Oath scheduled but cannot take due to travel

[amitdi]

So, here is the back story -

I had a planned vacation from Oct 13 to mid-Nov. Wife was planned to be away from mid-Sep to mid-Dec. We booked tickets for this in June and immediately contacted IRCC through web form. Got a response sometime in July that my communication has been sent to local office.

In August, during my test/interview, I again told the officer regarding my vacation dates. She noted them.

On Sep 18, we both receive an email from IRCC for oath on Oct 09. I reply back immediately through the email they mentioned stating the reason we cannot attend oath.
Next day Sep 19, I receive an email asking for flight tickets, hotel reservation or any proof. I immediately attach the flight itinerary and send it back.

On Sep 28, I receive an email from IRCC expecting that they must have re-scheduled the ceremony. To my surprise, the pdf is exactly the same that I received on Sep 19 i.e with the Oct 09 date. I have replied back again but have not received any response. I have a feeling this communication intended to change the date but somehow by mistake they didnt.

Today is the last business day before my oath date. If nothing comes today, then I am planning to show up and not take oath. My wife is not here, so she will 100% miss the ceremony. Regarding me, I cannot take the oath because if they take my PR card, there is no way I can enter Canada mid-Nov. I cannot get Canada passport before my travel on Oct 13. I am on vacation and going to 3 countries, so applying Canadian passport while abroad is next to impossible. I cannot extend my vacation as I dont have leaves from my office.

Any suggestions on what I can say to the officers when I show up on Oct 09 so that they will re-schedule?

 

[kushari]

So, here is the back story -

I had a planned vacation from Oct 13 to mid-Nov. Wife was planned to be away from mid-Sep to mid-Dec. We booked tickets for this in June and immediately contacted IRCC through web form. Got a response sometime in July that my communication has been sent to local office.

In August, during my test/interview, I again told the officer regarding my vacation dates. She noted them.

On Sep 18, we both receive an email from IRCC for oath on Oct 09. I reply back immediately through the email they mentioned stating the reason we cannot attend oath.
Next day Sep 19, I receive an email asking for flight tickets, hotel reservation or any proof. I immediately attach the flight itinerary and send it back.

On Sep 28, I receive an email from IRCC expecting that they must have re-scheduled the ceremony. To my surprise, the pdf is exactly the same that I received on Sep 19 i.e with the Oct 09 date. I have replied back again but have not received any response. I have a feeling this communication intended to change the date but somehow by mistake they didnt.

Today is the last business day before my oath date. If nothing comes today, then I am planning to show up and not take oath. My wife is not here, so she will 100% miss the ceremony. Regarding me, I cannot take the oath because if they take my PR card, there is no way I can enter Canada mid-Nov. I cannot get Canada passport before my travel on Oct 13. I am on vacation and going to 3 countries, so applying Canadian passport while abroad is next to impossible. I cannot extend my vacation as I dont have leaves from my office.

Any suggestions on what I can say to the officers when I show up on Oct 09 so that they will re-schedule?

I'd suggest you call in and see what the person on the phone can do or says to you. That's probably the fastest way. As for taking the Oath, Not sure if you can do it without your wife, and just have her do it afterwards, but if that's possible, you'd be able to get the passport if you apply for urgent processing.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/urgent-emergency-passport.html

 

[Ottawan]

Oh, what a good problem to have

I'd definitely take proof of communication and acknowledgment. They should understand their fault and reschedule on your desired date.

 

[amitdi]

Oh, what a good problem to have

I'd definitely take proof of communication and acknowledgment. They should understand their fault and reschedule on your desired date.

As for the urgent passport, possible but too risky.

For the proofs of communication, I have taken printouts of emails and I am going to show them. Hopefully they consider the case.

 

[Joshua1]

cannot get Canada passport before my travel on Oct 13.

Yes, you can. Show up with your proof of planned travel and talk the clerks before and after the ceremony. Take the oath. Once, your E-cas shows as “complete” (within 24 hours), run to the nearest Passport Canada office (DO NOT go to Service Canada) with your required documents and your proof of travel; pay for express and pick up the next day. You will have your passport by the 11.

Many people have done it.

 

[kushari]

Also to add to what Joshua1 mentioned. They will tell you in the Oath to specifically wait 2 business days, However when ECAS says COMPLETE, then you can go and apply anyway. So if you do decide to go and take the Oath, don't get shocked/scared when they mention this part about waiting 2 days. They do it as a precaution.

 

[amitdi]

Also to add to what Joshua1 mentioned. They will tell you in the Oath to specifically wait 2 business days, However when ECAS says COMPLETE, then you can go and apply anyway. So if you do decide to go and take the Oath, don't get shocked/scared when they mention this part about waiting 2 days. They do it as a precaution.

ok

 

[LoganWick]

So, here is the back story -

I had a planned vacation from Oct 13 to mid-Nov. Wife was planned to be away from mid-Sep to mid-Dec. We booked tickets for this in June and immediately contacted IRCC through web form. Got a response sometime in July that my communication has been sent to local office.

In August, during my test/interview, I again told the officer regarding my vacation dates. She noted them.

