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CIT 0520 after interview

owenchen

Newbie
Oct 26, 2022
5
2
I also got CIT 520 two weeks ago, I was requested to supplement almost everything. And most surprised - the office write cover time period as five years before my submission of appliction till "Present"? What does present mean here? The time after my submission is irrelavent, and 3 years passed since my submission. Anyone have same experience? Thanks
 
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iceman55

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May 1, 2022
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I also got CIT 520 two weeks ago, I was requested to supplement almost everything. And most surprised - the office write cover time period as five years before my submission of appliction till "Present"? What does present mean here? The time after my submission is irrelavent, and 3 years passed since my submission. Anyone have same experience? Thanks
Occasionally they're known to ask passport copies specifically including the time after the submission as well and it's very rare - iirc I've seen seen it only twice on the forum. But not exactly sure why they're asking all the documents again (if that's what you mean).
 

owenchen

Newbie
Oct 26, 2022
5
2
Occasionally they're known to ask passport copies specifically including the time after the submission as well and it's very rare - iirc I've seen seen it only twice on the forum. But not exactly sure why they're asking all the documents again (if that's what you mean).
Thanks for quick reply. I have supplement passport copy on August. I got this new request when I went to the office for the in-person interview. What really confused me is the cover time period - from 5 years before submission till "Present" for all the items checked. May I interpret the "Present" as the time I submit application?
 

iceman55

Hero Member
May 1, 2022
518
259
Thanks for quick reply. I have supplement passport copy on August. I got this new request when I went to the office for the in-person interview. What really confused me is the cover time period - from 5 years before submission till "Present" for all the items checked. May I interpret the "Present" as the time I submit application?
I think 'Present' means the current date including the time after submission, thats how I see it. Generally they're very particular. Many CIT 0520 forms include specific start and end dates (matching the eligibility period). For whatever reason in your case they want to check the time after that as well.

I wouldn't worry too much. This is almost always a sign they just are just trying to make sure everything looks good and want to finish processing your application asap. If they really had some issues even after the interview they typically tend to just leave the file open and not do anything.
 

Dreamlad

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I also got CIT 520 two weeks ago, I was requested to supplement almost everything. And most surprised - the office write cover time period as five years before my submission of appliction till "Present"? What does present mean here? The time after my submission is irrelavent, and 3 years passed since my submission. Anyone have same experience? Thanks
That's weird. Mine only says 5 years before submission. However, 5 years ago, I hadn't even landed in Canada yet since I'm only claiming 3 years of residency. Anyway, I sent them everything I could find 4 years before the submission.
It's been 2.5 years since I submitted my application.
 

owenchen

Newbie
Oct 26, 2022
5
2
That's weird. Mine only says 5 years before submission. However, 5 years ago, I hadn't even landed in Canada yet since I'm only claiming 3 years of residency. Anyway, I sent them everything I could find 4 years before the submission.
It's been 2.5 years since I submitted my application.
yes, it is weird, really troublesome. Not clear about the purpose.
 
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dpenabill

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Apr 2, 2010
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I also got CIT 520 two weeks ago, I was requested to supplement almost everything. And most surprised - the office write cover time period as five years before my submission of appliction till "Present"? What does present mean here? The time after my submission is irrelavent, and 3 years passed since my submission. Anyone have same experience? Thanks
Thanks for quick reply. I have supplement passport copy on August. I got this new request when I went to the office for the in-person interview. What really confused me is the cover time period - from 5 years before submission till "Present" for all the items checked. May I interpret the "Present" as the time I submit application?
yes, it is weird, really troublesome. Not clear about the purpose.
Not weird. Not even unusual.

While @iceman55 mostly covered things, I differ slightly in regards to the characterization of the request for information and documents covering, in addition to the full eligibility period, up to the present (which would be the date you submit the CIT 0520 response); from what I have seen "to present" requests are not unusual even though requests covering only the eligibility period (or less) are probably more common.

There is a tendency in this forum to extrapolate general practices, sometimes even the rules, based on individual experiences. Why such utterly poor logic persists baffles me. What happens in individual cases ONLY indicates what might happen, based on extrapolating what *can* happen based on what, at least in SOME instances, has happened. Far, far more information is needed to extrapolate trends or patterns beyond that, beyond extrapolating what might happen, let alone to draw conclusion as to what the norms are, let alone what will necessarily happen in individual cases.

Most RQ-lite requests (using CIT 0520) we see reported in the forum are limited, not as broad or expansive as yours (and a couple others recently referenced in the forum). Many of those reported here are requests for very specific documents, often covering only a very limited period of time, not even the full eligibility period. The actual scope of the requests varies widely from individual to individual.

Moreover, these requests are usually generated in the local office, and there can be wide variation in the policies and practices comparing one local office to another.

And it warrants taking note that just recently there has been a sudden increase in reports from applicants getting the CIT 0520, after a long period (years now) during which we saw rather few getting CIT 0520 . . . not too long ago I recall someone posting here that these requests were "rare" these day . . . but then, abruptly, there are suddenly more in a few weeks than previously seen for a period of several months. This may be merely coincidental. Or it may be the first indications of an effort by IRCC to engage in broader quality assurance screening.

