No, you do not need have to live in Canada at the time of applying for Canadian citizenship, but you must fulfil the residency requirements. To apply for Canadian citizenship, residence in Canada at the time of application is not needed, but you must meet certain residency requirements. To meet these, you must have physically lived in Canada for a minimum of three years out of the past five. Time spent outside Canada can count toward the residency requirement if you were employed by a Canadian company or the Canadian government, or if you were living with a Canadian spouse or parent.