Return Application Address Change - URGENT

[K3n]

Hi Everyone,

Hoping I can get a quick response on this. I submitted my citizenship application on Nov 16, 2019 which was received by the CPC Sydney NS office on Nov 25, 2019. On Jan 29, 2020 they returned back the application since I mistakenly left a box empty in a 'Yes' or 'No' question. The comment on the letter states:

Your application was considered incomplete and was not processed and fees were not taken. If you choose to resubmit a complete application for a grant of citizenship, make sure you include:

• The completed application form submitted on a version of the application form dated October 2017 or later as indicated on the lower left corner of the form
• Note: the date of signature on the original application will still be used for physical presence calculations.
• All the required documents based on the Document Checklist of the form for a grant of citizenship (CIT-0002); and
• The proof of payment

My questions are:

1) Since the date of signature on the original application will be used it seems that I can submit the entire same application by just changing the page that is required? And does that still apply even though it is almost 4 months from the date the application was returned?

2) The letter states that the fees was not taken. However, I checked with my bank and it seems that the payment I made on Nov 11, 2019 has not been credited to my visa/refunded to me by IRCC. If I submit the application with the same proof of payment, after roughly 7 months, can IRCC still collect the same payment?

3) I have recently changed my address. What is the correct way to proceed:

• Should I fill a new application now with the new date for signing? If so, how will they use the date of signature on the original application?
• Should I submit both applications?
• Should I still submit the old application and just update the address on the two pages where it is required? If so, won't it be weird that an application is back-dated to Nov 2019 but has an address change of May 2020?
• Or is the best solution to submit the same application and submit a Change of Address form? I didn't see any but there is an online tool to do so. However, I get an error which is most likely because my application has not started being processed yet. So should I send the same application and at the same time change address online concurrently?

4) Will IRCC take one year again now to complete processing the entire application?


Thanks
Ken

 

[melito]

1) Since the date of signature on the original application will be used it seems that I can submit the entire same application by just changing the page that is required? And does that still apply even though it is almost 4 months from the date the application was returned?

Note: Your application will be returned to you if it is:

• not signed and dated
• dated more than 90 days before we receive it
• post-dated (dated into the future)
• make sure that the date of signature on the application and the date on the physical presence calculator printout are the same

source: guide

2) The letter states that the fees was not taken. However, I checked with my bank and it seems that the payment I made on Nov 11, 2019 has not been credited to my visa/refunded to me by IRCC. If I submit the application with the same proof of payment, after roughly 7 months, can IRCC still collect the same payment?

IRCC's website states that eligible refunds can take between 2 to 8 weeks to appear in your account. Pretty sure you would have seen it by now if they were gonna refund that, but I'll let someone else clarify this point.

3) I have recently changed my address. What is the correct way to proceed:

• Should I fill a new application now with the new date for signing? If so, how will they use the date of signature on the original application?
• Should I submit both applications?
• Should I still submit the old application and just update the address on the two pages where it is required? If so, won't it be weird that an application is back-dated to Nov 2019 but has an address change of May 2020?
• Or is the best solution to submit the same application and submit a Change of Address form? I didn't see any but there is an online tool to do so. However, I get an error which is most likely because my application has not started being processed yet. So should I send the same application and at the same time change address online concurrently?

You definitely should not submit both applications. I would advise sending a new one.

4) Will IRCC take one year again now to complete processing the entire application?

Yes. 12 months is from date of receipt and even if you were sending the old application (which you shouldn't), it would be a new start date upon receipt. Keep in mind the process will probably take longer now given COVID-19.

 

[melito]

Don't forget to also update your physical presence calculation. You probably have about 180 days more now if you haven't left the territory (a nice buffer), and that would also affect how you fill your application.

 

[devnill]

Re: Fees, my understanding is the fee receipt is still valid for use with your application. As they didn't start processing, they didn't use that fee receipt.

 

[issteven]

can't they just make this form online fillable to avoid things like this ?

 

[dpenabill]

Should I fill a new application now with the new date for signing? If so, how will they use the date of signature on the original application?

Largely concur with most of what has been observed by others. Signature date on the original is no longer relevant if you submit a new application. Which is clearly the better way to go, assuming you have been in Canada mostly and actually have a stronger actual physical presence case now than earlier.

My understanding is that applicants can re-submit returned applications (subject to reason for the return) and the stale-dated policy is applied based on what that date was and when the original application was received, not when the re-submitted version is received (within reason of course). Not certain. BUT for MOST applicants it is simply better to submit a new application adding in the additional days in Canada in the meantime anyway. Yes, the first fee receipt is usually good.

Main reason for my responding:

4) Will IRCC take one year again now to complete processing the entire application?

Yes. 12 months is from date of receipt and even if you were sending the old application (which you shouldn't), it would be a new start date upon receipt. Keep in mind the process will probably take longer now given COVID-19.