So, as @iceman55 suggested, just getting this does not mean there is reason to worry . . . the odds are this is about verifying the information in your application, eliminating questions. It does not mean there is any significant concern let alone serious issue.

That said, YOU know your case, you know it better than anyone at IRCC. If there is a problem the odds are very high YOU already know what that likely is.

There should be NO PROBLEM if you were qualified for citizenship when you applied, and you properly completed the application, honestly providing accurate and complete information as requested (in the application and in response to subsequent requests), and your documents reasonably support your claims about where you have lived and worked, and are consistent with your travel history, and you continue to meet the requirements for citizenship (no criminal charges, no prohibitions, in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation).
 

akbardxb

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Nov 18, 2013
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Not weird. Not even unusual.

While @iceman55 mostly covered things, I differ slightly in regards to the characterization of the request for information and documents covering, in addition to the full eligibility period, up to the present (which would be the date you submit the CIT 0520 response); from what I have seen "to present" requests are not unusual even though requests covering only the eligibility period (or less) are probably more common.

There is a tendency in this forum to extrapolate general practices, sometimes even the rules, based on individual experiences. Why such utterly poor logic persists baffles me. What happens in individual cases ONLY indicates what might happen, based on extrapolating what *can* happen based on what, at least in SOME instances, has happened. Far, far more information is needed to extrapolate trends or patterns beyond that, beyond extrapolating what might happen, let alone to draw conclusion as to what the norms are, let alone what will necessarily happen in individual cases.

Most RQ-lite requests (using CIT 0520) we see reported in the forum are limited, not as broad or expansive as yours (and a couple others recently referenced in the forum). Many of those reported here are requests for very specific documents, often covering only a very limited period of time, not even the full eligibility period. The actual scope of the requests varies widely from individual to individual.

Moreover, these requests are usually generated in the local office, and there can be wide variation in the policies and practices comparing one local office to another.

And it warrants taking note that just recently there has been a sudden increase in reports from applicants getting the CIT 0520, after a long period (years now) during which we saw rather few getting CIT 0520 . . . not too long ago I recall someone posting here that these requests were "rare" these day . . . but then, abruptly, there are suddenly more in a few weeks than previously seen for a period of several months. This may be merely coincidental. Or it may be the first indications of an effort by IRCC to engage in broader quality assurance screening.

So, as @iceman55 suggested, just getting this does not mean there is reason to worry . . . the odds are this is about verifying the information in your application, eliminating questions. It does not mean there is any significant concern let alone serious issue.

That said, YOU know your case, you know it better than anyone at IRCC. If there is a problem the odds are very high YOU already know what that likely is.

There should be NO PROBLEM if you were qualified for citizenship when you applied, and you properly completed the application, honestly providing accurate and complete information as requested (in the application and in response to subsequent requests), and your documents reasonably support your claims about where you have lived and worked, and are consistent with your travel history, and you continue to meet the requirements for citizenship (no criminal charges, no prohibitions, in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation).
If I may add...

All this anecdotal evidence is pointing to the fact that applicants who cho(o)se to leave Canada after application and/or took the test outside Canada are being subjected to additional scrutiny thereby delaying their process. Justified or not, this is what it is.

To a number of applicant who have perhaps chosen to stay on in Canada, this is welcome news and they feel it might get them faster to finish, while these very applicants may feel cheated because they have met the criteria for RO (amongst others) but have chosen to relocate without violating any existing law.

I got one of these after my interview (a few days before Covid shut down everything in 2020) and had a laundry list of documents to submit to prove my RO.

The bottomline is, choices have consequences; some are tough, some are welcome. The choice I made was to travel frequently during my eligibility period, but not after application. I didn't have a tough time proving my RO because nothing was amiss, what frustrated me was the time and money spent putting it together eg. certified translation of evidence into English, attestations from consulate, reams of paper photocopied, bank statements downloaded and all of it when Covid was just about getting to its first peak!

Hang in there!
 
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naseryas

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If I may add...

All this anecdotal evidence is pointing to the fact that applicants who cho(o)se to leave Canada after application and/or took the test outside Canada are being subjected to additional scrutiny thereby delaying their process. Justified or not, this is what it is.

To a number of applicant who have perhaps chosen to stay on in Canada, this is welcome news and they feel it might get them faster to finish, while these very applicants may feel cheated because they have met the criteria for RO (amongst others) but have chosen to relocate without violating any existing law.

I got one of these after my interview (a few days before Covid shut down everything in 2020) and had a laundry list of documents to submit to prove my RO.

The bottomline is, choices have consequences; some are tough, some are welcome. The choice I made was to travel frequently during my eligibility period, but not after application. I didn't have a tough time proving my RO because nothing was amiss, what frustrated me was the time and money spent putting it together eg. certified translation of evidence into English, attestations from consulate, reams of paper photocopied, bank statements downloaded and all of it when Covid was just about getting to its first peak!

Hang in there!
How long did they take to process your CIT?
 
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Dreamlad

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Jan 11, 2016
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Anyone heard from IRCC after submitting CIT 0520?
 

Dreamlad

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I have heard nothing.

I have considered sending them additional proof of residency beyond what they requested, but I honestly don't know if that's ill-advised.
The worst case scenario is we submit a new application...