m going back home as I have an emergency, Im planning to stay there until I get a call to pass the test.
Im wondering what would happen if I don’t update my address as my home address and Leave an address in Canada as my address ?
is it a crime ? Or do i have to update the address as the address of my home country ?
i heard that my file could be put on hold if I update my address as my home address?
You have already read many responses from various perspectives about this subject, in multiple topics. To be clear, there is NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER. To be clear: how it has gone for others is merely an example of how things MIGHT go, and NOT at all a good indication about how things will go for you.
This subject is way more complicated than the short responses here indicate. This forum tends to grossly understate the variability and RISKS involved when grant citizenship applicants are located abroad while the application is in process.
NO ONE HERE can reliably say what will happen for you. In regards to this subject, living abroad with the application pending, any declarative statement about what will happen can be outright dismissed as lacking credibility . . . perhaps that is what will happen,
possibly, but there is NO WAY of knowing that is what will happen, and again there is much variability in what actually happens.
As you have already discovered, since you have posed questions in more than a few yourself, there is no shortage of topics here in which the primary queries revolve around relocating to a residence outside Canada pending processing of a grant citizenship application.
As you apparently apprehend, this situation tends to be clouded, rather foggy, in regards to which even the more definitive declarations tend to be unconvincing. And it is readily seen that among those who do this successfully, more than a few play games with what they disclose to IRCC along the way . . . so yes, they report succeeding, but some were gambling.
In particular, responses like "
Your file won't be put on hold" ring hollow, failing to offer any real assurances. For obvious reasons. It demands repeating: No one here knows what will happen, how things will go, including what influence the situation itself, residing outside Canada after applying, will have on the process. On the contrary, as difficult as this subject is to pin down, it is FOR CERTAIN that there are both
logistical risks and
procedural risks for applicants who reside abroad while the application is in process. And it is FOR CERTAIN that how it goes VARIES considerably.
For some all goes well. For others, stuff-happens.
You indicate having been advised by a lawyer and YET you are not confident about even that advice. Generally I defer to the professionals. Especially compared to what anyone in a forum like this might advise (including me). But just as not all opinions or advice is created equal, generally, not all lawyer's advice is equally well-founded. If an individual comes away from a consultation with a lawyer with doubts about the lawyer's advice, that typically suggests it is time to at least PAY for a consultation with another lawyer.
It bears emphasis that a lawyer's advice, at the very best, is generally worth no more than what the client paid for it. Hard to get even that much value from a lawyer. But free consultations, for example, tend to be too shallow to offer much more than general information and not real professional advice. Free advice tends to be worth what you paid for it.
In contrast, a paid-for consultation with a professional who is engaged in the particular field (here that would be immigration and citizenship law), which involves the lawyer actually reviewing the client's particular situation, including a relatively thorough review of the particular facts and circumstances as openly disclosed in strictly confidential communications, should be good, reliable advice. Far, far better than what I or anyone else here can offer.
I realize this is NOT answering your questions. I suppose that may be frustrating. What I am trying to illuminate is that NO ONE here can reassure you about what will happen. No one here reliably say how things will go for you if you move abroad while the application is pending.
We know a few things. And you should have easily figured out from other discussions what is known. Such as, for example, it is well known:
-- There is no law or rule that prohibits living abroad while a citizenship application is in process
-- In contrast, nonetheless, the purpose of the law is to provide a complete path to SETTLING IN Canada PERMANENTLY
-- In addition to having to physically appear IN Canada as scheduled for the test, interview, and oath, applicants can encounter non-routine processing which can be difficult to deal with from abroad
-- Engaging in misrepresentation of facts, either overtly or by omission, RISKS negative consequences, including (depending on the particulars, including the nature and seriousness of the deception):
-- -- perhaps only damaging IRCC's perception of the applicant's credibility, which can lead to inconvenient non-routine processing or elevated skepticism in weighing the evidence
-- -- a ground for denying the application
-- -- in more severe situations, prosecution for a criminal offence
-- The RISK of non-routine processing, including potentially RQ, is higher for applicants living abroad (how much so is impossible to quantify)
The logistical risks should not need repeating. But they tend to be understated here. And the extent to which these can vary tends to not get the attention it deserves. Just the applicant's financial situation can be a big factor in how easily the applicant can make accommodations to get to Canada in time for scheduled events. Where in the world the applicant is living can have a huge impact. (Those living a few hours drive over the border in that dreadful country to our south, for example, can typically get to Canada far faster and easier than someone living in Pakistan.) And
stuff-happens. Sometimes it is big stuff, like a global pandemic. Other times it is personal stuff, like a car wreck, or like losing documents such as one's PR card.
All of the latter can and will vary widely from one individual to another. No one here can reliably forecast how things will go for you personally. You are in the best position to take into account many of the variables, such as how financial conditions and physical location factors will influence how it MIGHT go for you in particular. You are the one who has to judge what is a reasonable risk for you, considering YOUR personal priorities, preferences, and YOUR available options.
I do NOT know how IRCC processing agents and citizenship officers are reacting when they learn or figure out the applicant is living outside Canada. I am quite sure it VARIES . . . even if only in respect to perceptions about credibility and how that influences decision making by IRCC agents and officers. It seems clear that applicants perceived to be
seeking-a-passport-of-convenience, contrary to the purpose of the law for granting citizenship, at the least are at RISK for RQ-related non-routine processing subject to elevated scrutiny if not outright skepticism. But that does not illuminate much about what the risk is that the applicant will be perceived to be
seeking-a-passport-of-convenience.
As for what information an applicant gives IRCC in regards to their residential address, all anyone can reasonably, reliably offer is to reiterate that the applicant has an affirmative obligation to provide IRCC with accurate, honest information. That comes with a caution, that engaging in an effort to deceive or mislead IRCC tends to increase the risk that things go awry. As for those fudging where-they-live information, it is quite likely many, so to say,
get-away-with-it. A key aspect of this to keep in mind is NOT confusing
getting-away-with-it with what is OK.
