Hi All,
I understand that at some stage during the Citizenship application, candidate can not leave Canada.
When does this restriction come into effect? And how long does it stay for?
I appreciate all insightful responses responses in advance!
Thanks.
There is no such restriction.
However, you need to always be in a position where you can respond to queries from IRCC in a timely manner. Not responding in a timely manner may cause your application to be considered abandoned.
You will need to inform IRCC of your address (home address and mail address can be different). IRCC will only send mail for citizenship applications to addresses in Canada, so you will need to have a local address and someone who can keep an eye out for mail from IRCC (Some offices send information by email, but even so some requests may arrive by letter, so do not rely on email only).
You will need to be able to travel to Canada at short notice for your citizenship test and interview, and for your citizenship ceremony. You can ask for those to be rescheduled, but note that doing so can incur a delay (anywhere between a few weeks and a few months). If the reason for not attending your test or your ceremony is not deemed valid by IRCC, you would only get one more invitation after that. If you miss that appointment as well your application may be considered abandoned.