Application for Canadian Citizenship - A Comprehensive Guide

[rose68]

Q11: Tell us what you have been doing during your five-year eligibility period, inside and outside of Canada. Enter details of your employment and education history below. Please include any period of unemployment, period of retirement, period working at home as a homemaker or being self employed. Be sure to provide information for the five-year eligibility period. Start with the most recent. If there are any missing days, periods of time or if the section is left blank, your application will be returned to you.

• Start from your most recent gig.
• You MUST include EVERYTHING you've been doing throughout your eligibility period (includes unemployment, self-employment, study, retirement or a homemaker).
• DO NOT LEAVE ANY GAPS. The dates MUST BE CONTINUOUS. IF THERE ARE GAPS HERE, YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE RETURNED AS INCOMPLETE.

 

[rose68]

Q11: Tell us what you have been doing during your five-year eligibility period, inside and outside of Canada. Enter details of your employment and education history below. Please include any period of unemployment, period of retirement, period working at home as a homemaker or being self employed. Be sure to provide information for the five-year eligibility period. Start with the most recent. If there are any missing days, periods of time or if the section is left blank, your application will be returned to you.

• Start from your most recent gig.
• You MUST include EVERYTHING you've been doing throughout your eligibility period (includes unemployment, self-employment, study, retirement or a homemaker).
• DO NOT LEAVE ANY GAPS. The dates MUST BE CONTINUOUS. IF THERE ARE GAPS HERE, YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE RETURNED AS INCOMPLETE.

In form (10-2020) only 15 more space available. what to do for more space please reply in my case, with 15 space, form is not validated.

 

[Alyssa123]

Dear experts,
I am a bit confused about the calculation of the days. If I visited Canada for 3 days in June 2016 and only came to continuously stay in Canada in November 2017, how do I report that activity in the calculator? Because in the past 5 years I actually have not lived in Canada prior to November 2017, and it is asking about absence days in the “from” “to” , so I have nothing to put in the from date because I have never been to Canada before June 2016...
my situation is like that:
June 2016 visit Canada for 3 days ;
November 2017 came as visitor and stayed until PR in September 2018 and have not been outside ever since
How do I record 2016-2017?

 

[jan_svab]

Hey, members, I'd like to ask about required supporting document for name change. My wife is filing her citizenship application now and she changed name when we married, back in our country of origin, before coming to Canada for the first time. Does she still need to provide "Photocopy of legal Name Change documents" as listed in the Document Checklist?

It seems to me that the document should be required only if name change happened since she became permanent resident. Since she has her current name on her PR card and all other documents she provides, there should be no document for name change required, right?
However, neither Document Checklist nor the Guide for this item ever mentions "since becoming PR" - it's always only "If you have changed your name" without clearly specifying which name changes are in scope and which are not.

Any guidance would be appreciated, thanks!

Let me ask my question in a different way - is there anyone who changed their name before entering Canada? If yes, did you attach Name Change supporting documents with your application?

 

[blingyrie]

Let me ask my question in a different way - is there anyone who changed their name before entering Canada? If yes, did you attach Name Change supporting documents with your application?

Yes. The affidavit from d country, newspaper publication (if you have) copy of foreign passport, province Id

 

[jan_svab]

Thanks for sharing that, blingyrie. Based on that (and other research), my wife also added the name change supporting documentation.

 

[yyzahran]

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. I have two questions to ask and wonder is someone can help me.

1. When sending the citizenship application, do I have to scan the blank passport pages?
2. I was a student and my visa ended in 09/2017 before which I have applied for the postgraduate work permit. However this one came in 12/2017 so I have 2 months visa gap in my passport, noting that I was eligible to work and stay in Canada as I was pending the approval of the work permit. Now I am not sure what to say about this period in the section where I mention my dtatus before getting the permanent residency. I wrote that I was actually waiting for the work permit but I am not sure if that's the way to do it.

Thanks a lot in advance for the help.

 

[Wandering Mind]

PART - 6

Post-Application Phase​

You have now submitted your Citizenship application. If you paid close attention to the guide and prepared a killer application package - the chances of you getting your application back is very less to none.

The hard part begins now - Waiting! In this initial stage after submission, you'd have to wait for AOR.

What can you do while you wait?

It generally takes about 2 months from the date they receive the application for you to get a AOR. (This can vary slightly from person to person). While you wait for AOR (and for further steps after you receive AOR), you can do the following -

• You can check the status of your application using ECAS (about 24 hours after you receive AOR) .
• Please try and contribute - Try to help others on the forum with any questions they might have.
• If you want a more in-depth knowledge of how citizenship applications are processed, I recommend giving Operational Instructions and Guidelines for Citizenship
  • From the page above, open links under 'Administration' for relevant information.
• Check the 2019 Citizenship tracker for past year's trend.
• Check the 2020 Citizenship tracker for current trend.
• Please make sure you enter your information in the appropriate tracker. Larger sample size translates to more accurate stats.
• In due time, you would have to write your citizenship test so start preparing for it.
• You can read qorax's detailed post on Oath ceremony and his post on Citizenship Interview.

Routine vs Non-Routine Applications and Additional document requests

Your citizenship application could be processed in 2 different ways - Routine and Non-Routine.

