HELP will children & I get citizenship or just renew PR?

[believe13]

Hi
Ive been reading but 1st time posting on this thread. Notice Leon seems to be the expert here but I'm open to ALL
My children & I landed PR May 2009 since then we have travelled (various times) but I still managed to meet the residence requirements (2yrs PR & 3 yrs,1095 days out of 5 yrs) to apply for citizenship but now unsure of eldest child's citizenship?
We were divorced (few years before landing) & I have sole custody. Unfortunately after landing our eldest was unable to settle as he left friends etc & immediate family were living far away, busy working, everyday life so we never saw them much, I decided for him to return after spending over 1year. He visited but still resides with father (maybe until next year) i wanted to apply for citizenship but unsure if:
1) he'll be eligible to gain citizenship from my status if applied before next yr age 18? OR he can continue/renew PR himself? OR is it better if i can renew his PR as his return was no fault of his own & classed as a minor? ???

2) other siblings have met residence requirement & are eligible to gain citizenship so shall I try to apply for everyone's altogether? :

In any case I presume they will ask for school records & maybe RQ?

Thanks!

 

[scylla]

To qualify for citizneship you must have lived in Canada for 3 years out of the last 4 years (not 3 years out of the last 5 years). Do you still qualify to apply for citizenship?

 

[believe13]

To qualify for citizneship you must have lived in Canada for 3 years out of the last 4 years (not 3 years out of the last 5 years). Do you still qualify to apply for citizenship?

Hi
As stated I am qualified (& other children) from 2009 to present, we could have applied end of last year, but I am enquiring particularly about my eldest?

 

[CanadianSummer]

To apply for citizenship for a child under 18:

you must be the child’s parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian,
the child must be a permanent resident, and
one parent must be a Canadian citizen or apply to become a citizen at the same time

You must have resided in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the past four years before you apply. This does not apply to children under 18.


Based on these information. You can add your under 18 child in your citizenship application and he does not need to meet residency requirement.

 

[believe13]

To apply for citizenship for a child under 18:

you must be the child's parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian,
the child must be a permanent resident, and
one parent must be a Canadian citizen or apply to become a citizen at the same time

You must have resided in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the past four years before you apply. This does not apply to children under 18.


Based on these information. You can add your under 18 child in your citizenship application and he does not need to meet residency requirement.

Hi
Thanks for your reply that's what I wanted to know. As I am the main applicant hoped I would be able to apply for citizen for all children but unsure due to my 17 year old not meeting the residence requirement.

 

[believe13]

What i don't understand is why CIC asks for children's' school records for past 3-4 years if I am the main applicant & they don't have to meet the residence requirement. Shouldn't they make an assessment solely on my activities for the past 4 years?

Also (dont know if this is a silly question) but should i apply to renew their PR cards next year (whilst citizenship in process) or is this only necessary if we will travel?

 

[Leon]

They ask for the school records to establish where your children were living. Usually, the parents live with the children so they want to know if you have truly spent 1095 days in Canada by seeing where your children have lived unless there is a particular reason why you and your children are living in different countries.

You do not have to renew your PR card and your kids PR cards who are living in Canada unless you want to travel.

As for your oldest son, it's a tricky situation. Is he interested in keeping his PR? If he is, he should return now. You say you landed in 2009 and he spent 1 year. He now needs to spend another year in order to meet the residency requirements and be able to renew his PR card.

You can include him on your application but if he loses his PR before you get citizenship, he will not be able to get citizenship with you. As he is over 14, he would have to attend the oath and if you let his PR card expire and he is in the situation of having to apply for a travel document in order to return, even though he has good grounds to get it such as being a minor leaving Canada due to parents decisions, the travel document may simply take too long for him to get it before the oath. You are usually not asked to attend the oath with more notice than a couple of weeks. If he is visa exempt, he could attempt to return with an expired PR card and see what happens.

 

[believe13]

They ask for the school records to establish where your children were living. Usually, the parents live with the children so they want to know if you have truly spent 1095 days in Canada by seeing where your children have lived unless there is a particular reason why you and your children are living in different countries.

You do not have to renew your PR card and your kids PR cards who are living in Canada unless you want to travel.

As for your oldest son, it's a tricky situation. Is he interested in keeping his PR? If he is, he should return now. You say you landed in 2009 and he spent 1 year. He now needs to spend another year in order to meet the residency requirements and be able to renew his PR card.

You can include him on your application but if he loses his PR before you get citizenship, he will not be able to get citizenship with you. As he is over 14, he would have to attend the oath and if you let his PR card expire and he is in the situation of having to apply for a travel document in order to return, even though he has good grounds to get it such as being a minor leaving Canada due to parents decisions, the travel document may simply take too long for him to get it before the oath. You are usually not asked to attend the oath with more notice than a couple of weeks. If he is visa exempt, he could attempt to return with an expired PR card and see what happens.

I'm glad you responded as you clarified the exact points I was trying to decide. I read someone was in a similar situation but I guess every case is treated differently.

I understand them asking for school recs to enable whether parents have met the requirements but as explained i have it's just my eldest who went abroad. Luckily we don't desperately need it as we are UK visa exempt but I think if we are eligible there's no harm applying for dual as most of the family are here.
I don't think he's too bothered about PR but he may have to re-apply on his own when he reaches 18yrs. He only has to come back for about 6months but is in college so wasn't planning to be permanently back until next year summer by that time it would have expired May 2014!

I think my best bet is to send off citizenship B4 PR cards expire & he reaches 18yrs (we won't get citizenship but hopefully be in process) when he returns next year OR to attend oath he can travel on UK passport & if they enquire why PR card expired guess weI'll have to explain the situation (& that he's a minor)?

 

[Leon]

Well, there are the rules and then there is everything that is possible around the rules which is another story.

Immigration doesn't know the whereabouts of every PR at all times so they do not know that he doesn't meet the requirements at this point. It is possible when he enters Canada, next visit or to attend oath, that the immigration officer will become aware that he doesn't meet the PR residency requirements. If that happens, the officer may decide to report him on entry. If he gets reported on entry, he can appeal it based on that he was removed from Canada as a minor by a parent and he will probably get to keep his PR but he can not get citizenship while his PR status is in question so if this happens, he could miss the boat on your application. He would however be able to stay after that and earn the right to apply by himself.

If they don't report him on entry, he will probably get away with taking the oath and getting citizenship. There was a poster on this forum who was in a similar situation. She did not meet the PR residency obligation. I think her PR card was still valid though. She was on her fathers citizenship application and needed to enter to attend the oath. She was asked by the immigration officer if she met the residency requirements for citizenship of 1095 days in the past 4 years and she pointed out that as a minor on her fathers application, she didn't have to. She let her enter. If they had wanted to be picky, they could have said that she still needed to meet the 730 days in 5 years requirement for her PR and reported her but they didn't.

 

[believe13]

Leon i like the way you said this:

"Well, there are the rules and then there is everything that is possible around the rules which is another story"....

I totally agree there will always be someone who slightly bends the rules to suit their situation (as long as its not illegal & harming anyone) well i most certainly will give it a go, what is there to lose? As you mentioned sometimes CIC are lenient on minors & it depends if you're lucky... if he doesnt gain (dual) citizenship I'll appeal to renew the PR card.

Thanks Leon will apply soon. No doubt I'll be back during the process reading & posting to ask more questions

 

[Leon]

That's right. You aren't breaking any rules but immigration offers loopholes and special consideration for different things, for example such as minor children not having to meet the 1095 days / 4 years requirements and minors who have been removed from Canada having a chance to appeal for their PR.