Help please - Flying in for Oath / living abroad

[footyluv]

Hey all ,

I am an Indian passport holder with valid Canada PR status. I had applied for Citizenship in 2020.
I left Canada in 2021 to pursue an opportunity abroad. I am still living and working abroad ( Europe).

I have now received oath date for Canada citizenship. However I plan on moving to Canada after I complete my assignment in Europe which can take couple of years at-least.

This is what I am planning to do.

Fly to Canada using my Canada PRTD. Complete the oath. Collect the citizenship certificate. Apply for Canada passport and fly back to Europe using Canada passport (as Canada passport holders are allowed entry into EU). Surrender Indian passport in Europe. Apply for OCI in Europe.

Questions:-

1. How quick can I get the citizenship certificate after the oath?
2. How quick can I get the Canada passport after the oath?
3. Can I give my temporary (hotel/airbnb) address if it's asked during the ceremony.
4. Are there any concerns if I plan to surrender my Indian passport in Europe?I won't be using it for travel. But just surrender it back in Europe.

Please let me know.

Thanks

 

[johnjkjk]

Hopefully someone can answer your questions but could you please shed some light on your application process as many people have reported difficulties in obtaining oath whilst living abroad. Did you report your absence from Canada to ircc and give them your European address? Did you take your test outside Canada? And did you have an interview? Thanks

 

[akbardxb]

Hey all ,

I am an Indian passport holder with valid Canada PR status. I had applied for Citizenship in 2020.
I left Canada in 2021 to pursue an opportunity abroad. I am still living and working abroad ( Europe).

I have now received oath date for Canada citizenship. However I plan on moving to Canada after I complete my assignment in Europe which can take couple of years at-least.

This is what I am planning to do.

Fly to Canada using my Canada PRTD. Complete the oath. Collect the citizenship certificate. Apply for Canada passport and fly back to Europe using Canada passport (as Canada passport holders are allowed entry into EU). Surrender Indian passport in Europe. Apply for OCI in Europe.

Questions:-

1. How quick can I get the citizenship certificate after the oath?
2. How quick can I get the Canada passport after the oath?
3. Can I give my temporary (hotel/airbnb) address if it's asked during the ceremony.
4. Are there any concerns if I plan to surrender my Indian passport in Europe?I won't be using it for travel. But just surrender it back in Europe.

Please let me know.

Thanks

If it's an in-person oath, you can walk out with your certificate. Fill out your forms and walk into Passports Canada the next day with evidence of travel and you can get a PP even in 48 hours. Search the forum for a thread '24 hrs from Oath to PP' or something to this effect.

I don't recall being asked to confirm my current address, rather, I was asked to confirm my physical being in Canada (it was an online oath)

While Canadians can get to Europe easily, wouldn't you need to transfer your current residence authorization to your Canadian PP? Cancelling your Indian PP should not be an issue in any Indian mission. As a Canadian living in UK (for example), surrendering their Indian passport in the UK would probably need some additional documentation to prove that you are entitled to live in the UK.

To avoid hassles with Indian bureaucracy, just don't use your Indian PP to get to Europe as it will show an 'Arrival' stamp in Europe after your Canadian citizenship date!

 

[footyluv]

Thanks @akbardxb for your inputs!

I believe if the ceremony is in-person , then we should receive the certificates at the end of the ceremony.

If my ceremony is an online one , will there be a delay in receiving the citizenship certificate?

How can I expedite the process of receiving the certificate if it's an online event?

Thanks.

 

[footyluv]

Hopefully someone can answer your questions but could you please shed some light on your application process as many people have reported difficulties in obtaining oath whilst living abroad. Did you report your absence from Canada to ircc and give them your European address? Did you take your test outside Canada? And did you have an interview? Thanks

Yes , I have reported my absences and given them all the addresses that I have stayed at .

I took my test outside Canada and I let IRCC know that I am taking the test outside Canada.

And yes , I was called for an in-person interview in November and I flew in just to attend the interview.

 

[akbardxb]

Thanks @akbardxb for your inputs!

I believe if the ceremony is in-person , then we should receive the certificates at the end of the ceremony.

If my ceremony is an online one , will there be a delay in receiving the citizenship certificate?

How can I expedite the process of receiving the certificate if it's an online event?

Thanks.

in most cases, certificates are recd within two weeks, even though exceptions have been reported here. There's no way to expedite the certificate. It doesn't hurt to ask while your documents are being checked prior to the online oath. I asked and was given a rather terse reply - "can't be expedited. if you have to travel, you can reschedule your oath". LOL. Anyway, I got it in exactly one week.

 

[footyluv]

@akbardxb another question regarding the passport application form-

Current home address field -
Can I fill in my Canadian hotel/Airbnb address that I'd be staying at?

What would you recommend if you are staying/living abroad? Thanks!

 

[Sohaib89]

You can apply for Canadian passport using the certificate from anywhere in the world.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/new-adult-passport-abroad.html

You should take the oath and either wait for the certificate or leave right after. Give the address of a friend who can mail you the certificate in EU and then you can apply for the passport from there. Be sure to get the relevant forms signed by the guarantor and 2 references in Canada and mailed to you along with the certificate if you decide to go that path.

 

[footyluv]

@Sohaib89 thanks for your response.
I was thinking to take the oath -> wait for certificate -> apply for Canada passport in Canada itself. Maybe getting the Canadian passport in Canada could be quicker as compared to abroad. In either case , while filling the 'address' field of passport application form , we can give the abroad address we are staying at?

 

[Sohaib89]

@Sohaib89 thanks for your response.
I was thinking to take the oath -> wait for certificate -> apply for Canada passport in Canada itself. Maybe getting the Canadian passport in Canada could be quicker as compared to abroad. In either case , while filling the 'address' field of passport application form , we can give the abroad address we are staying at?

If you can stay 1-1.5 months in Canada, then this route would work. Yes, you can give any address (in Canada or foreign) when applying.

 

[deepak_kh3]

Hi Sohail… can you share your experience thanks

 

[dejected]

Yes , I have reported my absences and given them all the addresses that I have stayed at .

I took my test outside Canada and I let IRCC know that I am taking the test outside Canada.

And yes , I was called for an in-person interview in November and I flew in just to attend the interview.

Excellent dude. You appear to be a genuine and honest person in your approach, a sensible person I have read on this forum. You appear to have understood and lived up to the expectation of taking up the responsibility on your shoulders, of following through the process of citizenship application, while living abroad. I am sure, you'd not encounter any problem in getting though your Oath as long as you have a PRTD and an intention to fly back.