Application for Canadian Citizenship - A Comprehensive Guide

[abbas.pasha]

Hi everyone,
I have couple more questions if you don’t mind please.
I was in home country on a ‘leave of absence’ (family caregiver leave) for about 3 months in 2021 to take care of my family members and was getting employment insurance (EI) while on leave. I also got married during this time at my home country.

Under last 5 years employment history section in the citizenship application, should I report this as ‘unemployed’ or just mention that I was outside of country on leave to take care of family member and for my marriage? How should I word it?

Also should I mention anywhere on the application about EI?

Thanks in advance.

Unemployed
Not required to declare EI application, because you will "Check “Yes” to authorize the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to provide details of your tax filing information (including income, benefit and residence information) to IRCC"
Ref: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0002-application-canadian-citizenship-under-subsection-5-1-adults-18-years-older.html

 

[trvapplicant]

I asked the question but nobody answered. It seems no one had been in that situation. Anyway, i called IRCC and they referred me to the web form which i have filled and submitted but i have not heard anything since then. I'm confused at the moment.
You should wait for 24-48 hrs after AOR to register on tracker, after then if you still can't register that is when to do something about it.
I am still hoping someone with an exact experience of this issue can comment on it.

Hi emmycad, I am having issues with my tracker too! I was able to register fine but recently cannot log in and cannot even create a new account. The tracker sends me verification codes but I keep getting "Unexpected problem. please try again later". Do you get verification code emails from the tracker at all? What is your error message?

 

[emmycad]

Hi emmycad, I am having issues with my tracker too! I was able to register fine but recently cannot log in and cannot even create a new account. The tracker sends me verification codes but I keep getting "Unexpected problem. please try again later". Do you get verification code emails from the tracker at all? What is your error message?

The message i get is "incorrect UCI or Application number" for my kids even though they are all correct. That means the system is not recognizing those numbers. So i have not even been able to register them. Unfortunately, i still haven't found a way yet to solve it.

 

[summerxx]

I need to send my kid's renewed passport info to IRCC but we haven't received our AOR yet.
Without an AOR, there's no way we could contact IRCC to send additional documents, right?

Thanks in advance!

 

[abbas.pasha]

I need to send my kid's renewed passport info to IRCC but we haven't received our AOR yet.
Without an AOR, there's no way we could contact IRCC to send additional documents, right?

Thanks in advance!

At the submitting the application if the documents were valid, you do not need to send them the renewed document.
In my case one ID document i.e. Driving License was recently renewed, but I have not sent them the renewed copy.
The same for my kids OHIP card which got renewed recently, I have not send them the renewed copy.

If you still would like to send them the document, I would suggest you wait till the AoR.

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,
I have couple more questions if you don’t mind please.
I was in home country on a ‘leave of absence’ (family caregiver leave) for about 3 months in 2021 to take care of my family members and was getting employment insurance (EI) while on leave. I also got married during this time at my home country.

Under last 5 years employment history section in the citizenship application, should I report this as ‘unemployed’ or just mention that I was outside of country on leave to take care of family member and for my marriage? How should I word it?

Also should I mention anywhere on the application about EI?

Thanks in advance.

Assume you checked whether you could still qualify for EI while abroad and not only just carrying for a sick relative. A wedding is certainly out of the scope of what is normally allowed when being given leave to provide caregiving services.

 

[summerxx]

At the submitting the application if the documents were valid, you do not need to send them the renewed document.
In my case one ID document i.e. Driving License was recently renewed, but I have not sent them the renewed copy.
The same for my kids OHIP card which got renewed recently, I have not send them the renewed copy.

If you still would like to send them the document, I would suggest you wait till the AoR.

Thanks for the info.
The reason I'd like to send the renewed passport is that my kid's passport was stamped 'cancelled due to a new passport application' when we submitted the citizenship application. We received the renewed passport after the citizenship application submission.
I'm actually not sure if IRCC would accept a cancelled (not expired) passport (due to new passport still in process). I'm hoping the package won't be returned.

 

[NIKCAD]

Thanks a lot for sharing the information on this forum - it is very helpful.

I had a query on Travel Document (Q14) - please can anyone guide.
[Q14 (a): Have you held travel documents and/or passports during your five (5) year eligibility period?]

My Question: For Travel Documents - Do you upload only passports OR also upload visa’s and work permit in addition to passports. ?

 

[TT222]

Hello everyone,
I am planning to apply for the citizenship application online, however I am not able to create a login it always says "Our system is down. Try again later. " I have tried at different times and from different pc but it shows the same message.
Anyone having similar issue here? any suggestions will be really helpful.
Thanks in advance.

 

[drkobra]

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 the detailed information. Is there similar post for online applications?

 

[anwar01]

Today I have received AOR for me & my family after approximately 2 month of applying. I am looking for 2021 and 2022 application tracker. Can someone please share the link?

 

[eparker42]

Today I have received AOR for me & my family after approximately 2 month of applying. I am looking for 2021 and 2022 application tracker. Can someone please share the link?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_KE3Bu3C3gOyEm0mRVcJH9nEA2u2GOhfpUZOckOWmN0/edit#gid=1723141943
This also has link to previous years trackers

 

[NoCanDoIt]

No, moving to the US will not impact her application in anyway.
Depending on how long she will be away, she needs to:
1. Maintain her residency obligation (2 years out of the last 5 years) at all times
2. Be ready to return to Canada for her Oath ceremony (whenever that would be)

One thing though, she should fill out her application accurately so that it is not returned while she is away (if she decides to fill on paper).

Thank you @QueenPeaches . Much appreciate it.

 

[smash1984]

Thanks a lot for sharing the information on this forum - it is very helpful.

I had a query on Travel Document (Q14) - please can anyone guide.
[Q14 (a): Have you held travel documents and/or passports during your five (5) year eligibility period?]

My Question: For Travel Documents - Do you upload only passports OR also upload visa’s and work permit in addition to passports. ?

Apparently you are supposed to upload all pages of passports, blanks as well as those bearing visas and entry/exit stamps, bio page etc.

Basically your whole passport is to be uploaded.

 

[ufarooqi]

I just got translation of Passport stamps from Docbase. They sent me the scanned copy of translation over email. Should I print and attach the scanned copy with my PAPER based application? Or should I wait for original copy of translation which will come via regular mail?