I did not suggest that 6 months was normal.
I am not sure what you mean by "normal" (particularly since IRCC timelines vary so widely), so I cannot relate my observations to what is "normal" in the context of citizenship application processing.
What I said was:
"There is NO hint, none at all, based on the timeline, an application is stalled or delayed, UNLESS . . .
. . . The applicant has not been scheduled for the Oath within 12 to 14 months after date application delivered to CPC-Sydney or within six to eight months of the PI interview date and test passed"
And that is what I meant: NO reason to be anxious something is awry EVEN if six months has passed since the test and PI Interview.
I have no reason to quarrel with the IRCC information which states, as you observe, "In most cases, the ceremony takes place within three months after you pass the test."
"Most cases" means at least one more than half. That allows for many, many others to be scheduled for the ceremony more than three months after the test . . . and indeed there are scores of anecdotal reports IRCC has taken upwards of six or eight months, after the test and interview, to actually schedule applicants for the oath ceremony . . . WITH NO indication that anything is awry.
That is, there is a difference between how long it goes for those processed faster, how long it goes for half plus some, and how long it goes for many others. Many entirely routine cases ("routine cases" meaning those for which there are no additional actions, no FPs, no requests for additional information, and so on) can and do fall into the group taking longer. The mere fact it is taking longer does NOT mean something is wrong or that there is anything the applicant needs to do, or even can do, to make it go any faster.
Perhaps it will help to observe that in reference to when an application has IP status, I proffered there is no reason to think something is wrong UNLESS it has taken more than five to seven months AFTER AOR for the application to get IP status. However, the majority ("most") applicants appear to be reporting IP in well less than that time. Others in the forum sometimes use terms like "average" or, as you have, "normal," and perhaps for the timeline AOR to IP many might think the average or normal timeline is two to three months (perhaps less). NOT five to seven. BUT I am not suggesting an "average" or "normal" timeline. I am highlighting that even if it is five to seven months, NO NEED to WORRY, the time gone by is no sign anything is wrong (with some exceptions, mostly for those who know of a reason to apprehend something is wrong without considering how long it is taking).
Some cases take longer. There is NO reason to worry when that happens. (Unless, as I proposed, it has gone longer than the ballpark ranges I proffered.)
And it is not fair to make applicants afraid, anxious, if their application is taking longer . . . whether that is longer than the faster timelines being reported in the spread sheets or longer than it takes in "most cases" even.
To be clear, the range of timelines I posed are merely BALLPARK ranges. There is no exact science. There are no definitive timelines. There are merely the possible and likely ranges we can glean from multiple sources, recognizing the timelines tend to be in flux, variable among applicants, and varying at different times.
And, as I have noted there are caveats.
A big caveat is that indeed some applicants have reason to worry, BUT almost all such applicants already know it and know the reason. How long things are taking does not offer these applicants much if any insight into what impact their reason to worry will have.
The vast majority do not have a reason to worry. The vast majority do not need to worry even if it has been six or more months since they passed the test and still have not taken the oath.
I recognize that many want more definitive information about what will happen when, especially about WHEN. That is not how it goes for the majority of citizenship applicants. Many are pleasantly surprised at how quickly their application proceeds to the test and the oath. (My own ceremony took place within two days.) Others have to wait longer. And more than a few will have to wait quite a lot longer.
Unless the wait goes way, way long . . . 12 to 14 months after the application was submitted, or six to eight months after the test, the amount of time gone by is NO REASON to WORRY. Waiting and watching for notice remains the play of the day.
