contacting the MP of your city!

[egyo]

Hello guys,
Do you think contacting the member of parliament about the delay of your citizenship application can be helpful?! Can his/her office inquiry about the case result in a positive outcome?! is it recommended or not?! PLEASE let me know if you have any similar experience. Thanks

 

[Swede]

Hello guys,
Do you think contacting the member of parliament about the delay of your citizenship application can be helpful?! Can his/her office inquiry about the case result in a positive outcome?! is it recommended or not?! PLEASE let me know if you have any similar experience. Thanks

How far along in your process are you? I doubt the MP would do anything unless your application is significantly slower than the average.

 

[jshahid]

Contacting your MP does not help in most cases. They can not speed up or slow down the process. All they can do for you is get the status of the application in most cases will not help you as you still have to wait.

usually if the time period, which nowadays is 25 month is up only then they will send in an inquiry for the status not before that.

Hope this helps.

 

[eileenf]

Hello guys,
Do you think contacting the member of parliament about the delay of your citizenship application can be helpful?! Can his/her office inquiry about the case result in a positive outcome?! is it recommended or not?! PLEASE let me know if you have any similar experience. Thanks

Please do contact your member of Parliament. Even though you are not yet a citizen, you are their constituent and they have a responsibility to hear your concerns. There is no risk to contacting your MP and all of us caught in the ballooning backlog woulld benefit if MPs knew that the citizenship backlog has consequence for actual, politically engaged constituents. If no one ever complains about the low level of service received as a result of the dramatic CIC budget and staffing cuts of the last years, the MPs could be excused for thinking that no one really cares.

Part of the reason that the processing of citizenship applications gets such low priority is because few people complain.

There are two possible positive results:
1. Individual: If the applicant has waited longer than the "average" or needs to see a judge an MP can make an official inquiry with the CIC. The MP is considered a constituent's "ombudsman" to the federal goverment and part of their job is to advocate for you.
2. Collective; In the long term MPs need to know that those of us caught in the record citizenship delay are politically engaged and are paying attention to who advocates for our rights and who ignores us. An individual complaining to an MP will not change the world immediately, and yes, they may just brush you off initially, but if hundreds or thousands of us complain to our MPs it can create political consequence for the CIC leadership's mismanagement. It's harder to brush off a hundred people than a single person.

There is no drawback to contacting your MP. Only possible benefits. It's easy to do.

http://residencequestionnaire.wordpress.com/resources-for-rq-recipients/sample-letters-to-mps/

 

[egyo]

@eileenf @jshahid Thank you so much for your detailed and informative response. I have been waiting for 24 months and hopefully the MP will be able to move things. I wanted to hear from those who got in touch with their MPs and if they felt any progress because of that! Thanks!

 

[eileenf]

@ eileenf @ jshahid Thank you so much for your detailed and informative response. I have been waiting for 24 months and hopefully the MP will be able to move things. I wanted to hear from those who got in touch with their MPs and if they felt any progress because of that! Thanks!

Just to clarify, the individual benefit is likely limited. The MP may be able to provide you more information than the call centre agents regarding the status of your application, but they are unlikely to be able to expedite things. Nonetheless, the possibility of getting accurate information about your application and the collective benefits of you and many others communicating with their MPs make it well worth the effort.

 

[egyo]

i totally agree with you...we should all act as it gives all of us hard time waiting for that long while some applicants get their citizenship grants in short time...fair is required

 

[123sMike]

you can get info through your MP, and that is it

 

[egyo]

But still it can bring a file in the "parking lot" for long into their attention so things might move forward...it could happen?!

 

[egyo]

Anyone knows what to do when you reach the 25 months limit without test or RQ?!

 

[mikeathome]

Anyone knows what to do when you reach the 25 months limit without test or RQ?!

... you get frustrated, call CIC call center and get more frustrated or sit still and wait.

mike

 

[ruth_g]

Anyone knows what to do when you reach the 25 months limit without test or RQ?!

Just for your info: Received a letter to take the test on 26th month since I submitted my application, became a Canadian citizen on the 28th month. I called CIC once only on the 25th month, I was told to call again after 3 months but never did coz I got it on the next month. Single application, never left Canada, FT govt emp, I didn't even know RQ until I got into this forum. Have more patience I am sure your time will come. Good luck!!

 

[CanuckForEver]

Yeah good luck with it having a majority Tory government. If your MP is NDP, Liberal or Green Party they cannot put any pressure on the Torries because they have their own majority. If your MP is a Tory forget it, its like grievances gone to a deaf ear.

 

[mikeathome]

Anyone knows what to do when you reach the 25 months limit without test or RQ?!

Just for your info: Received a letter to take the test on 26th month since I submitted my application, became a Canadian citizen on the 28th month. I called CIC once only on the 25th month, I was told to call again after 3 months but never did coz I got it on the next month. Single application, never left Canada, FT govt emp, I didn't even know RQ until I got into this forum. Have more patience I am sure your time will come. Good luck!!

The 25 months is a lower limit, or call it a dream. Ok, there are -very- few exemptions which underline the rule
Even if you get your test within 25 months there's lots of opportunity to spent another FEW months waiting for the ceremony.
We did our test on March first and waitin', waitin', waitin'...
Last week they didn't even had the test results.

mike

 

[egyo]

YES, sometimes contacting the MP helps you get more useful info...go with guys