IEC – What Does This Question Mean?

[michaelrob]

Hello everyone,

I've received my invitation to apply for IEC (International Exchange Canada) work/travel 2018. I'm filling out the online forms and have reached the "Immigration history and citizenships" section. The third question is "In the past five years have you lived in any other country or territory, other than the one you are a citizen of or where you currently live (shown above), for more than six months?" Yes/No. I don't know how to reply to this due to my complex travel/location history (lots of backpacking, extended stays as a traveler in countries, etc.

I need to figure out what these two parts of the questions mean:

• "have you lived in..." – What does "live" mean in this context? Does it mean reside by the immigration laws of the country (i.e. have a visa, etc)? Does it mean you were physically present? Something else?
  
• "for more than six months" – Do they mean cumulatively or consecutively? Within the context of this form it's entirely unclear, however in other places on the immigration website that have nothing to do with IEC, CIC goes out of their way to specify cumulative time for certain applications/questions, which leads me to believe that if they intend to mean cumulatively they would specifically write out "cumulative" and since they haven't, the more likely interpretation is "consecutive." However I can't be sure.

Does anyone have an informed view on this? If so, what do you think, and what are your reasons for thinking it?

I don't want to submit the "wrong" information. I've read the penalties for doing so can be severe (banned from Canada for 5 years, etc.)

I have only a week left to send in my forms, so I'm hoping someone here can help!

 

[Sulwyn]

I believe they mean consecutively with regards to the six months. Though if you want to be safe, just order police checks for all countries that you have been in for 6 months or more. As for the first part of their question, when they lived, they mean been physically present in. So, for example, if you were in Thailand for 8 months touring from place to place but not really having a permanent address, you'd have to obtain a thai police check.

 

[michaelrob]

I believe they mean consecutively with regards to the six months. Though if you want to be safe, just order police checks for all countries that you have been in for 6 months or more. As for the first part of their question, when they lived, they mean been physically present in. So, for example, if you were in Thailand for 8 months touring from place to place but not really having a permanent address, you'd have to obtain a thai police check.

I found a few references on the CIC website that indicate they mean consecutively for the matter of police certificates. My understanding is that they switched from cumulatively this IEC cycle. This is perhaps evidence that they are looking for 6 consecutive months within this question, however I'm unsure. No where on the form or page does it mention police certificates at all, so the connection between police certificates and the context of this question seems far from certain to me.

Do you know of other references that would strengthen the connection between this question and police certificates?

 

[Sulwyn]

I found a few references on the CIC website that indicate they mean consecutively for the matter of police certificates. My understanding is that they switched from cumulatively this IEC cycle. This is perhaps evidence that they are looking for 6 consecutive months within this question, however I'm unsure. No where on the form or page does it mention police certificates at all, so the connection between police certificates and the context of this question seems far from certain to me.

Do you know of other references that would strengthen the connection between this question and police certificates?

Honestly, you could jut submit your profile. They will ask for more police certs if they need them. Just explain in the letter of explanation portion that you weren't sure if you needed to submit police checks for other countries. When they look over your profile, they will send you another message requesting more police certs if they need them.

 

[michaelrob]

Oh, I'm not worried about police certificates. The interpretation of the question in the form only matters because the "immigration history" I need to fill out will be different depending on the consecutive/cumulative interpretation. My answer changes based on what they mean/want with this question in this form.