February 2018 - Citizenship Applicant

[wo403]

Totally agree. There is no point in obsessing about individual timelines. My application is also one of the slow ones, but in the end, if you are a PR and live in Canada, some extra months as a PR instead of a Citizen won't make that big of a difference. An exception, as you say, would be urgent cases where citizenship is directly needed for something.

While I don't obsess over my individual timeline, I'm kind of meta-annoyed What I mean is that I find it truly mind-boggling that IRCC is unable to handle this in a more timely manner. I don't doubt that the vast majority of people in the IRCC admin are doing a good job and trying their best, time-wise. I think that they are just terribly understaffed, particularly in large cities.

So I'm not particularly annoyed about my application being a slower one. I'm more annoyed about the baseline/average. So in some way, if I were the only slow one, whatever. But so many slow ones, seriously?

You do have a point. It seems as though IRCC has always struggled to keep up with the demand, and are completely unpredictable. They are so unpredictable that it almost feels like luck sometimes. Like my brother-in-law applied and got his citizenship in 8 months (with a language test in between), whereas my application is now about to hit 12 months without an invite for the test (I was asked for fingerprints). We live in the same city, same application type, just that we applied one odd year apart. When I applied for my PR, I got mine in 6 months from Abu Dhabi while everyone around me seemed to be at least waiting 12+ months.

So I believe your annoyance with IRCC is justified. They should have figured this out.

 

[Aa789]

You do have a point. It seems as though IRCC has always struggled to keep up with the demand, and are completely unpredictable. They are so unpredictable that it almost feels like luck sometimes. Like my brother-in-law applied and got his citizenship in 8 months (with a language test in between), whereas my application is now about to hit 12 months without an invite for the test (I was asked for fingerprints). We live in the same city, same application type, just that we applied one odd year apart. When I applied for my PR, I got mine in 6 months from Abu Dhabi while everyone around me seemed to be at least waiting 12+ months.

So I believe your annoyance with IRCC is justified. They should have figured this out.

I totally agree with your 'luck' point. A couple of my friends entire process in Southern Ontario from applying to receiving passport took 6 months and here we are still waiting for a DM and oath invitation. I wouldn't have worried much but I have to visit my parents in California and planned to stay there for over a month, as my sister is getting married and some other relatives coming over from different countries too. So really wanted to get the oath ceremony done before going. I fear that when I will go, I will the invite then.

 

[Zeina73]

Just called IRCC the agent said the BG check might take more than a year, waiting for the third party respond and when it comes to be a citizen they have to review your whole life.Really strange they make us come and accept illegals than check your criminality when applying for citizenship.
Why is the third party taking soo long to reply ..I think they are choosing certain files to work on and others are kept on hold. I don't think its sooo hard to finalize BG within a year or less..they are not getting informations from MARS

 

[dmn1363]

Just called IRCC the agent said the BG check might take more than a year, waiting for the third party respond and when it comes to be a citizen they have to review your whole life.Really strange they make us come and accept illegals than check your criminality when applying for citizenship.
Why is the third party taking soo long to reply ..I think they are choosing certain files to work on and others are kept on hold. I don't think its sooo hard to finalize BG within a year or less..they are not getting informations from MARS

The third party is CSIS (Order ATIP for CSIS and they respond back we are still processing the background check). CSIS is sending applicants from several countries (Or due to name similarity) to FBI for clearance (You get Canadian Citizenship and you can travel to US without going through FBI clearance) and these days US is half-closed due to government shut down. So, expect more delay guys!

 

[Aa789]

Just called IRCC the agent said the BG check might take more than a year, waiting for the third party respond and when it comes to be a citizen they have to review your whole life.Really strange they make us come and accept illegals than check your criminality when applying for citizenship.
Why is the third party taking soo long to reply ..I think they are choosing certain files to work on and others are kept on hold. I don't think its sooo hard to finalize BG within a year or less..they are not getting informations from MARS

What!!! Don't they check your bg when you apply for PR? That's strange!

 

[UPPI]

Hi All,

What is the mystery behind yellow tagged files?

My file is in Mississauga office with status "Yellow Tagged Files". Below is my timeline.

I am a February 2018 applicant from Brampton. AOR March 5 & In process May 10. Did FP on August 20, 2018.

I ordered GCMS notes & they are as follows -
ASSESSMENTS
Knowledge: Not Started
Residence: Not Started
Language: Not Started
Prohibition: Not Started
Criminality: Passed
Oath: Not Started

I would really appreciate if someone could provide answers/insights to the above mentioned.

Thanks & Regards

 

[cgrewal]

Received Test Invite today almost after year of applying.

Test Date: February 4, 2019

 

[Mpraja]

Received Test Invite today almost after year of applying.

Test Date: February 4, 2019

Congratulations...and Please share your timeline if you can..

 

[backendcode]

Hi All,

What is the mystery behind yellow tagged files?

