C-6 Citizenship Applications, Frequently Asked Questions

[Rid879]

Thanks Spyfy
So i leave the second box blank?
And for the contact number for my wife I just write N/A??

 

[spyfy]

Thanks Spyfy
So i leave the second box blank?
And for the contact number for my wife I just write N/A??

What do you mean with the second box?

Yes, for contact number, write N/A

 

[Ukrainiandude]

Photocopy of personal identification.
PR card should suffice?
Searched the thread was answered before, looks like photocopy of valid passport (travel document)and pr card will be enough. Don't need to include driver license.
------
Also, should I write on every sheet of applications and photocopies UCI number and my name? Or that would be redundant.

Thanks

 

[Kamran2015]

I hope you enjoyed your trip!

You visited several countries during your trip and Germany was your first destination. So this is what you should do:

- Make a single entry in the Calculator
- From March 3 (double check that in fact you left Canada on the 3rd and not on the 2nd, think of the overnight flight!)
- To March 7
- As destination, pick "Germany"
- In the reason field you write "Vacation in Germany, used layover on the return flight to visit London, UK"

Thanks! I can always go back for the beer and the German food along other things

 

[Rid879]

For the second box to sign in the minors application
I just leave it blank right?

 

[Newb]

Hi Spyfy,

Below is from CIC wbsite:-

If you need a police certificate from a country or territory and:

• are currently living there, or received the police certificate before leaving, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
• have lived there in the past, the police certificate must be issued after you last lived in that country or territory.

My question is for Police certificate issued for "have lived there in the past" is there any validity like should be issued within six months or not?

 

[spyfy]

Hi Spyfy,

Below is from CIC wbsite:-

If you need a police certificate from a country or territory and:

• are currently living there, or received the police certificate before leaving, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
• have lived there in the past, the police certificate must be issued after you last lived in that country or territory.

My question is for Police certificate issued for "have lived there in the past" is there any validity like should be issued within six months or not?

Look at the date on the police certificate. If you haven't set foot in that country since that date, you are good. Otherwise, you need a new one.

Note, however, that other people in this forum say that to be sure one should always use a new certificate. There are two opinions here.

 

[Niko Neman]

Hi guys, can anybody help me to clarify my situation, I have a PR status since November 2013, so am i eligible to apply for citizenship, since i lived in Canada 1095 days?
But the thing is that on CIC indicated: "Only the five (5) years immediately before the date of your application are considered for calculating the physical presence requirement." Is that mean that i have to wait until November 2018 to apply for citizenship?

 

[Sohmisaly]

Hi guys, can anybody help me to clarify my situation, I have a PR status since November 2013, so am i eligible to apply for citizenship, since i lived in Canada 1095 days?
But the thing is that on CIC indicated: "Only the five (5) years immediately before the date of your application are considered for calculating the physical presence requirement." Is that mean that i have to wait until November 2018 to apply for citizenship?

you are right, it has to be within last five years. if you have more that 1095 days , exactly five years from application date you are good. Otherwise wait. For example if you plan to sign application on Oct 15, 2017, your eligibility period starts from Oct 15, 2012.
In your case you are within last five years period, you should be okay to apply, if you meet other requirements.

 

[Richard11]

hello Spyfi, i had this question before but some body told me a copy of my passport and driver licence, the reason im asking again because i change my address so i renew it my driver licence but still waiting for , so can i just send a copy of my PR or waiting for my driver licence until i get then apply for citizenship?

this is a question in red, from citizenship application which i dont have proper answer

if you had a passport in the past 5 years:

• photocopies of 1 piece of government issued identification with your name, date of birth and photograph

 

[spyfy]

hello Spyfi, i had this question before but some body told me a copy of my passport and driver licence, the reason im asking again because i change my address so i renew it my driver licence but still waiting for , so can i just send a copy of my PR or waiting for my driver licence until i get then apply for citizenship?

this is a question in red, from citizenship application which i dont have proper answer

if you had a passport in the past 5 years:

• photocopies of 1 piece of government issued identification with your name, date of birth and photograph

A PR card is a government issued identification with your name, date of birth and photograph. It should therefore be enough.

 

[Zuscheema]

hi......can i send my ICAS ASSESSED credentials as a language proof with citizenship application????

 

[sohrabshabani]

"



I did the same thing as what razerblade said,
I had two study permits (I assigned two separate lines for both the application and the calculator)
for the calculator:
1-the starting date of my first permit (2011) is my eligibility date (October 2012) but the expiry date is its actual expiration date (Oct 2014). It means (Oct. 2012- Oct.2014)
2-for the second permit (2014), I put the actual starting date (although it has conflict with the expiration date of my first permit) (from sep 2014) and the expiration date was one day before my PR date. I could not chose the PR date!
What is interesting is that the calculator allows us to enter permits even with day conflicts and calculate correct days.

