Apply Citizenship now or wait

[eileenf]

1. Makes sense.
2. Everything will probably go smoothly until the test/interview when the CIC officer will review your passport. This is the possible bump in the road, the thing you should be prepared for. It would be good to have proof on hand of your residence in Canada (extra work records, and leases or mortgage records) as well as proof that you left Kuwait on XX date and did not return.

The officer will weigh the possibility that the Canadian work and residential records are fraudulent or incomplete and that you were still working in Kuwait against the strength of the Canadian residential records and their sense of your integrity and credibility. Or they may just issue an RQ if it looks there's any possibility that you could have still been in Kuwait.

It would be stronger documentation if you could contact the Kuwait Ministry in charge of issuing work visas and have an official document saying that your visa was annulled on XX date because you left Kuwait for good six months prior.

Try to imagine if you were scamming the system and secretly not in Canada. Ask yourself how that would work and what the scammer would say to the CIC and what evidence the scammer would present. Now compare that to what you will say to CIC and the evidence you will present. What evidence will distinguish you from the scammer? If you can have official documents on hand during the interview showing your a) presence in Canada and b) absence from Kuwait, that would be best. Currently, you have a, but b is a little harder with the uncancelled visa. That's why I suggest some official document from Kuwait showing they annulled you visa on whatever date due to your leaving the country.

You can find a copy of the RQ at the link in my signature.

You will have to weigh for yourself how to proceed. My advice is in the previous post, but you know your case better than I do. If in doubt contact a settlement worker or a lawyer who can review your case thoroughly and advise professionally. We're not professionals here, just some internet strangers with a bit of hard won advice!

 

[Donvalley]

As eileenf said:

a) ....You may get an RQ, but this is not the end of the world...

b) ...Oh my God! That is really a lot of RQs /Ridiculous Questions!!!

You can find a copy of the RQ at the link in my signature.
http://residencequestionnaire.wordpress.com/about-2/rq-faq/rq-demands/

Documents Demanded by RQ...
Report the exact dates of every absence from Canada, including day trips to the US from their arrival date in Canada to the present.
Documentation to verify these absences.
Colour photocopies and official translations of all pages of all current and expired passports.
Colour photocopies and official translations of all current and expired visas.
Official Records of Movement from any countries where one holds a passport.
Rental agreements with proof of rental payment...
.
.
.
.
.
.

 

[SinghLovCan]

As for work records.. I have worked with real people here, who know me face to face, showed up daily to work M-F 8-5. I don't understand how they can say that I wants here just based on non-cancelled work permit.

On my passport I have EXIT stamp from Kuwait and then I have ENTRY STAMP to India and then I have EXIT STAMP from India and then final Entry STAMP into CANADA. I have no other stamp in my passport after that. Isn't this a good enough SOLID evidence.

I applaud the CIC for taking rigorous steps on fraudulent applicants, these people shouldn't have been granted PR, if they never intended to reside in Canada, but this has made hard for genuine applicants who want to make Canada their home and are not interested in tax free income in the middle east over the slavery.

 

[SinghLovCan]

I think I should try and request Entry/Exit stamp from Kuwait. Does anyone know how to do that?

//just checked, cant find that option on any website//

 

[informatics]

First of all I would like to thank you and Donvalley, for guiding me through this process. To answer your questions :
1)I got the US visa prior to becoming a PR, it is a 10 year tourist visa, which I got it several years before I even applied for PR.
2)My Kuwait visa, it says on the visa on the passport "Exceeding 6 months out of the country shall nullify the residence permit".
3)I got employed in Canada within one month of landing. Actually I have ROEs, T4s, NOAs, Contract, pay stubs were issued online, so would have to request them. But it is possible.

Let me know what will be the best way for me to proceed. What do they ask in RQ? is there an RQ form available online?

To add a littel more to eileenf's point here , even if you apply after one year (hopefully at that time the 4/6 rule will be in place ) you will have to include or will be judged on the basis of the records for the last 6 years not 4 , most probably .This notion gets support from the fact that currently the residency requirements is 3 out of 4 years however one needs to submit records for all 4 years .

My advice would be to apply soon with a couple of weeks buffer and focus more on proving your conclusive presence in Canada rather than your absence from Kuwait . Its easy to prove a positive than to nullify a negative.

All the best!

 

[informatics]

I think I should try and request Entry/Exit stamp from Kuwait. Does anyone know how to do that?

//just checked, cant find that option on any website//

If you have arabic exit/entry stamps on your passport better get them translated .Besides , try to get your CBSA report as well.

 

[SinghLovCan]

Thanks informatics,
No, the stamps are in English. Yes it is really hard to prove absence from Kuwait, the only SOLID proof I will have is the absence of ENTRY stamp after landing.

I can prove presence in Canada. I have been saving all my utility bills, employment letters, T4s , ROEs, plus I have been working with well known reputed companies in Canada. I havent bought a home yet, but my apartment caretaker knows I am here. I know the locality of city , street names, places.