My file is in Mississauga office with status "Yellow Tagged Files". Below is my timeline.

I am a February 2018 applicant from Brampton. AOR March 5 & In process May 10. Did FP on August 20, 2018.

I ordered GCMS notes & they are as follows -
ASSESSMENTS
Knowledge: Not Started
Residence: Not Started
Language: Not Started
Prohibition: Not Started
Criminality: Passed
Oath: Not Started

I would really appreciate if someone could provide answers/insights to the above mentioned.

Thanks & Regards

Hey, I am not a legal advisor but according to an operational manual for local offices who grant citizenship, they give level 1 and level 2 to file based on the complexities.

Here is the link below which explain pretty much everything how officers work on an application while granting Canadian citizenship.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/grant/adult.html#s03

PLEASE READ THIS PARAGRAPH ON THE LINK ABOVE

Procedure in local offices
It should be noted that the contents of an applicant’s file is deemed Protected B and, as a result, must be handled and transmitted accordingly.
Depending on the complexities associated to each file, either a level 1 or level 2 decision maker will conduct language screening.

so I believe that Yellow tag indicates some sort of complexities level? I guess

I hope I could help you more but for now, good luck and I don't see anything serious until its red tagged.

Quick question, do you have any supporting document(s) for a medical condition in your application? because according to the operational manual, the CPC-S will flag the file for the local office.

Thanks,

 

[UPPI]

Hey, I am not a legal advisor but according to an operational manual for local offices who grant citizenship, they give level 1 and level 2 to file based on the complexities.

Here is the link below which explain pretty much everything how officers work on an application while granting Canadian citizenship.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/grant/adult.html#s03

PLEASE READ THIS PARAGRAPH ON THE LINK ABOVE

Procedure in local offices
It should be noted that the contents of an applicant’s file is deemed Protected B and, as a result, must be handled and transmitted accordingly.
Depending on the complexities associated to each file, either a level 1 or level 2 decision maker will conduct language screening.

so I believe that Yellow tag indicates some sort of complexities level? I guess

I hope I could help you more but for now, good luck and I don't see anything serious until its red tagged.

Quick question, do you have any supporting document(s) for a medical condition in your application? because according to the operational manual, the CPC-S will flag the file for the local office.

Thanks,

Thanks for responding!

The only complexity i guess is that I had many trips to the U.S. That is the only thing that I can think of.

I was told by the Call center that Prohibition & Residency checks are done after the Test. Not sure how accurate this is?

 

[wo403]

I totally agree with your 'luck' point. A couple of my friends entire process in Southern Ontario from applying to receiving passport took 6 months and here we are still waiting for a DM and oath invitation. I wouldn't have worried much but I have to visit my parents in California and planned to stay there for over a month, as my sister is getting married and some other relatives coming over from different countries too. So really wanted to get the oath ceremony done before going. I fear that when I will go, I will the invite then.

That sucks! I hope your 'luck' turns around, and soon!

 

[wo403]

Just checked the status of my application online, saw an update:

We sent you a notice on January 21, 2019 to appear and write the citizenship test on February 6, 2019 at 8:15 AM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.

I haven't checked my mail yet, I'll have to go home to verify if I actually got the letter. But I'm surprised that I didn't get an email instead? Everything else has been over email. On second thought, maybe they are sending the book along with the letter?

Also, is there only one test center in Mississauga, the one on Glen Erin (from google search)?

Any tips from people who have already given the exam on how to prepare for it?
Things I need to be aware of about the test center itself? i.e. parking, how early should I get there, etc

 

[auracreates]

I am also a Toronto applicant nearing my 1 year deadline and no news since the fingerprint request in Aug 2018. Can someone tell me how I can order my GCMS notes?

 

[wo403]

I am also a Toronto applicant nearing my 1 year deadline and no news since the fingerprint request in Aug 2018. Can someone tell me how I can order my GCMS notes?

I think this link might be helpful. I've never done this so I can't attest to its accuracy.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/how-to-order-gcms-notes-step-by-step-process.513893/

Have you tried calling the helpline?
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/client-support-centre.html

You can try reaching them at 8 in the morning to avoid/minimize wait time.

 

[Mpraja]

Just checked the status of my application online, saw an update:

We sent you a notice on January 21, 2019 to appear and write the citizenship test on February 6, 2019 at 8:15 AM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.

I haven't checked my mail yet, I'll have to go home to verify if I actually got the letter. But I'm surprised that I didn't get an email instead? Everything else has been over email. On second thought, maybe they are sending the book along with the letter?

Also, is there only one test center in Mississauga, the one on Glen Erin (from google search)?

Any tips from people who have already given the exam on how to prepare for it?
Things I need to be aware of about the test center itself? i.e. parking, how early should I get there, etc

Great at least you got test invitation ...but still you haven’t received test invitation email from them ??