For the application:
1- for the first study permit I wrote all the information same as its study permit dates (2011-Oct 2014).
2- Second study permit, the starting date (Sep 2014) same as the calculator, the expiration date is my pr date (because there is an stamp that the officer put at the time landing shows my PR date on it)

do you think what i did is right? I have not sent it yet!

Hi guys,

I am in the same situation as you. My study permit was valid from August 10, 2011 to Sept. 01,2013. Then I got my 3 years work permit which was valid from July 10, 2013 to June 10, 2016. I became PR in Sep. 02.2015. I read the instruction guide and the application form very carefully. This is what I see there:

"The eligibility period is five (5) years before the date of your application
Within the last 5 years, tell us if you held temporary resident status, or protected person’s status in Canada before you became a permanent resident."

What I get from this instruction is that the starting date of my study permit in both application form and calculator should be 2012/10/15 which is within last 5 years and not actual starting date of my study permit which is 2011/08/10.

Also my study permit and work permit validity overlap in time. I checked my work permit and under "conditions" it says prohibited from attending any educational institution and training courses during the validity of work permit. It means that regardless of expiry date of study permit on the paper which is 2013/ 09/01, it automatically expires the day you obtain your work permit. Therefore, from my understanding the expiry date of your study permit is the day you obtained your work permit

Here is what I came up with:
1- The starting date of my study permit is my eligibility date (2012/10/15) in both calculator and application form (5 years before I apply for citizenship)
2- The expiry date of study permit is the day my work permit was issued (2013/06/10) in both calculator and application form
3- The starting date of my work permit is the issued date (July 10, 2013)
4- The expiry date of work permit in physical calculator is 2015/08/31 which is one day before my PR
and in applicaton form is the PR date (2015/09/02)

Please share your thoughts. Thanks you

 

[Paro123]

Yes, I know I know, why start a new thread, there already are so many.
However, I feared that this FAQ would get lost if I posted it as a reply in one of the other threads.

I started an FAQ.

Note: I am posting the original version of the FAQ here but the Forum won't allow me to update the post after some hours (one can only edit posts in the first hours). So please check the current version of the FAQ on these two webpages:
https://canimmiwiki.000webhostapp.com/doku.php?id=citizenshipgeneral
https://canimmiwiki.000webhostapp.com/doku.php?id=policecertificates

FAQ

What should I worry about?

• Double check the document checklist. Triple check the document checklist. Make sure you forgot no required document.
• Make sure you sign both your application and the printout of the residency calculator.
• Do not leave any gaps in your history. Not even a single day. It is fine if periods overlap. You can be both a student and a part-time employee. But make sure you don't leave a gap. Put “unemployed” or “housewife/househusband” etc.

What should I not worry about too much?

• "The perfect wording". Simply be honest and clar. An example: You have to list your status in Canada before PR. Some people were on implied status for a while and they ask if they should write “implied status” or “study permit” or “study permit/implied status”. Your form will be read by a human. They can process different descriptions. Just make sure you are clear an concise. There is no “perfect wording”.
• Adding unnecessary documentation. For example, they only ask you to copy the bio page of your passport. You do not need to have your passport stamps copied and/or translated. If they want to see those stamps, they will contact you later.
• Processing Time. Questions like “I am XXX/I have done XXX, will that affect my processing time?” are not really helpful. To be honest, no one really knows. And also to be honest it wouldn't really help you if you know the answer to that question. Processing times depend on many things, most of them out of your control.
• Ambiguous Questions. If you feel it's hard to reply to question within the very strict structure of the form, simply attach an explanation (see below).

I do not want to claim pre-PR credit (either because I didn't live in Canada before PR or because I have enough days post-PR), do I still need to fill the info for the full five years?
Yes, no matter if you want to claim credit or not, you must supply all information for the full five years.

It is hard to answer a question on the form, I think it needs clarification, what should I do?
By the nature of forms, it might happen that a particular question is hard to answer for you since it is ambiguous because of your special situation. If there are such questions, do the following:

• Answer the question on the form as well as you can
• Add an additional page to your application (printed is better than handwritten)
• On top of the page write “Application for Citizenship on YYYY-MM-DD by Bob Chen, date of birth YYYY-MM-DD, Additional information”
• Then for each question/answer you want to explain, first write the question you refer to, then write the explanation.
• Generally: Write as much as necessary but not more. Don't write a whole page of explanation for a single question. Be concise and to the point.

