Short Answer: There is no legal requirement under the Income Tax Act that a Canadian charity have resident Canadian directors. Long Answer While there is no legal requirement under tax legislation for Canadian charities to have directors who live in Canada, the Income Tax Act requires that Canadian charities maintain direction and control over their own activities. For groups applying for charitable status or for charities who have obtained charitable status, this may be  more difficult to prove where one or more of their directors are not resident in Canada. As well, if the charity is constituted as a corporation, the federal or provincial statute under which it was established or operates may specify certain residency requirements for directors. More information Canada Revenue Agency - Registered Charity Newsletter No. 20 (see pg. 3)