Electronic Canadian certificate (e-certificate)

[rajahoomi]

Hello,

I'm posting to see if anyone else has been selected to choose if they want to receive the e-certificate which is downloadable shortly after the ceremony rather than receiving the paper one in the mail.
I was offered to opt in for the e-certificate (which I did) in the email for my invitation to attend the citizenship test. I simply replied to the email and asked them to opt me into the program. The certificate is supposed to have a different serial number starting with "X" rather than "K" that paper ones have.
Apparently it's a pilot program and at the moment some candidates are randomly selected to attend (voluntarily) that is eventually going to become the normal type of citizenship certificate people will receive.

 

[Seym]

Interesting. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[wink]

Currently, the Service Canada expects to see the original certificate while applying for the passport. Wondering what would happen if we go to them with the printed (at home) copy of the certificate. Hope all the departments are in sync in this regard.

 

[trumprefugee]

Currently, the Service Canada expects to see the original certificate while applying for the passport. Wondering what would happen if we go to them with the printed (at home) copy of the certificate. Hope all the departments are in sync in this regard.

Unfortunately I was not chosen for the e-certificate pilot, but it sounds like you should be able to bring a printed or downloaded to phone copy of the e-certificate:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship/documents.html#e-certificates
The e-certificate is a valid proof of Canadian citizenship. If you’re in the pilot and get an e-certificate, you can

• download, save and print the e-certificate
• use it to access services and benefits the same as you would a paper certificate

 

[firstax]

You'll think IRCC would just add an option to automatically apply for a passport after the oath. Like they can just add an option to pay for the passport on the website. All information is there anyways. They don't have to do another background check.

 

[rajahoomi]

You'll think IRCC would just add an option to automatically apply for a passport after the oath. Like they can just add an option to pay for the passport on the website. All information is there anyways. They don't have to do another background check.

That would be nice but I personally rather to go and apply for passport in person ATM. If you apply online for the passport it will take months with the current timelines...

 

[Varunaimar]

You'll think IRCC would just add an option to automatically apply for a passport after the oath. Like they can just add an option to pay for the passport on the website. All information is there anyways. They don't have to do another background check.

Fully support this - they could make the whole process so much simpler and faster. For example, while sending the citizenship application, if we could opt to obtain and pay for the passport, the end result would be a citizenship certificate and passport being dispatched together. The real problem is, IRCC and Service Canada (who process the passports) do not have information systems that can talk to each other very well.

 

[pHrankee]

Fully support this - they could make the whole process so much simpler and faster. For example, while sending the citizenship application, if we could opt to obtain and pay for the passport, the end result would be a citizenship certificate and passport being dispatched together. The real problem is, IRCC and Service Canada (who process the passports) do not have information systems that can talk to each other very well.

Absolutely agree. Just makes the process so seamless.

 

[OCanada!]

Fully support this - they could make the whole process so much simpler and faster. For example, while sending the citizenship application, if we could opt to obtain and pay for the passport, the end result would be a citizenship certificate and passport being dispatched together. The real problem is, IRCC and Service Canada (who process the passports) do not have information systems that can talk to each other very well.

I know this is an old thread but posting here for anyone else who might stumble upon this while searching.

Opting for a citizenship certificate and passport together cannot be technically possible because you aren't a citizen until you've attended the Oath ceremony. This is the reason why the citizenship certificate (paper or online) is available only AFTER you've attended the ceremony.

What they could do though is ask if you'd like to be automatically applied for a passport AFTER you've attended the oath ceremony and the citizenship certificate generated for you. Some people might still prefer to apply in person but at least they can make this an opt-in thing to save you efforts of giving all those documents over again. Even if IRCC and Service Canada's systems aren't connected, they can still send the application manually, just like you would. They do this for Elections Canada and your local MP, so they can certainly do this for Passport as well.

"If you check “Yes”, IRCC will provide your name, residential and mailing address, gender, date of birth, UCI and the date your citizenship was granted to Elections Canada in order to add you to the Register, but only after you become a Canadian citizen"

 

[xf2278389393]

I know this is an old thread but posting here for anyone else who might stumble upon this while searching.

Opting for a citizenship certificate and passport together cannot be technically possible because you aren't a citizen until you've attended the Oath ceremony. This is the reason why the citizenship certificate (paper or online) is available only AFTER you've attended the ceremony.

What they could do though is ask if you'd like to be automatically applied for a passport AFTER you've attended the oath ceremony and the citizenship certificate generated for you. Some people might still prefer to apply in person but at least they can make this an opt-in thing to save you efforts of giving all those documents over again. Even if IRCC and Service Canada's systems aren't connected, they can still send the application manually, just like you would. They do this for Elections Canada and your local MP, so they can certainly do this for Passport as well.

"If you check “Yes”, IRCC will provide your name, residential and mailing address, gender, date of birth, UCI and the date your citizenship was granted to Elections Canada in order to add you to the Register, but only after you become a Canadian citizen"

There is really nothing preventing them from processing a passport ahead of time and only printing and handing it out if the applicant becomes a citizen. The actual printing only takes a few minutes and each passport printer can do hundreds of passports a day. It should be possible to hand out passports or ship them the day of the ceremony, they'll just have to automate more.

 

[OCanada!]

There is really nothing preventing them from processing a passport ahead of time and only printing and handing it out if the applicant becomes a citizen. The actual printing only takes a few minutes and each passport printer can do hundreds of passports a day. It should be possible to hand out passports or ship them the day of the ceremony, they'll just have to automate more.

If it were simply an administrative question, yes they could do any number of things, including what you suggested. This is a legality question. They cannot, legally, start processing passport application until you're a citizen. So IRCC cannot, legally, share applicant's details with Service Canada to begin processing passport application until AFTER the oath ceremony. They can certainly automate the process after such that applicant doesn't have to submit any documents or details to Service Canada. Perhaps Service Canada processes these passports on an expedited basis etc. But again, these are post-ceremony optimizations.

 

[Seym]

The government announced last year that there should be, at some point, a portal to renew the passport online.
While this doesn't change much for 1st time applicants (and who knows when it happens...), maybe it makes it imaginable that, some day, 1st time passport wi also doable online, in which case I can imagine people will fill the application before receiving the certificate, and apply something like 28 seconds after the certificate is received...
That would render the point discussed here about a "joint application" kinda moot.

 

[xf2278389393]

If it were simply an administrative question, yes they could do any number of things, including what you suggested. This is a legality question. They cannot, legally, start processing passport application until you're a citizen. So IRCC cannot, legally, share applicant's details with Service Canada to begin processing passport application until AFTER the oath ceremony. They can certainly automate the process after such that applicant doesn't have to submit any documents or details to Service Canada. Perhaps Service Canada processes these passports on an expedited basis etc. But again, these are post-ceremony optimizations.

There is no Passport Act at the moment in Canada. Passports are issued under the royal prerogative through the Canadian Passport Order. This order can easily be amended by the Governor-in-Council on the request of a Minister. While it does say that a passport cannot be issued to someone who is not a Canadian citizen, there is nothing saying a non-citizen cannot apply in advance. The entire formality of the application process is delegated to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to administer as he sees fit. It is up to IRCC to decide how passport applications are processed and at what point Canadian citizenship is verified. ESDC/Service Canada merely acts as IRCC's processing agent for the vast majority of applications (some cases considered complex are handled directly by the Citizenship and Passport Programs Branch of IRCC).