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August 2020 - Citizenship application

BadGamer6

Champion Member
Aug 9, 2019
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Toronto
Does anyone knows what does background check entails does that mean I am close to end of this waiting to take the test I called cic and they said that they are currently still completing back ground checks
Not trying to discourage anything, but it is unlikely that mid-late 2020 applicants are going to hear much news. There is still a severe backlog for 2019 applicants and I assume that would be their priority at the moment. Maybe later this year that they are able to bump up their working capacity it may solve some backlogging issues.
 

rafzy

Champion Member
Jan 31, 2015
2,676
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Not trying to discourage anything, but it is unlikely that mid-late 2020 applicants are going to hear much news. There is still a severe backlog for 2019 applicants and I assume that would be their priority at the moment. Maybe later this year that they are able to bump up their working capacity it may solve some backlogging issues.
Hopefully as soon as online testing system can become permanent and not in testing phase, then IRCC should be able to send out massive test invites which will drastically reduce processing time.
 
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royce110

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Nov 25, 2015
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I think east GTA applications are all being handled at Scarborough. Mississauga is mostly for Peel and some Toronto ones.
Yes thats how it works most of the time.
But if Mississauga is overloaded they send some to Scarborough for processing and vice versa.

A colleague of mine got her citizenship few months ago mid pandemic, applied from Milton and processed at Scarborough.
 

vvarma

Hero Member
Jul 18, 2015
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Hopefully as soon as online testing system can become permanent and not in testing phase, then IRCC should be able to send out massive test invites which will drastically reduce processing time.
The big question is when?! Its more than 5 months now and the the online test program is still under Pilot basis. I am following few threads from mid to late 2019 applicants, and that's where all the activities - Tests/Ceremonies (and the frustrations) are :(.
 

safety008

Full Member
Sep 1, 2015
32
6
Hi friends,

I need your help (suggestion ^^). It is regarding the physical presence of days and police certificate.

I applied on 14th August 2020 by Canada Post. AOR on 28th November 2020. And today received an email asking me to provide the police certificate. BTW, my timeline has already been updated into the Google spreadsheet.

Here is the background.
Before I migrated to Canada as a PR, I was studying and working in Country A (Not my home country). And I am a citizen of my Home country, lets call that Country B (home country).


Here is what happened. (to make it short and sweet, I put them in chronological order)

June 2016 I did the landing. In the same month, I went back to Country A to settle everything (work, life, etc) and say goodbye to some of the families and friends.

On January 24th, 2017, I left country A, and I went back to Country B (my home country where I hold my nationality).

On April (end) 2017, I moved to Canada for good (from Country B). Since then, I have only left Canada for trips for total maximum of 20 days.

On August 18th, 2020, I applied for citizenship.


I applied for citizenship on August 18th, 2020. I believe you guys remember that in the main application form question 10 b), it is asking for the past 4 years, have I resided in a country 6-month (183days) or more in a row.


My questions as follow (Please you expert kindly correct me if I am wrong):

1. I suppose that the definition of 4 years (based on my circumstance) is from August 18th, 2016 to August 18th, 2020 (when I apply for citizenship). Is it correct?

2. If that is the case, the number of days that I was in Country A should be counting from August 18th, 2016 to January 24th, 2017, am I correct? (I calculated, it is 160days in total, which is lesser than 183days)

3. On the Physical Presence Calculator form, it is only asking for the absences from Canada but NOT the details date of entry and leaving of Country A (where I work) and Country B (my home country). It is crucial as it makes me not residing in Country A consecutively for 183 days or more. I know I made a dumb mistake that I put the date I left Canada (for Country A) as June 2016 and came back to Canada in April 2017 (which result in the number of absence days in Country A as around 300days). Due to the limitation of the form plus my inexperience, I did not specify the date I was in Country A and the date in Country B. I understand that I can just go ahead and request the police certificate from Country A, but I am a bit hesitant to do so is because 1) very troublesome process especially during the COVID-19, 2) I am not a citizen of Country A, and the process for non-citizens to get thumbprint is so much hurdle. Well, but if that is the only option, I would still go for this last measure, smh, sighhh.... So, do you think that I can call them and propose that I can provide the photos of all the pages of my passport which shows the date I enter my home country B from Country A? Or will the boarding pass help in terms of proving the date I left Country A for Country B?

