Contrary to my usual reluctance to offer advice, I'd suggest putting a printout copy of this in your file, along with your copy of the application you submitted, and WAIT ANOTHER SIX (6) TO EIGHT (8) MONTHS; in the meantime continue to periodically check eCas and watch your mailbox and email for correspondence or notice from IRCC, prepare for the test, and maintain relevant records in case IRCC requests additional evidence. Be sure to notify IRCC of any changes in the information provided in the application, such as any change in the address where you actually live or if there are any events which might possibly be relevant to an assessment of prohibitions. Otherwise, RELAX.
There is some possibility that the reference to FPs means there will be a FP request. Nothing to do, however, unless and until there is an actual FP request.
Generally:
There is NO reason to be alarmed or to panic if how things go, for a particular applicant, differs from what others are reporting: there has been a HUGE surge in citizenship applications in the last six months, which is almost certain to result in widely varying differences between the many tens of thousands of applications now in process, including an unusually large number of anomalies, the vast majority of which will be merely annoying or somewhat inconvenient but NOT a real problem. Not a problem the applicant can do anything about other than what all applicants need to do: WAIT, wait and watch for IRCC correspondence or notices. WAIT. One month. Six months. A Year. The timeline for applicants who applied in the last six months is going to vary. The timeline is going to vary a lot. SO RELAX and WAIT. Relax and wait, and watch for IRCC correspondence or notice.
Some Further Observations:
This is not a subject I address much, and am doing so here by invitation.
As I often say, and it's in my signature, I am NO expert. Moreover there are many aspects of immigration and citizenship I am not even familiar with, let alone not particularly well informed.
GCMS notes, in particular, fall outside the ambit of what I follow much.
There is a reason for this. Over the course of many years now (nearly a decade) following the citizenship application process, it became increasingly obvious that what is obtained by ATIP applications is RARELY useful. It is clear that ATIP applications made without a particular reason for making the application are a waste, and cause the waste of taxpayer dollars, the diversion of limited IRCC resources, and thus are the opposite of behaving like a citizen of Canada.
[Caveat: sometimes, albeit very rarely, there has been a slip-up by CIC/IRCC in responding to customized applications or applications for physical copies, resulting in surprising disclosures . . . it is obvious this is how we, in the public, obtained a copy of the 2012 File Requirements Checklist (and thankfully the recipient of a response with a copy of the FRC, which is totally redacted in any access to information request for it, shared it online in another previously more active forum), a veritable treasure trove of information which specifically outlined not only every step in the process, at that time, but listed the criteria employed at multiple stages of the process; obviously, quite a lot has changed since then, so that information is in many respects stale, but it nonetheless continues to be a profoundly illuminating blueprint of the process in general, illustrating many of the mechanics involved which probably continue to be relevant. This has been extremely rare. It is apparent that CIC then IRCC implemented measures to minimize the incidental disclosure of internal confidential information. But, yes, there have been occasions in which this process has provided illuminating information.]
The vast majority of qualified applicants have NO NEED to obtain their GCMS notes. Moreover, even for applications with issues or potential issues, usually there is NO NEED to obtain GCMS notes, AND, moreover, the GCMS notes will RARELY provide any actually useful information. (Again, there are of course some exceptions.)
If an application has had no activity for an extraordinary long time, LIKE A YEAR, at the very least eight months or so, a telephone call to the help line, or ATIP application for copy of personal records, MAY trigger IRCC to take action sooner than it otherwise might have. MAYBE.
If there is an actual issue, an actual problem, sometimes, but rarely, a customized ATIP request, a carefully, thoughtfully, well-researched and craftily composed ATIP request, might, but ONLY MIGHT, uncover some useful information; mere copies of GCMS report generated in response to a generic ATIP application, however, are almost always useless even if somewhat interesting.
Note, I do not much follow the activities of helicopter-applicants (those who hover over the minutia of day-to-day progress, obsessed with knowing precisely when this or that incremental step is taken on their application). In contrast, I try to focus on a few particular issues, mostly the more complicated or difficult issues, issues with potential pitfalls, and some issues which tend to be confusing but which can be explained by the applicable statutory provisions (thus, for example, many of my observations address issues related to residency or presence, or the four-year prohibition for foreign convictions which triggers police certificate requirements, and such). And given how long I have followed the process, I will engage in discussions about the overall process and what is involved, so far as we can know, in the incremental stages and steps.
I will be honest, perhaps a bit blunt. While there are circumstances and situations in which it is prudent for an applicant to make a telephone call to the help centre just to check on the status of the application, or even to make the ATIP application to obtain a copy of personal records in the file, THE VAST MAJORITY of qualified applicants NEVER need to even make a help centre telephone call let alone request their personal records. And many who do these when there is no cause, no reason to do so, ARE MAKING IT HARDER FOR THOSE WHO DO NEED TO GET THROUGH TO THE HELP LINE, and are generally diverting very limited resources which undoubtedly SLOWS DOWN PROCESSING FOR EVERYONE. This looms larger now, when there is a far greater number of applications in process than CIC/IRCC has dealt with in nearly three years.
I recognize that scores and scores of routine applicants are sharing minute details such as the date they get AOR, IP, notice for the test, DM, and so on. Which is fine. It is nice to share. It is comforting to have fellow-travelers along the way. BUT most of that information can be gleaned relatively easily from general reporting AND it rarely provides information which applicants can actually use in making decisions. After all, for the vast majority of qualified applicants, once they have sent off the application the only decisions they need to make are very easily made: watch eCas and their mailbox, prepare for the test, and wait. Really!
Sure, most applicants are at least somewhat anxious to know that their application made its way to CPC-Sydney and will be processed. I anxiously checked eCas twice a week until I got AOR. And since I had plans to travel some, but mostly because I also had some circumstances which, at the time, meant my application had a fairly high risk of RQ, I continued to diligently watch for news. So I get the on-the-edge-of-one's-seat attitude, I really do. BUT man-oh-man, these days there is so much frenetic activity in this forum indicating a way-over-the-top obsession with watching for incremental steps day-to-day.
Overall, for any applicant: if you were qualified when you applied, continue to be qualified, did a mostly good job filling out the application, and in particular you were honest, accurate, and responsively complete, with some leeway for minor mistakes, and you are actually living at the address you gave for your residential address, COME ON, RELAX, there is no reason to apprehend anything is going to go awry. Oh, sure, for some, a very small percentage, something will go awry. Stuff happens. And sure, some applicants do not have all that solid a case, and may have reasons for a little extra anxiety. In the meantime, YES, some of you will see others making their way through the process faster, perhaps a lot faster, then you are. This can be expected. This should be expected given that (I am quite sure) well more than a hundred thousand new applications have been submitted in the last six months. There is going to be widely varying differences in how things precisely go. There are going to be all sorts of vagaries and anomalies. BUT for the vast majority, once the application has been accepted, AOR issued, there is nothing more for the applicant to do but WAIT, respond to any correspondence or notices from IRCC, prepare for and show up to take the test. It may take only three months. For many it will take 4, 6, or 8 months. For more than a few it will be 8 to 12 months, or even a little more. Save on dentist bills and avoid gnashing your teeth in the meantime.
