Hi everyone,
I am applying for a 5(4) grant of citizenship as part of the interim measures for the first generation limit to citizenship by descent. I currently reside in the U.S., and I have no status in Canada.
Does anyone know:
1. Can I give my biometrics at my local, U.S. police precinct, that is not RCMP accredited?
2. Must I give my biometrics at a Canadian Visa Application Office (which only appear to be in NYC or LA) if I wish to provide my biometrics from within the U.S.? I saw online that Canadian consulate generally do not handle most citizenship-based services for non-citizens.
3. Can I utilize any RCMP accredited biometric agency from within Canada, if I choose to travel there?
I'm trying to troubleshoot what would be easiest. I currently live in Central New York (Syracuse area), and I have a summer place and friends/family near Kingston, ON. But I also frequently travel down to NYC to see friends/family. I'm guessing it's would be easiest to get this done in Canada, and avoid any visa offices (!) which I assume have a ton of bureaucratic delays and long wait times. So I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense for my situation.
Thanks everyone for your assistance!
The applicable PDI is here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/apply/submit-fingerprints.html#fingerprints-cit-locations
According to this PDI a citizenship applicant must have their fingerprints (FPs) "
taken electronically in Canada" and this must be through:
- a local police service
- the RCMP
- a RCMP accredited FP company
An answer to a FAQ similarly says:
If you need to submit fingerprints for a citizenship application, they must be collected inside Canada.
That FAQ is here:
https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=857&top=4
I am not sure if there are any exceptions or ways to work around this. There are scores and scores of discussions in this forum about FPs for citizenship applicants and if you do some research here you may find more definitive answers about this. (FPs for many other applications to IRCC can be obtained outside Canada, including many visa offices; but apparently NOT for citizenship applicants.)
If you are located in Central New York, it should be easy to travel to Canada and get this done at a RCMP office.
The drive from Syracuse, New York to a RCMP office in Ontario that will collect FPs should be an easy day trip. Last I knew, as long as you qualify to be a visitor in Canada and can travel here, the RCMP will do this (noting however that it has been awhile since I saw this confirmed, and my personal experience of being a visitor and getting FPs from a RCMP office in Ontario, for an immigration application, was around 15 years ago). I believe it is necessary to make an appointment. I assume Kingston will have a RCMP office that will do this. Niagara Falls or, if necessary, Toronto, are not a bad drive from the Syracuse area (been there, done that, although I was too young to do the driving, going back to when Louis St. Laurent was the Prime Minister of Canada). Even Ottawa and Montreal are an easy day trip from Syracuse.
Additional Observation Re Section 5(4) Citizenship Applications Based on Special and Unusual Hardship:
If you are being assisted by a Canadian lawyer in your employ, a reputable lawyer with immigration and citizenship experience, your lawyer is a better and more reliable source than this forum. So follow your lawyer's counsel.
However, if you have a competent Canadian lawyer assisting you, the lawyer should have given you clear direction about obtaining FPs for the application.
So, if you are not being assisted by a Canadian lawyer --
Odds are generally not good for a section 5(4) citizenship application based on "
special and unusual hardship" even though IRCC information, and other sources (almost all relying on IRCC information), say that those excluded from citizenship by operation of the First Generation Limit (FGL) rule may apply to become a Canadian citizen pursuant to this provision in the Citizenship Act. Note, it is clear that for now
the FGL rule still applies despite the Ontario court ruling it is unconstitutional as applied to some of those affected.
The deadline for changing the law to resolve the constitutional issue has been extended to March 19, 2025. Hard (very, very hard) to see Parliament getting
Bill C-71 adopted by that date (even if Trudeau can survive the current push for him to resign and the push for a no-confidence vote).
Since the odds are high, absent some extraordinarily compelling urgency, that such applications will not lead to a discretionary grant of citizenship, and making the "
special and unusual hardship" case is at the very least complicated, difficult, and and in many respects tricky, the assistance of a qualified, experienced, and reputable Canadian immigration/citizenship lawyer is at the very least a good idea . . . and perhaps practically necessary (technically a lawyer is not necessary, but given the complexity of making a case relying on special and unusual hardship, in practical terms it would be very difficult to successfully do this without a lawyer's assistance).
It is difficult to predict when the law will be changed, or when the court will decline to further extend suspending the ruling and the FGL rules can no longer be applicable, such that the Minister must proceed to process applications for certificates of citizenship for those affected by the FGL rule. Nonetheless, for the vast majority of those affected by the FGL, waiting for the change in law is probably the prudent approach, waiting until when by operation of law they are citizens.
Also see IRCC information here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/proof-citizenship/application-first-generation.html
Meanwhile . . . If you know of any actual cases, beyond those specifically involved in the litigation resulting in the Ontario court ruling, in which the Minister has exercised the discretion allowed under Section 5(4) in these scenarios (individuals born to a Canadian citizen but excluded from Canadian citizenship pursuant to the FGL rules), please share with links to sources.
