Ontario Residency Requirements
Full-Time Students
- have always lived in Ontario or
- Ontario is the last province you have lived in for 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
- you live in Ontario now AND have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
If you are married/common-law, you can be considered an Ontario resident if:
- your spouse has always lived in Ontario or
- your spouse has lived in Ontario for the last 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
- All of these statements are true:
- you now reside in Ontario
- you’ve lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
- your spouse has lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
If you qualify as a dependent student, you’re considered an Ontario resident if:
- Ontario is the last province in which your parent(s) have lived in for at least 12 months in a row or
- All of these statements are true:
- you now reside in Ontario
- you’ve lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
- your parent(s) have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
Part-Time Students
- have always lived in Ontario or
- Ontario is the last province you have lived in for 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
- you live in Ontario now AND have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
Permanent Resident
A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen. Permanent residents are citizens of other countries. A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident. Source: “Understand permanent resident status”, from Government of Canada.
Protected Person
Protected persons can include convention refugees, humanitarian-protected persons abroad, and persons in need of protection. A protected person is defined in subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Source: OSAP definitions, from ontario.ca