Alright, so sorry for the wait, but I did post this in the February 2018 applicants thread.
Test Date and Time: Feb 20th, 2019 @ 9:20am
Total Time: 2 hours approximately
Documents I Brought:
- Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR)
- Permanent Resident Card (PR card)
- English language proof I submitted with my application (my Ontario Secondary School transcript)
- My expired travel document I landed with (my US passport book)
- My valid travel document from my home country (my US passport card)
- Notice to Appear: To Write The Citizenship Test (all pages, signed and dated as required)
- My marriage certificate (the short form version)
- My Ontario Photo Card
- MISSING: My OHIP card
My Experience:
I went to the IRCC building on Exeter Rd. The entrance is at the furthest left and has two sets of doors. My husband and I arrived, and I decided to leave my cell phone and my purse in the car. I grabbed my green folder with my documents in it and walked in.
There were about 10-15 people waiting there for the test/interview as well. There are bathrooms there too. Eventually, an IRCC officer came to the desk and asked us (the test takers) to line up and show him our PR cards. So I get in line and do so. After we do so, he asks for those exempt from the test and checks them in.
Eventually we are led into the test taking area. We were immediately asked to keep everything from that point onward
confidential-
so no test spoilers, sorry! What I CAN say is I was the 3rd or 4th one done once it started- and that was after taking another look at my answers to ensure I got the best possible answer for each question.
We were asked to wait in the lobby area again for the interview portion. A couple who finished before me were sitting near the interview rooms (there are two) talking about the test and what was on it.... go figure. The lobby area seemed to be fuller than when we all went in, so I'm guessing they wre early arrivals for the next test appointment? I don't know.
Eventually two IRCC officers calls people into the rooms- married couples are called in together. To give you an idea of how long I was waiting: I arrived at 8:50am, started the test around 9:30am and then finished after 11am. During that time, we were told to have our Ontario Photo Cards, CoPRs, and health cards out... uh oh, I forgot my health card! When my name is eventually called, I was asked questions about my application.They asked to see my documents, which I showed. I explained I didn't bring my health card since I felt I was providing more than enough documentation, and upon offering to recite my health card number and version code, they said it should be okay. She then told me my score on the citizenship test (20/20, yeah!) and verbally asked me if I had committed any offences that would prevent me from becoming a citizen. I said no (in a humorous way) and then they had me sign something essentially saying I have no prohibitions to keep me from taking the oath and said I would get the oath invitation soon. I was then free to leave.
General Advice:
- Do NOT bring your family in with you (if they are not there for any IRCC related reasons): There are very few chairs in the waiting area and unless your friend/family member has a reason to be there with you (such as they're taking the test too or they have to be there for an interview), leave them at home. If you have kids, leave them with a sitter. If you can't make the appointment because you don't have childcare, call IRCC and reschedule the test.
- Bring a small snack and a water bottle: I was there for 2 hours and felt really thirsty and was a little hungry.
- DO NOT LEAVE THE BUILDING WHILE WAITING FOR THE INTERVIEW: The doors are initially unlocked, but once the test starts, they are locked and you need to buzz in to be let back in. Just make sure you have everything with you the first time and just sit tight.
- Don't worry about the test: The worst thing that could happen is you fail the test. If you fail, you simply re-take the test and if you fail that, you just attend a hearing with a citizenship judge.
- OPTIONAL- Leave your cell phone and purse/bag in the car or at home: While there were people who had bags and purses and their cell phones, I will stress that you want to give the IRCC officers ZERO excuse to think you're cheating on the test.
- Dress nicely: This may seem like a no-brainer, but you really should put some effort into your look that day; you are attending an interview after all!
Feel free to ask me questions if you like. I
CANNOT answer any questions about the test though, but I can give you some general advice on how I studied for it.
