Does IRCC ask the applicant to confirm about attending the test?

[s23srinivas]

Hi,
I got a call this evening from a private number so I didn't pick it and got a voice mail left.
The person who left the message said she was calling from IRCC and called my name (full name as in the citizenship application) correctly and told if I could confirm whether I will be attending the test scheduled for the 5th March at Scarborough or if I want my application to be moved to Niagara Falls as I am from the Niagara region.

In a dilemma about the genuineness of the call as it was from a private number but my name and test schedule was correctly mentioned as in my application and test invite. Will wait to check ecas tomorrow if anything gets updated there about this (I doubt it though)

Has anybody experienced such communication?
Do we have to confirm to IRCC about attending the test even if we are sure that we are not going to miss attending it and have blocked our calendar for the test? What options to choose in the Web Form for "confirming" that I will attend the test at the test centre they have allotted me?

It seems fun time ahead!!

Cheers

 

[jc94]

Hi,
I got a call this evening from a private number so I didn't pick it and got a voice mail left.
The person who left the message said she was calling from IRCC and called my name (full name as in the citizenship application) correctly and told if I could confirm whether I will be attending the test scheduled for the 5th March at Scarborough or if I want my application to be moved to Niagara Falls as I am from the Niagara region.

In a dilemma about the genuineness of the call as it was from a private number but my name and test schedule was correctly mentioned as in my application and test invite. Will wait to check ecas tomorrow if anything gets updated there about this (I doubt it though)

Has anybody experienced such communication?
Do we have to confirm to IRCC about attending the test even if we are sure that we are not going to miss attending it and have blocked our calendar for the test? What options to choose in the Web Form for "confirming" that I will attend the test at the test centre they have allotted me?

It seems fun time ahead!!

Cheers

No-one I know was asked to confirm, you’re meant to contact them if you cannot.

Call them yourself and ask though. Takes a while but you can eventually get through.

There are many many evil nasty scammers out there (one rang me back today to swear at me) but normally they don’t have more than your name (if number listed) but would still be ...cautious here.

 

[dpenabill]

It is very unlikely eCas will illuminate anything.

If you were given specific instructions in the message, probably good idea to follow through with them. If the message did not direct you to respond in a particular way, such as to email or telephone a particular number, probably no problem. Maybe its something they might ask about in the interview.

If it specifically asks for a call back, you should be able to verify the telephone number given. And even then be cautious about what personal information you share unless and until you are confident you are speaking to someone at IRCC. As you note, the content of the message, including details about alternative locations, and proximity to the scheduled event, suggest the call is legitimate. But approaching this with some caution is nonetheless always a good idea.


PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (FWIW):

I received a telephone call from CIC (before name change to IRCC) on the Saturday before my interview date (even back then, six years ago this week, and under the applicable law back then, I was well over the age limit for taking the test, so I was scheduled for an interview with no test), scheduled for the coming Monday morning. I do not recall what the caller ID displayed, but I could hear the individual leaving a message about verifying I got the notice and would be appearing for both the interview Monday and the oath ceremony already scheduled for Wednesday. So I picked up the phone and spoke to the person live. She cautioned that even though I was already scheduled for the oath, that was still dependent on a final decision which would be made after my interview. She quite emphatically stated the purpose of the call was to verify I would appear. My strong sense, however, was that the phone call was almost as much, if not more, about verifying the telephone number was mine. So I was glad I picked it up before she finished the message.

In my case, however, there was very short notice for the interview and oath. I do not recall how much precisely, but it was around a week and for sure not much more. So it did make sense for them to telephone applicants, those who had been given such short notice, to verify they had received the notice.

In contrast, however, there are periodically reports in this forum which appear to quite likely be about scam calls. So that happens sometimes.

 

[s23srinivas]

I called IRCC and they acknowledged that the call I received was a genuine one.
So I confirmed about attending the test at Scarborough since I do not want to get it rescheduled as an effect of getting the file transferred to Niagara falls.

 

[s23srinivas]

I called IRCC and they acknowledged that the call I received was a genuine one.
So I confirmed about attending the test at Scarborough since I do not want to get it rescheduled as an effect of getting the file transferred to Niagara falls.

Yesterday (5 Mar2020) I had my test and interview and passed it at Scarborough.

The interviewer was the person who had called me on Monday and left the voice message. She mentioned this to me as her first sentence after the initial greetings and gave me a surprised looked as if she wasn't expecting to see me at Scarborough. When I mentioned that I called IRCC and had confirmed to the service agent about me attending the test at Scarborough, the interviewer mentioned that the system shows only her (interviewer's) comment about reaching out to me but no update from the call center agent explaining her surprised look.

Looks like someone didn't do the job right. But no complaints whatsoever. All's well that ends well.

Tip for future applicants - Keep your chin up, do everything as per the standard procedure, expect the unexpected and hope for the best in your run up to the citizenship