The caveat "Keep in mind the process will probably take longer now given COVID-19" looms very large. At the least many months longer.

But I think it is important to be clear that how long it takes to process any given citizenship application is NOT subject to any processing time parameters. The one year processing time posted by IRCC (no longer applicable . . . see website information regarding covid-19) was NOT about how long it would take to process an application. It was merely general information referencing, vaguely, about how long, roughly, it took to process most routinely processed applications IN THE PAST. The irony has long been that for many the timeline has been significantly less than the posted time lines (mine was one-third the posted timeline when I applied and one-fourth for some others who took the oath at the same time as me; noting though the timeline posted back then was two years), while for many more the timeline drifted well beyond that posted. Nothing changes when that amount of time has passed except that generally IRCC will not entertain what's-happening requests from applicants until that time has passed. And then, after it has passed, the usual response to an inquiry is in the nature of "yeah, it's in process." Sometimes with a meaningless reference to background checks still pending.

There is always a background check pending unless and until there is a final decision and the oath is actually scheduled . . . the process requires doing at least the GCMS background check, which includes screening for criminal history in at least Canada and the U.S. name-record databases, when making the final decision to grant citizenship. Moreover, in terms of the RCMP and CSIS background clearances, they are often done but have not been formally entered as complete in the GCMS file, so even though done they often appear as still pending . . . what is actually happening, in the vast majority of such cases, is the application is simply sitting in queue along with scores and scores of others waiting for a processing agent, or the Citizenship Officer, to engage in the next scheduled task. Which is going to be a rather long queue going forward for at least most of this year, if not well into the next.

That is, for practical purposes the "start date" means little or nothing.

 

[K3n]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your inputs.

@dpenabill @melito so both of you advised to send a new application mainly on the basis that 90 days have passed by. Is there any way to confirm that it applies to resubmitting returned applications as well? To me it seems like it just applies to new applications because the Officer clearly stated in my case that I can resubmit the same application and the old date will apply. He did not specify in that letter that I have only 90 days to file. Obviously it doesn't mean a person can submit the same application after 1 year but it's been almost 4 months only.

Thanks again
Ken

 

[melito]

Is there any way to confirm that it applies to resubmitting returned applications as well?

TBH I'm wondering why you wouldn't want to err on the side of caution because submitting the old application you would risk getting it returned again. Something I didn't address directly in my original response: having a new address would be reason enough to fill a new application because you can't just attach a change of address form or something to that effect when resubmitting a complete application; it's not a thing. But if you are still in doubt please contact IRCC directly by phone or submit a web form.

 

[K3n]

Hi All,

I called and got through to an agent. She advised the same that since 90 days have passed, I need to submit an entirely new application including the physical presence calculator and the pictures as well. However I can still use the old payment receipt.

Further, she advised that the processing centers are actually open with limited staff and the agents are working on the applications. The only thing that was put on hold was Citizenship test and oath ceremony however they are going to start doing both of those virtually. This is direct news from a live customer support representative. So you may want to relay the same to other members / VIP / Start Members here who can also advise other people inquiring about their applications and test etc.

Thank you for the prompt replies. I will go ahead and submit a new application.

Regards
Kenaan

 

[issteven]

Hi All,

I called and got through to an agent. She advised the same that since 90 days have passed, I need to submit an entirely new application including the physical presence calculator and the pictures as well. However I can still use the old payment receipt.

Further, she advised that the processing centers are actually open with limited staff and the agents are working on the applications. The only thing that was put on hold was Citizenship test and oath ceremony however they are going to start doing both of those virtually. This is direct news from a live customer support representative. So you may want to relay the same to other members / VIP / Start Members here who can also advise other people inquiring about their applications and test etc.

Thank you for the prompt replies. I will go ahead and submit a new application.

Regards
Kenaan

Good news that they are moving test/oath online!

 

[devnill]

The only thing that was put on hold was Citizenship test and oath ceremony however they are going to start doing both of those virtually. This is direct news from a live customer support representative. So you may want to relay the same to other members / VIP / Start Members here who can also advise other people inquiring about their applications and test etc.

I would not trust anything the call centre tells you with regards to online test/ceremonies.

 

[issteven]

I would not trust anything the call centre tells you with regards to online test/ceremonies.

WHY?

 

[devnill]

WHY?

Because they have been known to give out false/misleading information in the past and they are not IRCC agents, merely people contracted by IRCC to answer phones. I would like them to move to online tests/oaths but I won't believe it until I see an official announcement from IRCC.

 

[Copingwithlife]

Because they have been known to give out false/misleading information in the past and they are not IRCC agents, merely people contracted by IRCC to answer phones. I would like them to move to online tests/oaths but I won't believe it until I see an official announcement from IRCC.

They may give out unreliable information, but they are NOT contract employees.They are actual employees of the IRCC
Just as the employees who process applications, no one is contracted out
Once in awhile they'll have job openings in the IRCC callcentre in Scarborough