Emphatically agree that when to apply is a personal decision. Even for applicants who have reached the 1095 days APP threshold, waiting can be the better thing to do. I did, more than an additional year. And I think it made the difference, one of the things that made the difference anyway (part of that was pure luck: changes at CIC in the meantime).
But, as the date when the residency requirements in Bill C-24 take effect approaches, the decision about when to apply will get more and more difficult.
Even for applicants who meet the 1095 days APP threshold, but who recognize that having a margin over and above the minimum is a good idea, once we get into 2015 it will difficult to decide how much longer to wait.
Note, for example, the applicant who reaches the 1095 days APP threshold in April and there has been no formal or reliable notice of when the remaining provisions in Bill C-24 will come into force. Wait until into May so as to have a few weeks or so of a margin over the minimum? At the risk the Governor in Council will order, with no advance notice or warning, the remaining provisions of Bill C-24 to take effect on May 1st?
Similarly for any PR reaching the minimum 1095 days APP any time in 2015. Waiting to apply will risk the new law taking effect with another full year of waiting hanging in the balance.
Unless and until there is formal notice of when the law takes effect, thousands and thousands of PRs will be sitting anxiously on the edge of their seats.
Regarding whether there is an urgency to apply with a shortfall:
If one waits, the additional wait could be very long.
There is a huge impact on any PR who landed in late 2012 or in 2013 after living in Canada on a temporary basis (temporary worker or student permit for example) for two years or more, and who is thus (under the current law) entitled to credit toward residency based on time in Canada prior to landing. If the new provisions take effect before this individual reaches the 1095 days of APP threshold, under the new law it could be a full two more years before he becomes eligible for citizenship. Two years is a long wait.
In the meantime, there are thousands and thousands of PRs currently eligible for citizenship who risk being denied if they apply before reaching the 1095 days APP (actual physical presence) threshold, but who on the other hand risk having to wait well over an additional year if they do not apply before the residency provisions in Bill C-24 take effect. (Reminder: anyone who has been a PR for three years or more is currently eligible for citizenship, subject to a Citizenship Judge deciding whether they met the residency qualification, which can still be be an approval based on the applicant's life being centralized in Canada even if there is a shortfall, that is even if APP is less than 1095 days).
If, for example, the new provisions take effect July 1, 2015:
For many thousands of these applicants, applicants already eligible for citizenship, at some point in 2015 they will reach the 1095 days APP threshold. If the new provisions take effect July 1, 2015, for example, those that reach that threshold by June 29th, sign their applications at least a day later than the date they reach the 1095 day APP threshold, and get their application submitted to CIC by June 30th, will be qualified. (Practically impossible for the PR who just meets the threshold on June 29, unless that PR can sign the application and deliver to CIC the same day, June 30.)
If, however, they do not meet the 1095 day threshold until June 30th or later, and wait to apply because they did not have 1095 days APP, they will not even be eligible to apply until after more than a year of additional waiting.
And again, for those who would count time on a temporary work or student permit prior to landing, the wait will be much much longer, since as of the date the new provisions take effect that time will no longer count at all. These applicants will have to wait a full year plus however much time they could have counted under the half-day calculation rule in the current law (thus up to two years, plus any absences in the meantime).
The dilemma:
Relative to almost any date in 2015 being the date the new provisions come into force, any PR who can submit an application by the day before that date, with just a little less than 1095 days APP, will of course be tempted to apply with a shortfall case. Otherwise it will not be a matter of waiting weeks or a month or so, it will be a matter of waiting another full year plus.
The number of PRs in this situation undoubtedly number in the many thousands.
Many of them might be anticipating an extended absence in the coming year (a three month internship abroad perhaps; a seriously ill parent; a particular university program abroad for six months; a short time but lucratice job assignment), in which event they are looking at a year plus those three or six months before they could apply. Or they could apply a few days before the new law takes effect, but have a shortfall case.
Some of these may be looking forward to a situation in which a Canadian passport can make a big difference in their job, PRs for whom waiting longer translates into losing thousands of dollars of income.
The problem is tyring to figure out what the odds are. Again, for some, for many, probably most, the odds are not good enough to even try. But for some there are fair odds, maybe even good odds. There is no one rule fits all.
I suppose it is possible that CIC becomes draconian in applying the strict presence test for applications made prior to the new law taking effect. That as some think, a shortfall application will be denied, period. But a couple recent Federal Court decisions suggest the contrary. And at the very least the current law specifically provides for exceptions.
Any day now we could see a Federal Court decision directly addressing whether the physical presence test implemented in Bill C-24 indicates how the current residency test should be interpreted, but even if we see such a case that decision will not be binding in any other case.
But, for example, I would be very inclined to apply with a shortfall next year, just before the new law takes effect, if:
- - I was a PR who has been a PR for more than four years
- - but who will not reach the 1095 days APP threshold until after the new law takes effect (and thus cannot apply without having a shortfall before the new law takes effect)
- - and my extended absences were temporary and for compelling reasons
- - and I otherwise had strong proof of my residence, presence, and having centralized my life in Canada
This would be particularly so if I was also planning to spend a semester attending a special program in a University abroad in late 2015 or the first part of 2016, and rather than wait until late 2016 at the soonest I would probably apply in early 2015 just before the deadline to have the current law apply.
Thus, overall, for the majority, the better option probably will be to wait, even though that wait will be for another full year plus. But there are thousands of PRs for whom the shortfall application will likely be worth the effort. The trick is to know one way or the other.
All that said, a confession: I waited to apply well over a year after I had passed the 1095 days APP threshold even. But that decision was based on personal circumstances.
