I'm sorry if my question is stupid - I am new to this forum and wasn't following other topics. I'm wondering why several people mentioned a time buffer before sending an application? Were there any examples of application rejection because it was sent too early(e.g. 3-5 days after becoming eligible)? Is it a bad idea to send it after 1462 days in Canada(with one 5 hours trip to US)? Thank you!
Short answer:
Meeting the minimum presence requirement suffices. But that depends on a total-stranger bureaucrat reaching the conclusion that the applicant did indeed meet that minimum. Thus, a buffer, a margin over the minimum, is prudent because:
-- there is leeway for minor errors, either in what the applicant reports, or in what IRCC perceives
-- a margin quite likely makes it easier for an IRCC processing agent and the Citizenship Officer to be confident the applicant met the requirement, which can make the difference in whether the application is processed routinely or non-routinely, that is, without delay or subject to delays
Bottom-line, sometimes applying sooner can mean having to wait longer to become a citizen.
Longer explanation:
1460 days (under the current law) of actual physical presence meets the presence requirement. Not one more day is necessary.
So no, no one has been rejected because they submitted their application 3 or 5 days after becoming eligible . . .
assuming that IRCC agrees, that is concludes, the application was made after the applicant became eligible.
However, more than a few applicants have been denied when they applied 3 to 5 days after they were certain they were eligible, when IRCC identified some days as questionable despite the applicant's certainty.
Many more applicants than that, however, have encountered
delays in processing not because they fell short but because IRCC needed to conduct more screening to make sure the applicant did not fall short, to verify that in fact the applicant met the minimum 1460 day requirement.
1459 days actual presence will not suffice. IRCC has
NO legal authority to grant citizenship to an applicant who falls short, even by the smallest margin. Thus IRCC
MUST make sure an applicant met the minimum 1460 days. (To become 1095 days pursuant to a 3/5 rule, sometime this year.)
One question a prospective applicant might want to ask himself or herself is how much more comfortable a total-stranger bureaucrat might be concluding the applicant met the minimum if the applicant claims to have been present 1487 days rather than 1462 days.
Bottom-line,
cutting-it-close and applying sooner elevates the risk that IRCC will see the need to examine the application and applicant more closely, which can lead to non-routine processing, which can delay how long it takes to become a citizen, by a few weeks or months, or many months, or longer.
Thus, even if the prospective applicant is for sure certain about the number of days present in Canada,
AND certain there are no possible reasons why IRCC might have any concerns, IRCC must nonetheless do due diligence, and thus
waiting a little longer to apply might mean becoming a citizen sooner.
We all make mistakes:
Those who are confident they will not make any mistakes are among those making the biggest mistakes (it is, for example, a big mistake to be confident you will not make any mistakes).
IRCC recognizes that we all makes mistakes and is usually flexible if not overtly generous in giving clients some leeway in this regard. But not all mistakes are created equal, of course, so some mistakes can have a more detrimental impact: omissions in the presence calculation, for example, can be particularly problematic.
Moreover, here too the prospective applicant, the prudent applicant, is cognizant of the difference between what might sabotage the application versus what might merely invite some questions or concerns thus leading to non-routine processing and delays. Except that most applicants, those who desire to have their application sail smoothly through the process without delays, realize that the latter is no mere trifle.
So the prudent applicant aims to make no mistakes, but recognizes the likelihood of making some mistakes, and thus is really focused on minimizing mistakes. The main objective is to make a valid application which will be granted. But for most it is also their objective to make an application which will not encounter concerns or questions, to avoid non-routine processing and delays, to especially avoid the onerous burden of RQ (which is not only seriously inconvenient, but profoundly intrusive into one's privacy, and it can lead to extraordinarily long delays).
That noted, obviously you will be a lot more careful completing the application than posting in a forum like this, but it is so so easy to make little mistakes.
never left Canada since the arrival and had just one 5 hours trip to US
Key question encountered in completing the presence calculation: did you leave Canada (during the relevant time period)? Answer this no, then no boxes come up for entering dates of travel outside Canada. That is, answer this no, then no place to report that trip to the U.S., that is,
that trip outside Canada (day trips are to be reported).
I doubt you will make that error. I do not doubt, however, you will make some mistake or mistakes, preferrably few and minor. Whether a small mistake or just circumstances might invite a question or three, probably worth considering how comfortable the total-stranger bureaucrat assessing your application might be about concluding you met the 1460 day minimum, if you apply with 1491 days or with 1463 days.
