Caveat: I am NO expert. Moreover, I generally focus on a few more complex or difficult matters, and leave particular questions about the application and process to others. But, as no one has offered any response, I will offer what I can.
Overall and importantly, the applicant needs to carefully read and follow the instructions, and to completely and truthfully answer questions in the application, and to do this to the best of the applicant's ability and according to the applicant's frank, unreserved, and earnest understanding of the question and the best answer given the facts and circumstances known to the applicant. That is,
the applicant needs to make these decisions for herself or himself. (Of course the applicant can do so in consultation with others, especially confidants, close friends, or professionals of course; but even if an applicant has the assistance of a lawyer, the answers in the application must be according to the applicant's best judgment, and it is the applicant who is responsible and accountable for the answers, not any lawyer.)
No one in an online setting, such as in a forum like this, can reliably advise another about what details to provide in answering application questions.
That said, forum participants can and will often provide some information which helps to explain or illuminate elements in the application, including a reasonable interpretation of what is being asked and a general idea about how to respond.
But sure, some questions can be directly answered. Your first question is a prime example:
do we need one also from Canada?
NO.
The answer to this question is that simple, NO. Applicants do not need to submit a police certificate from Canada. IRCC refers the applicant to RCMP and CSIS for thorough background checks related to criminal history or security concerns.
In contrast:
How to complete the chart about filing Canadian tax returns is at the other end of the spectrum, and this is particularly so given that declaring whether or not the applicant was "required to file" for any given tax year is based specifically on facts and circumstances very specific to the individual and rules specified by tax laws and regulations governed by the CRA not IRCC.
Q12.b) tell us when you filed your income taxes in the last 5 years using the chart below. --> Since she landed in Canada as a PR, she didn't work and was homemaker till 2017-Jan. From 2017-Jan till Dec, she studied at McGill and finished a graduate diploma course but didn't work though. She is homemaker still. I covered her education expenses and all.
I included her SIN in the tax returns when I filed them starting 2015 for year 2014 and included her in all my tax returns till latest tax year.
So to fill that table, should she start with tax year 2014 and then Required to File should be "No" (since she was a homemaker) and under Taxes filed, check "yes"?
As noted, how to fill out this part of the application is very specific to the individual. If the applicant filed a return for a given tax year, I am confident it is OK to check yes, "required to file," for that year.
Obviously, the applicant responds yes or no "filed" for a given year totally dependent on whether the applicant filed a return for that year. Yes if yes, a return was filed. No if no, no return for that year was filed.
The main judgment call the applicant needs to make, thus, is whether to check yes or no in response to whether the applicant was required to file for years in which the applicant did not file, that is, years for which the applicant checks "no" no return was filed.
The appropriate answer for these years depends on the applicant's personal facts and circumstances which are relevant to the Canada Revenue criteria prescribing who is required to file a Canadian tax return. Immigration status has little or nothing to do with this. Residency (apart from immigration status) and presence in Canada, and sources of income, and to some extent what credits or benefits or deductions are claimed by a spouse on a Canadian tax return, among other individual factors, are relevant. But
ultimately the question is answered based on Canada Revenue rules applied to the individual's particular facts.
While generally chances are that an individual with NO income can legitimately state "no" not required to file, this is not always true, and in particular it is not true if there are claims to certain benefits, or a spouse claims certain benefits, credits, or deductions. But ultimately, again, whether the applicant was required to file for a given year is very fact specific based on Canada Revenue rules. If in doubt, see a professional accountant or tax-preparation professional.
For any application which is made soon or for the next eleven months, the relevant tax years are:
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2017 poses a bit of a quandary since few will have filed a return for 2017 as yet, and technically there is no requirement to file for 2017 as yet (most have until April 30, but many of us have until June 15 to file). I am NO expert, so I cannot for-sure say how applicants should handle this. My inclination is to recognize that 2017 is a tax year for which I am obligated to file a return, even if that obligation does not require me to do so as of now, and so I'd be inclined to check "yes" required to file even if I will check "no," no I did not file (not yet), which means for 2017 I'd be reporting a year for which I have not (as of the date of the application) complied with Canada's tax filing requirements. Generally, at least in respect to the impression rendered, it is likely best to report complying with tax filing requirements for every year even though the requirement is compliance for three taxation years. BUT as long as the applicant otherwise meets the tax filing compliance requirement (based on meeting the requirements for three of the tax years 2013 through 2016), it should be OK to check "yes" required to file for 2017 and "no" did not file.
Q14. a) she answered 'Yes' as she had no travel documents/passport till 2013-Aug, which she applied for to travel to Canada for PR landing. So on Table -B, should she just say, she didn't/never required to travel outside country hence no travel documents was required?
I am unclear about the facts you report. But again, the applicant is the one who needs to take full consideration of the facts and apply the question to his or her facts.
For item 14.a it would be very unusual for any applicant (other than refugees and stateless persons) to not have at least a home country passport, so almost all applicants need to check yes. And in the box/chart, then list every travel document and passport the individual has had during the previous five years.
For item 14.b, if her first passport was issued in August 2013, that is all that needs to be stated: first passport issued in August xx, 2013 (give date to the day), or something similar to your suggestion. Just about anything here which is truthful should readily suffice assuming the applicant reports no time in Canada prior to the August 2013 date. This question is more important for any applicant who has a gap in travel documents occurring during the period of time following when the applicant declares he or she was first in Canada.
Since she was homemaker all the time does tax returns was required for her to file? I included her in my tax returns anyway since she landed.
See previous response. A person with no income might not be required to file. But if she was included in your returns, depending on what you mean by that, she may have been required to file. Again, Canada Revenue rules govern this.
in CIT 0002 (10-2017) E: Q11-> what to put under Name of Contact, Phone#, Email since she was a homemaker and sometimes student?
"NA" probably works. As many others have noted, bureaucratic forms must encompass a broad range of variable situations and not every item listed is applicable to every applicant. Again, the applicant needs to judge for himself or herself how to best answer the questions based on his or her particular facts and circumstances.
