SUMMARY of MY OBSERVATIONS (a fair summary I believe):
My observations here have focused on the obligation to notify IRCC if and when a PR, with a citizenship application pending, moves and is
RESIDING at an address different from the information the applicant reported to IRCC in the application. And, to be clear, this is based on the simple,
for-sure obligation an applicant has to notify IRCC if there is
ANY change in the information the applicant submitted in the application.
There should be NO doubt about this. The verification in the signature box on the application
requires the applicant to acknowledge this obligation. And, to be clear, this is the case whether the change in place where one is residing involves a move WITHIN Canada or to a location abroad.
I have further addressed the potential impact if the applicant fails to properly inform IRCC of such a change. Depending on other circumstances and factors, many times there is NO negative impact. But because the failure to provide IRCC information it requests is technically and practically a misrepresentation, by omission, failing to notify IRCC invokes a RANGE of RISKS. The latter gets complicated and has led to my lengthy comments about that.
I am quite certain I have not misread the topic. Which I will address.
But the reason I have invested the time and effort to make these observations is to document why the oft repeated claim, that applicants are not required to notify IRCC of a change in residential address, is NOT correct. In contrast to this erroneous claim, I have made a concerted effort to illuminate, as best I can, that YES applicants have an obligation to notify IRCC if and when the information in the application changes, INCLUDING a change in residential address. AND, that the failure to do so is indeed misrepresentation, which can have a negative impact on how things go EVEN IF it doesn't in many cases.
Just note, you have been completely mis-reading the whole basis of the original post. It is a simple case of some one after his CITIZENSHIP Application needing to travel abroad for 6 months maybe, and preferring to maintain his Communication address in Canada.
Actually this topic and the original post was about having applied for citizenship and then having "
to go back to my home country for a couple of years." As in a lot longer than "
for 6 months maybe."
I applied for my Canadian citizenship not long ago after meeting by far the requirements.
Now I have to go back to my home country for a couple of years.
The subsequent and more recent query by
@Can-On triggering my observations was more specifically about whether it is misrepresentation to not "
change my residential address to my new one which I reside-in outside Canada."
So NO, this topic has NOT been about someone "
needing to travel" abroad for "
six months maybe" while the application is pending. It is about when an applicant changes the location where they
RESIDE. And, more specifically when that change involves the residential address where applicants "
reside-in outside Canada."
I have made a concerted effort to distinguish questions about what constitutes a change in the place where one resides, or primarily resides. That is a more complicated question. There is no need to go down that rabbit-hole or pursue that tangent here. That is, whether an individual traveling abroad for an extended period of time has established a "new" residential address, or not, is a separate question. And not the question that either the OP or
@Can-On asked.
Perhaps Using the Term "Misrepresentation" Has Itself Taken the Discussion Down a Rabbit-hole and has been a Distraction:
But understanding what constitutes a misrepresentation and how, at the least, it can have a significant impact on what IRRC officials perceive about the applicant's credibility, is important.
In its most common and broadest sense, and the way it is referenced in immigration cases, the term "misrepresentation" itself is simple. It simply refers to making an inaccurate representation of fact (even if that is unintentional). In immigration and citizenship law, the failure to report a fact that clients are obligated to report is also considered to be misrepresentation, a misrepresentation "by omission."
A great deal of my lengthy commentary above is about what this means, including the potential impact.
That, perhaps, has distracted from the primary query itself, which was simply whether or not the failure to report a change of residence is a "misrepresentation." Regarding this,
@smash1984 responded it was, and
@harirajmohan to the contrary. I did not fully agree or disagree with either, but offered a qualified response. In particular, I specifically addressed the obligation to notify IRCC of a change in address (if and when one does change where they are residing), and that the failure to do so is a misrepresentation . . . regarding which I further commented that this often did NOT RESULT in a problem. But it could result in problems.
Perhaps I did misunderstand your posts. You seemed to be asserting that failing to update a change in residential address is not a misrepresentation. And perhaps I was further misreading your observations, in this regard, to be in part based on the common absence of any formal enforcement of sanctions for misrepresentation in these circumstances. Hence my tangent into lengthy comments about the range of potential consequences which was, in part, intended to illuminate that the mere fact there are no formal sanctions does not mean that a failure to notify does not constitute a misrepresentation.
But it also appears that like many others, including the observations posted by
@harirajmohan in this topic, your observations are tangled in questions more related to IRCC's recommendation to notify them about traveling abroad. That is a separate subject. Related but separate.
While the most recent query posed by
@satya10 straddles these separate issues, framing his query in terms of an indefinite absence from Canada without clarifying whether it will be in the nature of residing abroad or traveling abroad while maintaining a primary residence in Canada, I have not addressed that query. And it appears that you and others (in other topics) have adequately addressed the practical risks involved.
I am not sure why you see a lack of interest in whether the failure to properly notify IRCC of a change in application information is a misrepresentation, or what that is based on. But as noted above, this is the question that was asked by
@Can-On, which I answered in the affirmative, and regarding which I thought you disagreed.
And the amount of time and effort I have put into this subject illustrates how important I believe it is. Not because I think this is something which would result in the outright denial of an application or something which could be the basis for revoking citizenship later. Or even that there is much likelihood of any formal allegation of misrepresentation.
I believe this is important because, first, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the obligation to inform IRCC of ANY change in application information, and widespread disregard for the fact that the failure to do so is misrepresentation. And secondly, the overriding, huge importance of credibility, of maintaining one's credibility. We all make enough mistakes inadvertently and are somewhat compromised in terms of being an accurate reporter of fact. Most applicants will want to make a diligent effort to avoid making any misrepresentations, even relatively insignificant ones, toward best preserving their credibility.
This forum is rife with tales of woe told by QUALIFIED applicants who followed the instructions. Tales of lengthy delays, non-routine processing, probing questions during interviews, and even the full-blown RQ. Concerns about the accuracy of the applicant's information underlie a large percentage, if not the majority, of these problems.
Second only to meeting the qualifications and properly completing the application, credibility is the next most important factor in how things go.
Fudging information about where one resides is perhaps one of the most common deviations from accuracy in the citizenship application process. While doing this ranges from largely innocent to deliberate misrepresentation, only some being overtly nefarious, ironically the more deliberate ones appear to
get-away-with-it more often than the innocent or inadvertent occurrence. Or so it appears.
In any event, the failure to properly update changes in application information is, relatively, an easily avoided pitfall. Generally it is foolish to make even a minor misrepresentation.
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