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Citizenship Application - Date Status Obtained

MarkyMark91

Newbie
Mar 22, 2012
2
0
Hello Folks, hoping you can help with my question.

I was a temporary foreign worker at the beginning of 2012. I called the CIC and the direction they had provided when I was filling the ‘date status obtained’ was 5 years immediately prior, which makes sense as I’m calculating in duration.

My question is, in the Form 0002 (Citizenship Application) do I put the actual date that I got my work permit, or just the date 5 years immediately preceding the application. I tried the call centre but the lines were busy. Thanks in advance.
 

robw

Hero Member
Mar 10, 2014
286
91
Hello Folks, hoping you can help with my question.

I was a temporary foreign worker at the beginning of 2012. I called the CIC and the direction they had provided when I was filling the ‘date status obtained’ was 5 years immediately prior, which makes sense as I’m calculating in duration.

My question is, in the Form 0002 (Citizenship Application) do I put the actual date that I got my work permit, or just the date 5 years immediately preceding the application. I tried the call centre but the lines were busy. Thanks in advance.
So here's the thing:

If you look at the Physical presence calculator, they ask you explicitly if you've held any kind of permit in the past 5 years. If you try to put a date before the 5 years, it won't accept it...which makes sense. They don't care what you've been doing outside the 5-year window.

Then you go to CIT002 and they're basically asking the same question again, only this time, they don't explicitly say that you should only consider the 5-year period (which is what they used to say in the previous CIT002) and they use the phrase "data your status was obtained", which means you should definitely use the actual date, even if it's outside the 5-year window. This is odd because many of us don't know when we obtained our work permits because we gave it up when we got the PR...and again, that's why in previous applications, they said you should ignore anything outside the five-year window (e.g. if you obtained your status in June 2011, but your five-year window starts in November 2012, then you list November 2012 as the "date your status was obtained"). It just makes more sense to do it that way, but we shouldn't have to speculate on what CIC mean with a particular question. If we're going off the literal meaning of the words "date your status was obtained", then list that exact date, even if it's outside your 5 years.
 
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TickleMeElmo

Full Member
Nov 20, 2017
44
3
Toronto
So here's the thing:

If you look at the Physical presence calculator, they ask you explicitly if you've held any kind of permit in the past 5 years. If you try to put a date before the 5 years, it won't accept it...which makes sense. They don't care what you've been doing outside the 5-year window.

Then you go to CIT002 and they're basically asking the same question again, only this time, they don't explicitly say that you should only consider the 5-year period (which is what they used to say in the previous CIT002) and they use the phrase "data your status was obtained", which means you should definitely use the actual date, even if it's outside the 5-year window. This is odd because many of us don't know when we obtained our work permits because we gave it up when we got the PR...and again, that's why in previous applications, they said you should ignore anything outside the five-year window (e.g. if you obtained your status in June 2011, but your five-year window starts in November 2012, then you list November 2012 as the "date your status was obtained"). It just makes more sense to do it that way, but we shouldn't have to speculate on what CIC mean with a particular question. If we're going off the literal meaning of the words "date your status was obtained", then list that exact date, even if it's outside your 5 years.
If you are referring to question 9B the chart? Then you have to put the exact date that the document was obtained and the date it was expired. This is only used if you want to use time spent in Canada before you became a PR as days spent in Canada for your Citizenship Application.
 

robw

Hero Member
Mar 10, 2014
286
91
If you are referring to question 9B the chart? Then you have to put the exact date that the document was obtained and the date it was expired. This is only used if you want to use time spent in Canada before you became a PR as days spent in Canada for your Citizenship Application.
I literally said exactly that:

...then list that exact date, even if it's outside your 5 years.
I was just remarking that this question should set a lower limit for the date which is equal to today's date minus 5 years...because you shouldn't have to declare statuses you had before the 5 year window.
 

TickleMeElmo

Full Member
Nov 20, 2017
44
3
Toronto
I literally said exactly that:



I was just remarking that this question should set a lower limit for the date which is equal to today's date minus 5 years...because you shouldn't have to declare statuses you had before the 5 year window.
Well just tick no for this section as you wont be using previous days to be counted into dates counted for your Citizenship Application.
Wait until you get to Question, as you will have to list them very specifically, dating back from BIRTH.
 

robw

Hero Member
Mar 10, 2014
286
91
Well just tick no for this section as you wont be using previous days to be counted into dates counted for your Citizenship Application.
Wait until you get to Question, as you will have to list them very specifically, dating back from BIRTH.
I am aware of that, but that particular section (Section 9) is specifically about your eligibility in the eligibility period. In previous applications, in that same section, they explicitly said you should ignore mentioning any dates outside your eligibility period. I am simply remarking that it seems that they neglected to mention that in this revision of the application, that this is a mistake on their part (because they don't care about exact dates OUTSIDE the eligibility period), but that you should fill out the actual date obtained anyway if it's before the beginning of your eligibility period.
 

Joshua1

Hero Member
Nov 18, 2013
946
473
The ins
Hello Folks, hoping you can help with my question.

I was a temporary foreign worker at the beginning of 2012. I called the CIC and the direction they had provided when I was filling the ‘date status obtained’ was 5 years immediately prior, which makes sense as I’m calculating in duration.

My question is, in the Form 0002 (Citizenship Application) do I put the actual date that I got my work permit, or just the date 5 years immediately preceding the application. I tried the call centre but the lines were busy. Thanks in advance.

I know it's a bit ambiguous, but you should look carefully at the instruction guide.

Relevant to your question (Section 9 - The eligibility period):

Within the last 5 years, tell us if you held temporary resident status, or protected person’s status in Canada before you became a permanent resident.

They already know the date your permit was issued but they only focus on the "eligibility period" (5 years).

Logic:
1. No police certificate is required if you had lived outside of Canada for more than 183 beyond the 5 year period.
2. "Tell us the day, month and year (DD/MM/YY) your status ended" - the date your work permit ended is the day you "landed" (became permanent resident) and not the actual expiry day.