• Routine applications generally move much faster than their non-routine counterparts.
• One of the major reasons why an application could go into non-routine processing is if IRCC requests additional documentation OR if they set up an additional interview for you.
• There are different kinds of additional documents. Credit : I am paraphrasing from dpenabill's post.
  • RQ - Lite <CIT 0205> (Residency Questionnaire - 'Lite')
  • RQ <CIT 0171> (This is a full-blown Residency Questionnaire)
  • You might also get an RQ in the name of PPQ - QAE (Physical Presence Questionnaire - Quality Assurance Exercise)
  • This thread claims to have solved the mystery of the aforementioned QAE process but take it with a grain of salt.

What happens during application processing?

At the time of writing this post, the "official" processing time is 12 months. In reality, however - It ranges anywhere between 6 months to Forever. A sizable portion of the applications are processed between 6 - 9 months time.

• Though we send the initial application to CPC - Sydney, further processing of your application is generally done by the office responsible for the location you live in.
• As your application progresses, the ECAS status will keep changing. Find out what the ECAS status changes mean.
• Here are all the legal guidelines by which IRCC processes the applications.

The basic consensus of how a citizenship application might progress is explained below. This might vary slightly between applicants but this should give you a general idea. There is some speculation here and I am paraphrasing this from one of dpenabill's post and other posts in this forum.

• CPC-Sydney issues an AOR after the completeness-checking the application package
• A file is opened in GCMS (simultaneously).
• The application is sent for background checks
  • Criminality checks are done by RCMP
  • Security checks are done by CSIS
  • GCMS checks are done by IRCC
• CPC-Sydney might do some additional processing (?)
• Application is forwarded to the local visa office for further processing
• Local Visa Office (LVO) checks and verifies the authenticity of the information / documents in the application package
• LVO sends Notice to appear for citizenship test and interview
• LVO sends a Notice to appear for Citizenship Ceremony (Oath)

After the oath: Next Steps

You are officially a Canadian Citizen after you take the oath of citizenship.

• Official sources state that you need to wait a minimum of 2 business days before you can apply for a Canadian Passport.
• However, in reality, you can apply for a passport as soon as your ECAS status changes to 'Complete' and this can happen before 2 business days.

Closing notes

Canadian Citizenship is a privilege and not a right. Let's embrace it, respect it and let's never abuse it. NEVER lie on an immigration / citizenship application - It is not worth the consequences.

I hope that the mods make this a sticky thread for easy access. Let's further discuss about the nuances of this process and help each other in this beautiful journey of becoming a citizen of this great nation.

-rajkamalmohanram

Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive guide in 6 parts. I hope your own application has been successful and you're a Canadian citizen by now. Best regards.

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive guide in 6 parts. I hope your own application has been successful and you're a Canadian citizen by now. Best regards.

Well, test isn't very near so to speak. My application is IP but I am waiting for a test invite. Given the current pace, I am not very optimistic but I am expecting an increase in volume in the near future. Fingers crossed.

Thanks and all the very best!

 

[Lostinpaperwork]

Hi,

I am absolutely lost. I have completed my CIT-0002 for an adult applicant and the whole section 15 where you are supposed to enter details of your language proof is greyed out, even on a new form which I just downloaded. Basically, I can't enter any details. Do I just print and enter manually? But how will it get validated? I have redone the application a few times, using a fresh form and the same problem each time. Anyone had a similar problem.

 

[ankushsharma]

Hi,

I am absolutely lost. I have completed my CIT-0002 for an adult applicant and the whole section 15 where you are supposed to enter details of your language proof is greyed out, even on a new form which I just downloaded. Basically, I can't enter any details. Do I just print and enter manually? But how will it get validated? I have redone the application a few times, using a fresh form and the same problem each time. Anyone had a similar problem.

Am also getting tech issues with this CIT-0002e form. The moment I start filling out the form, it closes on its own. I can't do anything on the form, have downloaded it numerous times and have tried different scenarios to fix it, nothing seems to work. Asked my friend to check it, even she is getting the same issue. Not sure if others are getting the similar issues. I have raised web form and will call them tomorrow.

Please do let me know if someone has a workaround to it.

 

[Rakit]

@ rajkamalmohanram please need some support

1- Please under physical calculator I have eligibility 11-03-2016 to 10-03-2021 . When I entered that under the cit0002f it shows admissibility 10-03-2016 to 10-03-2021. Is it correct
2-under the cit0002f , I am trying to enter all my employment history (by selecting +) , it's not working , need 11 entry I am getting only 4 than the documents freezes, any tips
thanks

 

[samsunny]

This is a wonderful guide @rajkamalmohanram.

I have two questions if you can help me and I could wrap up my application:
1) do we need to translate passport stamps which may not be in English
2) other than the document check list, is it advisable to attach employment letters including paystubs and ROE along with application.

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

This is a wonderful guide @rajkamalmohanram.

I have two questions if you can help me and I could wrap up my application:
1) do we need to translate passport stamps which may not be in English
2) other than the document check list, is it advisable to attach employment letters including paystubs and ROE along with application.

1. You will NOT be submitting any passport pages with stamps with your initial application so not necessary. Just the bio pages are sufficient.
2. Do not support documents that are not asked - this will NOT speed up your application in any way.

 

[didigege]

Hi all,
I’m going to take a chance and ask so maybe someone when through the same thing and maybe can help me.

I filled the formulary for citizenship application.

At the end question 18 where i have to date and sign I put the date 2021-march-08 witch is the same that in question 9 for the calculator.

But everytime i get a pop up saying that the date on question 18 should be the date after (on question 9).

it’s confusing because I saw everywhere that the dates have to be exactly the same.

I will appreciate if anyone can help
Thank you