if you cannot, it may still be possible to keep your status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. That request depends on your circumstances; speak to a licensed immigration consultant or a lawyer before you apply.
Do I need documents for situations A, B or C?
Only if you count days abroad under one of them. Appendix A says that with fewer than 1,095 days outside Canada, those documents are not mandatory, though leaving them out may affect the assessment.
Is Appendix A a form I have to upload?
No. It is a section of the instruction guide, not a form. You upload the documents it describes, and the IMM 5644 checklist itself in its own row of the Forms table.
1.IMM 5644 (12-2024) E, the checklist itself — canada.ca
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