Winnipeg - 2017 Citizenship Applicants
- Thread starter user3000
- Start date
They want some kind of official paper (physical proof) showing that you would be unavailable. I was proactive, as I asked put the request even before I received an oath invite. My job would have prevented me from attending a ceremony between the end of July and October, so I asked if there was any way to put the ceremony prior to the end of July. In the end, the ceremony would have probably been set before that, but I needed to make sure. Because I had proof of my unavailability, they accepted (and note that they were very understanding and open to receive several types of documentation).
I am still waiting for a test invite, any November/October applicants are in the same situation??
We are officially Canadian citizens (as of an hour ago).
The way the ceremony works:
you show up (as everyone else who is taking the oath that day) around the required time, and you line up to give your PR card and sign a few papers. The line up is probably what takes the longest (there were 81 people taking the oath today, including minors).
After everyone has signed the papers and taken his or her seat, the judge addresses the audience (for about 40 minutes). Then, the oath is taken as a group.
After the oath, each family is called by name to go pick up their certificate of citizenship and sign one last time.
When everyone has returned to his or her seat, we sing O Canada as a group. This officially closes the ceremony.
People may decide to stay after the hymn to take pictures with officials (the judge, the RCMP officer, etc...).
One important piece of advice: even though you may want to bring your kids with you, I strongly recommend against bringing toddlers. I have 2 kids (they are 5 and 2), and I really, really, wanted to take them with us today, because it is such an important day. Seeing the official recommendations though (you are supposed to stay in the room for the entire length of the ceremony, so if your child cries, you are supposed to have someone else with you who could take him or her out of the room), we decided not to bring them with us, and we are glad we made that decision.
There were quite a few toddlers in the room today, and the poor things were exhausted. It was even hard for the judge to speak sometimes, because the little ones were making their presence known one after the other.
To be honest, it would be hard for any kid to sit quietly throughout the entire ceremony (for us, the whole thing took about 2 hours). If you can bring someone along to take care of them if they cry, go for it. If you can't (like us), give yourself a break, go as adults, and celebrate with your little ones right after.
Good luck everyone! You are almost there!
The way the ceremony works:
you show up (as everyone else who is taking the oath that day) around the required time, and you line up to give your PR card and sign a few papers. The line up is probably what takes the longest (there were 81 people taking the oath today, including minors).
After everyone has signed the papers and taken his or her seat, the judge addresses the audience (for about 40 minutes). Then, the oath is taken as a group.
After the oath, each family is called by name to go pick up their certificate of citizenship and sign one last time.
When everyone has returned to his or her seat, we sing O Canada as a group. This officially closes the ceremony.
People may decide to stay after the hymn to take pictures with officials (the judge, the RCMP officer, etc...).
One important piece of advice: even though you may want to bring your kids with you, I strongly recommend against bringing toddlers. I have 2 kids (they are 5 and 2), and I really, really, wanted to take them with us today, because it is such an important day. Seeing the official recommendations though (you are supposed to stay in the room for the entire length of the ceremony, so if your child cries, you are supposed to have someone else with you who could take him or her out of the room), we decided not to bring them with us, and we are glad we made that decision.
There were quite a few toddlers in the room today, and the poor things were exhausted. It was even hard for the judge to speak sometimes, because the little ones were making their presence known one after the other.
To be honest, it would be hard for any kid to sit quietly throughout the entire ceremony (for us, the whole thing took about 2 hours). If you can bring someone along to take care of them if they cry, go for it. If you can't (like us), give yourself a break, go as adults, and celebrate with your little ones right after.
Good luck everyone! You are almost there!