Hi all,
Some background info:
I am an Indian Citizen and got PR in 2019. Me and my family (2 adults and 1 child) were in Qatar while we got PR. Working in Qatar from 2014 onwards. When we got PR, we came to Canada (July 2019) and stayed for 2 months and went back to Qatar. We continued in Qatar till May 2021 and came back to settle permanently in May 2021. We would have 3 years requirement completed by May 2024 and would like to apply for Citizenship.
My doubt is:
- When considering past 4 year stay in May 2023 application, I would have stayed almost 1 year in Qatar. So, will Qatar be considered as my country of origin and can I submit application without PCC from Qatar? It is notoriously difficult to get PCC from Qatar if you already left the country. I already have a PCC that was issued 4 days before we left the country in May 2021. But I worry that the gap of 4 days can lead to request for new PCC and a big headache.
- If I would need a PCC, then can I wait till November 2024 and apply for citizenship. By November 2024, when considering past 4 years, I would have stayed in Qatar for less than 180 days and more than 3.5 years continuous residency in Canada. Will this allow me to skip Qatar PCC?
If not, I would have to wait till May 2025 to apply for Citizenship.
Appreciate any help on this. Thank you in advance.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...bsection-5-1-adults-18-years-older.html#Step4
See the following examples to help you answer this question.
Example 1
You lived in France for one year (365 days) before you became a permanent resident 3 years ago. You did not travel to France after you became a permanent resident. You would answer “Yes” to the question and you would need to provide a police certificate from France if you did not provide one with your immigration application. If you provided a police certificate from France with your immigration application, tell us this in the box provided at Question 10b.
Example 2
You became a permanent resident 3 years and 9 months ago. In the past 4 years, you lived in Brazil for 3 months (90 days) before you became a permanent resident and you returned to Brazil to visit family for 4 months (120 days) after you became a permanent resident. You would answer “No” to the question and you would not need to provide a police certificate from Brazil because you did not spend 183 days or more in a row in Brazil.
Example 3
In the past 4 years, you took 10 trips to the United States of America (USA). Each trip lasted 3 weeks, for a total of 210 days. You would answer “No” to the question and you would not need to provide a police certificate from the USA because you did not spend 183 days or more in a row in the USA.
Example 4
In the past 4 years, you traveled to Singapore four times for work. The first trip was for 30 days; the second trip was for 200 days; the third trip was for 60 days; and the fourth trip was for 120 days. While in Singapore, you took a trip to Malaysia (10 days) and Thailand (10 days). You would answer “Yes” to the question and you would need to provide a police certificate from Singapore because your second trip was more than 183 days in a row. You would not need to provide police certificates from Malaysia or Thailand.
Example 5
In the past 4 years, you took 1 trip to Europe where you visited Portugal (5 days), Spain (7 days), France (10 days), Belgium (3 days), Netherlands (3 days), Germany (21 days), Switzerland (7 days) and Italy (21 days). You took a second trip to Europe where you visited Ireland (14 days), Scotland (14 days) and England (21 days). You went to Germany for a business trip that lasted 60 days. The total time you were outside of Canada was 186 days but you were not in a single country for 183 days or more in a row. You would answer “No” to the question and you would not need to provide police certificates from any of the countries.