Kindly seeking for all your suggestions. LOTS OF THANKS in advance!

Cheers! :)
Hey everyone,
Just in case you were aware of my previous post asking for help, here is the update. It is aiming to share with you my personal experience. Please do not reference/quote me for anything. I am not responsible for that. Cheers! :)
So after that email from IRCC asking me to provide the police certificate, I replied to them (to the email address advised by them) with the explanation with all the additional supporting documents. Then I have not heard from them since then. And today, I called the IRCC. After putting me on-hold (only) for one minute, I was told that they no longer need that police certificate. And she told me that, for my case, the officers do not reply to the email unless they (still) need the additional document after reviewing the explanation letter.
The conclusion is that I will just keep waiting, as same as all of us are doing right now:), and wish all the luck to our applications. LOL
Cheers
 

royce110

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Nov 25, 2015
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i applied over 50 days ago and still haven't received mine so I applied for another set.

Another waiting period begins.
I read somewhere that it might take up to 90 days to get the notes since each request needs to be manually processed and they are short of staff.
 

royce110

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Hey Guys ,
Anyone got their GCMS notes . What does it say about Background and Criminality checks .
When I called them the agent said Background checks are completed by RCMP and usually are pretty quick.

Criminality checks on the other hand are conducted by CSIS and their allies internationally and these checks may take time. From personal experience I know that these checks can be delayed depending on your name or the place you belong to.

These are the two main checks and after this local office just goes through the entire package and checks if they need additional info. and if all is good you get invited for the test.
 
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starzibal

Hero Member
Dec 30, 2009
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Toronto
Are they taking online oath? if so, does it matter if the applicant is in Canada or anywhere else in the world because they can still take online oath?
My question is only for people who are exempted from the test.
Any thoughts?
 

blingyrie

Hero Member
May 10, 2017
289
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Are they taking online oath? if so, does it matter if the applicant is in Canada or anywhere else in the world because they can still take online oath?
My question is only for people who are exempted from the test.
Any thoughts?
Nope ...best is to call IRCC for accurate response and share their feedback here. The number is in my signature.
 

Camelboy

Hero Member
Oct 21, 2012
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Nairobi
I called IRCC and they told me my file is in transit to the local office, Security is done but Criminarlity is still in progress. In a recent ATIP notes I received it, it says fingerprint are required and the IRCC agent is saying there is no fingerprint requirement I see and insisted that If it is required, I would have received the request when RCMP started processing the criminality, anyone got confused on the inconsistent details provided the IRCC agents. I thought that the file is transfered once all clearances are completed and I was not expecting the Security to be done before the criminality.

Is there anyone's file is intransit yet?
 
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royce110

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Nov 25, 2015
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I called IRCC and they told me my file is in transit to the local office, Security is done but Criminarlity is still in progress. In a recent ATIP notes I received it, it says fingerprint are required and the IRCC agent is saying there is no fingerprint requirement I see and insisted that If it is required, I would have received the request when RCMP started processing the criminality, anyone got confused on the inconsistent details provided the IRCC agents. I thought that the file is transfered once all clearances are completed and I was not expecting the Security to be done before the criminality.

Is there anyone's file is intransit yet?
Join the club.. the first agent I spoke with 2 months ago said all checks completed and file transferred to local office. When I called again 2 weeks ago after reading some input here by other members, I was told background checks are done and Criminality checks are in progress still, only after these two checks are completed your file gets transferred to the local office. If your notes say FP required, in all likelihood you will be asked for it maybe the correspondence is delayed as we have seen in recent times. Between a call centre agent and notes, I’d lean more towards the notes as to being more accurate.