APPLYING FOR CITIZENSHIP & EXTENSION OF PERMANENT RESIDENCY

[bharat999]

Hi,

My daughter studied in University in Alberta and got her Bachelors. However, she now needs to go abroad to persue four year graduated level medicine course. She completed her criteria for citizenship and lodged the paperwork today; but she needs to travel by end of August. According to the online information provided it takes five months processing time - which will go beyond the time limit she is in Canada.

Under the circumstances is it wise to apply for extension of PR card (expiring mid October) simultaneously - in the event she has to leave before getting the citizenship as otherwise there will be no valid document for her re-entry.

Kindly advice.

Thank you.

 

[mqadri]

As per existing timeline I hope you will get if not oath at least test/interview prior to October. Later you have to comeback for oath and it will be a problem if it happen after mid oct. There could be two options

1. Apply for PR renewal, no harm. normal processing time 59 days and you can request for urgent processing too.
2. Apply for US visit visa if you don't have one. In case PR expire, fly to US and enter Canada in your private Vehicle

 

[RAY2112]

In addition I think its better to inform CIC about your daughter travel plans, there is no harm to explain the situation they might speed your citizenship process.
Write an explanation letter with University Admission letter, tickets, etc..

As per existing timeline I hope you will get if not oath at least test/interview prior to October. Later you have to comeback for oath and it will be a problem if it happen after mid oct. There could be two options

1. Apply for PR renewal, no harm. normal processing time 59 days and you can request for urgent processing too.
2. Apply for US visit visa if you don't have one. In case PR expire, fly to US and enter Canada in your private Vehicle

 

[imran01]

As per existing timeline I hope you will get if not oath at least test/interview prior to October. Later you have to comeback for oath and it will be a problem if it happen after mid oct. There could be two options

1. Apply for PR renewal, no harm. normal processing time 59 days and you can request for urgent processing too.
2. Apply for US visit visa if you don't have one. In case PR expire, fly to US and enter Canada in your private Vehicle

regarding 2. if you have expired PR. Can you enter from US in Private Vehicle ?

 

[canvis2006]

regarding 2. if you have expired PR. Can you enter from US in Private Vehicle ?

Yes, provided you have anything to confirm/prove your PR status, such as COPR, or old passport with immigration entry stamp, old pr card or a copy of it, etc. CBSA will verify in their system before allowing to enter.

 

[canvis2006]

Hi,

My daughter studied in University in Alberta and got her Bachelors. However, she now needs to go abroad to persue four year graduated level medicine course. She completed her criteria for citizenship and lodged the paperwork today; but she needs to travel by end of August. According to the online information provided it takes five months processing time - which will go beyond the time limit she is in Canada.

Under the circumstances is it wise to apply for extension of PR card (expiring mid October) simultaneously - in the event she has to leave before getting the citizenship as otherwise there will be no valid document for her re-entry.

Kindly advice.

Thank you.

Yeah apply for PR Card renewal. She should be ready to fly back at short notice (in case of citizenship test,oath etc).
At this moment i would advise against letting CIC know about her long-term study plan outside of Canada. Because it might conflict with the "intention" to continue to reside in Canada. Check the forms she signed. Let the application proceed.

Even for PR Card renewal if she is asked to pickup her new card at local CIC location then she may have to return to Canada for that too.
If they mail it to the address then it should not be a problem. Then you guys can make arrangement to have it given to her by any reliable method etc

For travel to USA, she would need to have US Visa. Apply if deemed necessary and if eligible.

 

[cprak0]

She could always drive to cross the border and then fly if necessary. Less of a hassle to just have the citizenship processing instead of both PR card renewal and citizenship...

 

[bharat999]

Hi,

Thank you all for the suggestions... I will definitely go ahead and apply for PR extension and in the event citizenship comes through later, she can fly back to do the needful as a last resort - though not sure if this could be allowed during her study time

 

[dpenabill]

Hi,

Thank you all for the suggestions... I will definitely go ahead and apply for PR extension and in the event citizenship comes through later, she can fly back to do the needful as a last resort - though not sure if this could be allowed during her study time

Caution: if for whatever reason she does not become a citizen, she will be at risk of losing PR status if she stays abroad most of the four years she is studying abroad.

If she is residing abroad before scheduled for the oath, there is some risk of problems in this regard.

If she cannot practically return to Canada for the purpose of test and interview, and for the oath as well, that could result in the application being deemed abandoned. This would mean she would remain a PR. As a PR she will be required to comply with the PR Residency Obligation.

We have been seeing very fast timelines, so it is entirely feasible she can get it all done and become a citizen before going abroad for her studies. Nonetheless, it would have been prudent to have planned things to give her more time to become a citizen (especially given the length of time for the planned course abroad, and the risk of losing PR status), but plans probably cannot be revised now.

In the meantime, she needs to still be in Canada when she makes an application to renew the PR card.