Do I have to send the application on the same day as I sign it?
You can of course but you don't have to. These are the rules:

• Obviously you can't sign a future date.
• Most importantly: Do not sign with the date you expect the application to arrive at the office. That is a date in the future and might mean your application will be returned.
• On the other hand, after you dated and signed the application, you have 90 days until the application has to be at the office. Note: It has to reach the office on the 90th day. It is not enough to send it off on the 90th day.

Question by Question

Question 9c is confusing me. I lived outside of Canada but I wasn't a Crown Servant. Why should I fill that weird form?
Full disclosure: IRCC made a mistake with the form here and it will hopefully corrected soon. Here is my personal recommendation (note: I am not a lawyer) on how to deal with it.

• If you did not live outside of Canada in the eligibility period (five years), tick “No” and you are good.
• If you lived outside of Canada in the eligibility period and you actually were a crown servant of Canada (unlikely), tick “Yes” and fill that extra form.
• Those of you who lived outside of Canada in the eligibility period but were not crown servants, tick “Yes” or “No” but - and this is the important part - add an explanation page to your application saying something like this (use your own words, don't just copy this): “Question 9c: This question is a bit unclear so I want to clarify the situation: Yes, I lived outside Canada during the eligibility period, but No, I do not want to claim residency credit for that time outside of Canada. That rare situation does not apply to me. This is why I did not fill the additional form since there is no residency outside Canada to claim.”

I went on vacation for some days. Do I need to mention the address of the hotel in section 10(a) and 11?
No, section 10(a) is only about your residential addresses and section 11 is only about your major activities (work, study, unemployment, …). It is not the length of stay that matters but if you were residing there or not. Example: If you went to London for four weeks for an internship, you were residing there. You need to mention that period in question 10(a) and 11. If you went to London for four weeks on an extended vacation and went sightseeing/traveling, you were not residing there. Your residential address was still the one where you actually live. There is no clear cut rule what is residential and what isn't. Use your own judgement and intuition.
Note: Of course you need to list every single vacation abroad in the physical presence calculator. Just because you don't need to list it in Question 10(a) and 11 that doesn't mean it doesn't matter for physical presence.

Question 11: What is with the contact name for employment & education history?
Think of it like this: List a person that, if contacted, could - with authority - say, "Yes, that person worked/studied here." For school, add the name of your college registrar. For work, the name of your supervisor is better than the name of your colleague.

Question 12(a): I am sending my application in 2017, do I have to list 2017 as a tax year in the application?
No, because obviously no one could file a tax return for 2017 yet. Only list 2016, 2015, 2014, …

Question 14(a): Is a visa travel document?
No. Passports a refugee travel documents are travel documents. A Visa is something that is just added to your passport. Think of it like this: The MAJOR document you show at the border is a travel document. Yes you also might show your visa at the border. But still, the most important document you show is the passport. But, for example, in Europe people can use a so called identity card to cross the border. That is also a travel document. It can be used to cross borders. Another example is a NEXUS card or an enhanced drivers licence. But unless you are an American or Canadian citizen it is very unlikely that you have an enhanced drivers licence.

Police Certificate

In what case do I need a police certificate?
If you spent more than 183 days in a single foreign country in the last four years before applying.
If, for example, you spent 100 days in France and 90 days in China, you don't need to provide police certificates for either country.

What if I have been to a country for more than 183 days but not in a single visit?
You still need to provide a police certificate. If for example you went to France five times and each time you spend 40 days there, you spent a total of 200 days in France and need a police certificate.

I only visited the country, I didn't really live there. Do I still need a certificate?
No matter if you were there to eat croissants or to work, if you spent a total of more than 183 days in France, you need a police certificate.

How does the four-year threshold work? Do they count calendar years?
No, count exactly four years, not calendar years. If, for example, you apply on October 20, 2017, count the days since October 20, 2013.

I landed as a PR on XX, do I still need a police certificate for the time before
Your landing date is completely irrelevant for the police certificate threshold. You always go exactly four years back and count the days abroad.

How do I get a police certificate for country X?
Follow the link above, there is a complete list.

Has the four-year threshold changed with Bill C-6?
No, it remains the same. The four year rule for police certificates is independent of the years that are considered for the residency requirement.

Hey if i send a whole families application and one has an error do they all get sent back or just the one with the error

 

[Niko Neman]

In your case you are within last five years period, you should be okay to apply, if you meet other requirements.

Thanks for your reply. But the fact is that my 5 years period suppose to be started on November 2012, but i have arrived in Canada in 2013, so i can't apply now right?
Regarding other requirements i meet them all.