Big delay on citizenship application

[Xenon21]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar position to me and knows what I could do to try and get some sort of update on my application.

In January 2022, I sent my application for citizenship in with the receipt on March 2022.
September 2022: background verification complete
October 2022: citizenship test done and passed

Since then, I have not received any update! It’s been 15 months and my language skills, physical presence and prohibitions is still in process.
My PR card is also expiring in October so I am now worried.

Has anyone had this long a wait and can provide me with some hope? Is there any way I can see what progress there is or can speed things up?

Thank you

 

[yyzstudent]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar position to me and knows what I could do to try and get some sort of update on my application.

In January 2022, I sent my application for citizenship in with the receipt on March 2022.
September 2022: background verification complete
October 2022: citizenship test done and passed

Since then, I have not received any update! It’s been 15 months and my language skills, physical presence and prohibitions is still in process.
My PR card is also expiring in October so I am now worried.

Has anyone had this long a wait and can provide me with some hope? Is there any way I can see what progress there is or can speed things up?

Thank you

you don’t need a PR card to stay in Canada, unless you plan to travel. If that’s the case, apply for a new card now. They take a couple of months.
You can request GCMS notes. There’s a free and a $5 version. You pick which one you want. Instructions on IRCC website.
Tha notes won’t speed things up but will tell you if there is anything problematic going on.

 

[Xenon21]

I will be travelling in October and since I work as a pharmacist, I will need to get back into Canada to work. Seems quite unfair that people are put in this position where their PR will expire before they potentially get citizenship. I will try to request the GCMS notes. How long does it take to receive them?

you don’t need a PR card to stay in Canada, unless you plan to travel. If that’s the case, apply for a new card now. They take a couple of months.
You can request GCMS notes. There’s a free and a $5 version. You pick which one you want. Instructions on IRCC website.
Tha notes won’t speed things up but will tell you if there is anything problematic going on.

 

[rcincanada2019]

I will be travelling in October and since I work as a pharmacist, I will need to get back into Canada to work. Seems quite unfair that people are put in this position where their PR will expire before they potentially get citizenship. I will try to request the GCMS notes. How long does it take to receive them?

It took 30days for mine

 

[joolery]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar position to me and knows what I could do to try and get some sort of update on my application.

In January 2022, I sent my application for citizenship in with the receipt on March 2022.
September 2022: background verification complete
October 2022: citizenship test done and passed

Since then, I have not received any update! It’s been 15 months and my language skills, physical presence and prohibitions is still in process.
My PR card is also expiring in October so I am now worried.

Has anyone had this long a wait and can provide me with some hope? Is there any way I can see what progress there is or can speed things up?

Thank you

I am an April 2022 applicant, test/BG in November 2022, nothing since. There are many of us who have had no progress since Oct-Dec test last year... it sucks, but it helps knowing we are not alone and likely just stuck in some process.

 

[yyzstudent]

I will be travelling in October and since I work as a pharmacist, I will need to get back into Canada to work. Seems quite unfair that people are put in this position where their PR will expire before they potentially get citizenship. I will try to request the GCMS notes. How long does it take to receive them?

Then apply for a new PR card. It’s not a problem. You’ll have that before your trip in October. Why risk it?

 

[bas12]

I am a June 2021 applicant, test updated to completed in March 2022. I had no updates for 15 months.
I sent about 15 webforms, called many times, had MP office talk to them, ordered GCMS notes. None of this did anything.
After I filed mandamus, language and presence updated to completed on the same day when they sent us their first official formal response.
Don't know if that's related, but an interesting coincidence.

My PR already expired. I applied to renew it 3.5 months ago, and the status is still submitted. I don't think they did anything on that one. They said on the phone that they are working on it back in may, but that's not what the tracker says. I think the agent just wanted to be left alone, so they said whatever.
I do find not being able to easily travel for emergencies quite stressful. PRTD can take months, and I would not be able to work even remotely without a work permit in another country all that time. Of course IRCC cannot feel your suffering, it is a soulless machine...

 

[bas12]

For PR renewals, processing time is 94 days now. It might go up or down. According to IRCC website, processing time starts when you submit your application online, or when it lands in their mail room if you mail it. If you call they'll tell you that processing time starts from AOR, so I could expect my card some time in July - August, after applying in February and getting AOR in April. AOR usually takes 1.5-2 months. So, you probably should apply 5-6 months ahead of time.
On the other hand, some people who applied after me got theirs in 60 days this spring, with the portal never having any updates, and never getting AOR. So, it is hard to tell.

There is an urgent processing option, so that might be one thing to try if you qualify. Maybe get tickets that you can return easily, just in case.

 

[bas12]

GCMS notes usually take 1-2 months when they do respond, sometimes they just don't. It seems that the information access department is overwhelmed with GCMS requests due to IRCC not giving applicants any meaningful information on the progress of their applications, reasons for delays and rejections.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-immigration-applications-access-requests/

 

[Dr. Walden]

Poor IRCC Overwhelmed and overstaffed. Whoever is running their Resources/Human Resources is a true Michael Scott!

 

[bas12]

Poor IRCC Overwhelmed and overstaffed. Whoever is running their Resources/Human Resources is a true Michael Scott!

The problem is it is not IRCC that is overwhelmed, it is the access to information system. I think it is a separate office.

The volume of requests the department receives has also begun affecting areas outside immigration.

They also overwhelmed the Federal Court with applicants filing mandamus requests, so now they are considering creating a separate federal court for immigration matters.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/federal-court-immigration-cases-canada-2022-1.6778677
I am not sure why not just fix IRCC instead. Everybody in the government must hate them at this point.
I decided to hurry up and file mine, because I was afraid that FC might stop accepting these applications due to heavy load

 

[Dr. Walden]

Yes. Sure they are overwhelmed with requests. I am just surprised with not allocating resources more diligently. They did it to themselves.

 

[bas12]

Yes. Sure they are overwhelmed with requests. I am just surprised with not allocating resources more diligently. They did it to themselves.

What I am saying is that they are pushing their issues onto other government services, that could be very easily avoided with a bit more organization and transparency. I wonder why they are allowed to continue like this.
They say that they chose to focus on processing more applications instead of communicating with applicants, but it looks like it is doing more harm than good. They are dragging other departments down with them and making things even worse overall. Not sure who should step in and put an end to this.
So far they seem to be getting away with cheerful reports of how many applications they manage to process within service standard time.

 

[Dr. Walden]

What I am saying is that they are pushing their issues onto other government services, that could be very easily avoided with a bit more organization and transparency. I wonder why they are allowed to continue like this.
They say that they chose to focus on processing more applications instead of communicating with applicants, but it looks like it is doing more harm than good. They are dragging other departments down with them and making things even worse overall. Not sure who should step it and put an end to this.
So far they seem to be getting away with cheerful reports of how many applications they manage to process within service standard time.

On point! This is accurate!

 

[Kurayem]

Same here... Aor March 2022.. Test November others are in progress.