This is a question we get from other students and then watch them answer from a group chat, which is a poor way to settle a legal status.
We are not tax professionals and this is not tax advice. Residency can change what you owe, what you can claim and which accounts you can keep contributing to, so it is worth getting right. We read the Canada Revenue Agency’s guidance on determining residency status and we describe what it says. Where it points to a longer document, we say so. [1]
Residency Is About Ties, Not Just Days
The CRA does not decide your residency by how many days you spent in Canada. It looks at your residential ties and the overall facts of your situation. The page says all relevant facts must be considered, including residential ties and the length, purpose, intent and continuity of your stay. [1]
It names three significant residential ties: a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada, and dependants in Canada. [1]
It also lists secondary ties that may matter, including personal property such as a car or furniture, social ties, economic ties such as Canadian bank accounts, a Canadian driver’s licence or passport, and provincial health insurance. [1]
Where Students Fit
The CRA page lists “teaching or attending school in another country” as one situation where a person who keeps residential ties with Canada may still be a factual resident while abroad. [1] That is the sentence most relevant to us.
It does not say that being a student abroad makes you a non-resident, and it does not say it makes you a resident either. It says the outcome depends on your ties. A single student renting a room in Dublin with no home in Canada is in a different position from a student who owns a condo in Toronto and has a spouse there.
The page also sets out a 183-day threshold. A person who stayed in Canada fewer than 183 days in the tax year and has no significant ties is usually a non-resident, and someone with no significant ties who stayed 183 days or more may be a deemed resident. [1] For a student who goes back to Canada for the summer, that threshold is worth keeping in mind, though the ties usually carry more weight.
Why It Matters
We are deliberately not listing all the consequences, because we are not in a position to describe them accurately for your case. In general terms, residency status affects how Canada taxes your income, which credits you can claim and what you do about accounts like a TFSA or an RRSP. The CRA’s own materials and a cross-border accountant are the right sources.
What we can say is that staying a resident and becoming a non-resident are not just labels. They change the paperwork you file.
The Official Way to Ask
If you are leaving Canada and want the CRA’s opinion on your status, the page points to Form NR73, Determination of Residency Status (leaving Canada). It says that for an official residency determination you should complete NR73. [1]
We would not file it casually. The questions are detailed and the answer is based on the facts you give, so it is worth reading the form and talking to an accountant first. The page also refers to Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 for the full guidance. [1]
Other Countries Have Their Own Rules
Canada’s decision is not the only one. Ireland and, later, the United States each have their own tests for tax residency, and a person can be treated as resident in more than one country in the same year. Tax treaties exist to settle that, but we have not read the Canada-Ireland treaty and we are not going to describe it. We cover the American side in our guide for Canadians doing residency in the US.
Keep Records
Whatever your status turns out to be, keep a record of where you lived, where your home was, when you travelled and what ties you kept. Leases, travel dates and bank statements are the obvious ones. It is much easier to answer a residency question later with records than from memory.
The Bottom Line
The CRA decides residency from your residential ties and the overall facts, with a home, a spouse or partner and dependants in Canada as the significant ties, and attending school abroad listed as a situation where you may still be a factual resident. Form NR73 is the way to ask the CRA for an official determination.
Read the CRA page, check Folio S5-F1-C1, and see a cross-border accountant before relying on anything you read online, including this article. Our Resources page lists the sources we trust.
References
- Canada Revenue Agency. (2026). Determining your residency status. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html