 

[SinghLovCan]

I also have a child born in Canada , few months after landing and another is on the way. Does that help?

 

[SinghLovCan]

2. Everything will probably go smoothly until the test/interview when the CIC officer will review your passport. This is the possible bump in the road, the thing you should be prepared for. It would be good to have proof on hand of your residence in Canada (extra work records, and leases or mortgage records) as well as proof that you left Kuwait on XX date and did not return.

Is interview and passport review a normal process during the test date?

 

[eileenf]

Is interview and passport review a normal process during the test date?

Yes, it's normal. They talk to everyone individually, check their passports and ask questions.
Infomatics is right to suggest focussing more on your presence here, rather than your absence from Kuwait. It sounds like you have good proof of presence, and children born or soon to be born here (congratulations!) reinforce the fact that this is where you and your family are building your life.

I imagine that Kuwait would always (or almost always) stamp the passports of foreign workers when they enter the country, so the fact that you don't have any stamps from Kuwait reinforces that you weren't in Kuwait.

So, the uncancelled work permit might be a small red flag to CIC, but none of your other info backs up the red flag or raises other red flags. Your info and documentation seems straightforward and consistent with someone who has lived in Canada and is building their life here. And that's what you want. Straightforward, consistent, honest, concise. The CIC doesn't expect you to be a perfect person or a perfect immigrant or a perfect worker, but they just want to feel confident that you've met the qualifications for citizenship. And it sounds like you have (or will soon).

There are no guarantees, but things should go smoothly for you. If you do get delayed or get an RQ, you've got enough other documents that you should feel confident that it will be resolved without too much trouble. Good luck!

 

[SinghLovCan]

Thanks for your response, but giving some an RQ just because they have a valid middle east visa seems a bit absurd to me. This is because anyone from any country, has a passport of the origin country and could have gone back and worked in their own countries. Someone with a British passport could have gone back and started working in Britain for example. So should they cancel their passports to show that they didnt go back to the country they came from?

 

[eileenf]

Thanks for your response, but giving some an RQ just because they have a valid middle east visa seems a bit absurd to me. This is because anyone from any country, has a passport of the origin country and could have gone back and worked in their own countries. Someone with a British passport could have gone back and started working in Britain for example. So should they cancel their passports to show that they didnt go back to the country they came from?

I agree with your point, though a work permit shows that in addition to the right to work somewhere, there was an intention, an effort made, a job offer, etc (at one point), so it's not an exact parallel to the passport.

There have been some well-documented citizenship fraud schemes involving people who were working in ME when they said they were living here, so there seems to be particular sensitivity to this issue with CIC. There were even some services that charged thousands of dollars to create a fake paper trail of life in Canada for applicants.

You very well might sail through the citizenship process. Even if things do get slowed down for you, it really seems that your evidence is good and the truth is on your side.

Regarding the CIC and absurdity, your mental health will be better if you expect at least a little absurdity when dealing with CIC!

Good luck.

 

[SinghLovCan]

I already have a 2.5 year old daughter born in Canada, she was born in a few months after my landing. Another child will be born next year and my Kuwait visa expired on Sept 2012 and my wife's dependent visa expired on July 2012, counting 3 years as per the current rule from that date or 4 years as per the 4/6 rule. Do you think it will make my case stronger? I just don't want to get an RQ and end up in an endless cycle of waiting like others have. Need best advise.

 

[eileenf]

None of us here can predict the future. If you want to feel more confident I encourage you to contact a settlement worker or a lawyer to get their professional advice.

CIC does not explain why it issues RQs, so no one on here can tell you with 100% accuracy. We are left to make our best guesses.

My guess is that you will probably be fine applying sooner rather than waiting until Sept. 2015 or Sept. 2016. You might get an RQ or you might not. If you do get one, it doesn't mean you will wait forever for citizenship. You have positive proof of your life here so my guess is that the CIC won't have to go through too many rounds of file study to let your application go forward. That said, I reiterate that I don't work for CIC, I'm not a lawyer or an immigration professional. I'm not a fortune teller. While processing timelines appear to be shortening, no one can predict what will happen in the future, especially when speaking about an individual timeline. There are too many variables (Local office, budget cycles, the impact of the new 4/6 rule on application volume, staffing levels of the local office, freak mistakes, the political goals of the CIC leadership, tests of new procedures, individual application details, etc.)

If you want the best advice though, you will have to pay for it by going to a good lawyer. Personally I don't think you need to do that, but if you have a lot of worry and some extra money, you should consider it.

RQs suck. But they are not the end of the world and they are not endless. They don't mean you're a bad person or a bad immigrant or less worthy of citizenship.

As for whether it helps that your children are born here. It's good, but there's no 100% foolproof piece of info or evidence to avoid RQ or problems. We just have to make the best decisions we can and do our best. Good luck.

 

[SinghLovCan]

Thanks, in the case of my wife who was a home maker the first 1.5 year, what solid proof could establish her residency. Thanks.