On Sep 18, we both receive an email from IRCC for oath on Oct 09. I reply back immediately through the email they mentioned stating the reason we cannot attend oath.
Next day Sep 19, I receive an email asking for flight tickets, hotel reservation or any proof. I immediately attach the flight itinerary and send it back.

On Sep 28, I receive an email from IRCC expecting that they must have re-scheduled the ceremony. To my surprise, the pdf is exactly the same that I received on Sep 19 i.e with the Oct 09 date. I have replied back again but have not received any response. I have a feeling this communication intended to change the date but somehow by mistake they didnt.

Today is the last business day before my oath date. If nothing comes today, then I am planning to show up and not take oath. My wife is not here, so she will 100% miss the ceremony. Regarding me, I cannot take the oath because if they take my PR card, there is no way I can enter Canada mid-Nov. I cannot get Canada passport before my travel on Oct 13. I am on vacation and going to 3 countries, so applying Canadian passport while abroad is next to impossible. I cannot extend my vacation as I dont have leaves from my office.

Any suggestions on what I can say to the officers when I show up on Oct 09 so that they will re-schedule?

Which office?

 

[amitdi]

Which office?

Its in my signature, Winnipeg

 

[amitdi]

So my oath was at 1:15pm. I went there at 12:55pm. Volunteer lady greeted. I told her that I cannot attend and want to talk to someone about it. She directed me to a guy, who looked like their manager/co-ordinator. There are like 60-80 ppl in the hall already and there is a long queue of like 40-50 ppl.

Now, I am with a file in my hand which has all the proofs of my emails and I am all charged up and ready with all my arguments of how I have communicated promptly, and how I deserve that my oath be re-scheduled, etc etc.

Me: My wife is on vacation and I also cannot attend....
Guy (he cuts me mid-sentence): Oh we got your email and we will re-schedule.
Me: Ohh...(I didnt know what to say for a moment. But one thought that came to mind was why the *** didnt you tell me before. but I thought no point arguing now...)
I asked him when can I expect re-schduled oath ceremony, he said he doesnt know yet. I asked him is there anything else I need to do like update through web form. He said not needed.

Luckily, I work in downtown where the IRCC office is and downtown Winnipeg is not that big. So the whole thing took me 15-20 mins from my desk back to desk. So no damage done. But they could have communicated properly.

 

[dpenabill]

So my oath was at 1:15pm. I went there at 12:55pm. Volunteer lady greeted. I told her that I cannot attend and want to talk to someone about it. She directed me to a guy, who looked like their manager/co-ordinator. There are like 60-80 ppl in the hall already and there is a long queue of like 40-50 ppl.

Now, I am with a file in my hand which has all the proofs of my emails and I am all charged up and ready with all my arguments of how I have communicated promptly, and how I deserve that my oath be re-scheduled, etc etc.

Me: My wife is on vacation and I also cannot attend....
Guy (he cuts me mid-sentence): Oh we got your email and we will re-schedule.
Me: Ohh...(I didnt know what to say for a moment. But one thought that came to mind was why the *** didnt you tell me before. but I thought no point arguing now...)
I asked him when can I expect re-schduled oath ceremony, he said he doesnt know yet. I asked him is there anything else I need to do like update through web form. He said not needed.

Luckily, I work in downtown where the IRCC office is and downtown Winnipeg is not that big. So the whole thing took me 15-20 mins from my desk back to desk. So no damage done. But they could have communicated properly.

All in all, though, this is a good outcome and showing up in person quite likely buys some insurance. The timeline from here is anyone's guess. As I recall, oath ceremonies in Winnipeg are not scheduled nearly so often as in the other large urban areas in Canada, which might mean waiting a little longer than just the timeline to reschedule.

My sense is that Winnipeg is one of those offices where things are at least somewhat more personal than, say, GTA, Montreal, or Vancouver offices.

Historically CIC (before IRCC) tended to harbour suspicions whenever citizenship candidates (once there is a Decision Made the *applicant* becomes a citizenship *candidate*) needed to reschedule oath ceremonies, and especially if there was a failure to appear as scheduled (toward the end of the Harper era CIC had adopted a very strict policy for oath no-shows, pursuant to which, for example, a failure to show while abroad was presumed to NOT be an acceptable reason and rather than get citizenship the application was terminated . . . just an example to show how severe the policy was). While under the current Liberal government IRCC does not appear to be so severe in how it approaches such things, you showing up helps reassure decision-makers you are someone really living a life in Canada, no reason to re-open and ask more questions.

Otherwise, as I oft caution, bureaucracy is what bureaucracy does, and that means wrinkles tend to cause paper jams. For many there is no reasonable, practical alternative. We all have lives to live even when we have a citizenship application in process. You have pursued a sensible approach given the situation, and while a little extra diligence (like showing up when you probably did not need to) may not make it go much better or faster from this point, it most likely helps to avoid things taking a negative turn. Staying the course tends to work, at least eventually.

 

[amitdi]

All in all, though, this is a good outcome and showing up in person quite likely buys some insurance. The timeline from here is anyone's guess. As I recall, oath ceremonies in Winnipeg are not scheduled nearly so often as in the other large urban areas in Canada, which might mean waiting a little longer than just the timeline to reschedule.

Thanks for the detailed response. From here on, I am not worried till May 2019, when my PR card expires.