Citizenship Ceremony

[Brogan]

Hi,
I'm returning to Europe for a year due to a work opportunity and family reasons.
Is it possible to attend the zoom online oath ceremony when outside of Canada?
I passed the test and it's unlikely I will receive the oath date prior to leaving.
I want to avoid needing to travel back to Canada for the ceremony due to quarantine on both sides etc.
Thanks

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi,
I'm returning to Europe for a year due to a work opportunity and family reasons.
Is it possible to attend the zoom online oath ceremony when outside of Canada?
I passed the test and it's unlikely I will receive the oath date prior to leaving.
I want to avoid needing to travel back to Canada for the ceremony due to quarantine on both sides etc.
Thanks

1. No, you have to be in Canada for the ceremony.

 

[Brogan]

Thanks - is it possible to request an earlier date especially since ceremony is online currently?

 

[bellaluna]

Thanks - is it possible to request an earlier date especially since ceremony is online currently?

There is a reason for the long delay: online oath slots and resources are limited (I imagine online oaths take much more time for background work vs. in-person oaths) and the backlog is huge. Offices are working on weekends. Many others are still waiting for their own oath dates.

You can try to ask—someone here was successful because of medical reasons, but they had a very serious and solid case with tons of documentation that they could not be reasonably treated in Canada. Someone also tried to request an earlier interview date “just because” but was rejected. Look up the Scarborough interview/oath thread for these 2 cases.

Not sure what a citizenship’s officer’s stance will be to someone wanting to expedite citizenship to essentially settle out of Canada. Harder sell vs. the above medical case, or applying for a federal job. I don’t think there’s harm in trying.

Another alternative if your depature for Europe is non-negotiable will be to delay the oath until your return, I assume you will have safely kept your PR status if you have enough residency.

 

[Brogan]

Thanks for feedback - very helpful and appreciated.
It seems the ceremony delay is much longer than I expected. I only passed the citizenship test in the last week and I was hoping I may receive a ceremony date within in the next 3 months before leaving for Europe - if not I would actually rather its later in the year as I would rather not return for an oath date that is only shortly after arriving in Europe given the restrictive quarantine.
PR is valid until May 2023 which is surely a long enough window so I suppose I will just be patient and wait for the oath date - if it's later than expected Covid restrictions may have eased.
Do you know when approximately I can expect an oath date based on passing the citizenship test last week?

 

[Idda11]

Hello, I am in the same shoes - flying from Europe to Canada for a Citizenship test soon. Anyone could share how long did it take to the Ceremony? recently? And when it's been scheduled prior?

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Hello, I am in the same shoes - flying from Europe to Canada for a Citizenship test soon. Anyone could share how long did it take to the Ceremony? recently? And when it's been scheduled prior?

It could take something like 3 - 5 months or more after the test to be scheduled for a ceremony. Currently, there are backlogs for oath. Some people might receive an interview after oath.

Having said that, you might be able to request IRCC to let you take the test outside Canada. Several people have done that successfully and have taken the test outside the country.

Send an email to the email ID specified in your test invite letter (under rescheduling section) and tell them you are outside the country and politely ask them if you could take the test outside. If they say "No", you can fly to Canada and take the test. If they agree to that, you don't have to spend time, money and effort of coming here just to take the test.

 

[Brogan]

Is it also possible to request attending the oath ceremony online to avoid traveling?
I haven't received a date yet but just checking.
Thanks

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Is it also possible to request attending the oath ceremony online to avoid traveling?
I haven't received a date yet but just checking.
Thanks

Oath ceremony is online but you'll still have to be physically present in Canada if you want to attend it.

 

[Brogan]

Thanks - will need to fly back to attend then and incur the cost etc

 

[Idda11]

It could take something like 3 - 5 months or more after the test to be scheduled for a ceremony. Currently, there are backlogs for oath. Some people might receive an interview after oath.

Having said that, you might be able to request IRCC to let you take the test outside Canada. Several people have done that successfully and have taken the test outside the country.

Send an email to the email ID specified in your test invite letter (under rescheduling section) and tell them you are outside the country and politely ask them if you could take the test outside. If they say "No", you can fly to Canada and take the test. If they agree to that, you don't have to spend time, money and effort of coming here just to take the test.

Thank you so much for your reply!!! I did and got permission!)) I also made more research on this forum before asking and someone said they emailed back to the same email they received the Citizenship Test Invitation, so I did the same! Many thanks for this advice!!

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Thank you so much for your reply!!! I did and got permission!)) I also made more research on this forum before asking and someone said they emailed back to the same email they received the Citizenship Test Invitation, so I did the same! Many thanks for this advice!!

Congrats!

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Thanks - will need to fly back to attend then and incur the cost etc

Well, unfortunately, those are the rules. Currently, Citizenship test is the only exception made by IRCC. Applicants can now contact the local office (the email is in the 'Rescheduling instructions' of the test invite) and request to take the test outside Canada. Once IRCC approves the request, the test can be taken abroad.

Good luck!

 

[Idda11]

Oath ceremony is online but you'll still have to be physically present in Canada if you want to attend it.

Thank you for clarifying. I thought so too, it wouldn't be possible to attend the Oath Ceremony outside Canada, as you would need to receive a Citizenship Certificate. I found out, for the passport though it is possible to receive it in Canadian Embassy or Consulate, once you provide the Citizenship Certificate.

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Thank you for clarifying. I thought so too, it wouldn't be possible to attend the Oath Ceremony outside Canada, as you would need to receive a Citizenship Certificate. I found out, for the passport though it is possible to receive it in Canadian Embassy or Consulate, once you provide the Citizenship Certificate.

Yes. The citizenship certificate will be mailed to you after the citizenship ceremony. Once you have that, you can apply for passports in a Canadian consulate/embassy abroad.