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June 2014 Citizenship Application.

QCSunshine

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Aug 25, 2010
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So, I just want to post an update. On January 12, I received a letter in the mail saying that my citizenship test date would be January 29. There were three pages in the envelope: a page with the test invitation and location info, a page that said if I passed the test I would become a citizen in an oath ceremony immediately after, and a page that was a waiver that said I was okay if my photo was taken during the ceremony and used. It said the oath ceremony would be approximately 2 hours after the start time of the test and said that we could invite people.

The test went well. I studied a ton (every fact and caption in the book) and used the Richmond library practice questions to quiz myself as part of my process. I found my exam questions to be basic and I could have studied less and still done well, but I am glad to know so much more about Canada's history now. (An interesting timeline detail: they said that if you cheat, there is a two-year wait to take the test again, but if you fail the test, there is only a two-month wait to take the test again.)

After the test, they called people one by one for interviews. My interview was with a very nice officer and it was maybe about 10 minutes long. Perhaps less. He told me my test score, looked at my IDs and asked a couple basic questions. Then he said congrats and said the ceremony would follow shortly. I then called and texted the couple people I had invited to come (if I passed the test), and they came and the ceremony actually began about 2.5 hours after my appointment start time. I think there were 67 people who became citizens in my group. The ceremony was really good. (Are all ceremonies bilingual? I guess so, since they are federal.) It lasted maybe an hour. They let us take our photo with the judge afterward. As I was leaving, I realized that there was a new group entering the auditorium, just like we did. So I suspect they had another group start their tests after us, and they were going to do another ceremony too with this second group.

It was pretty intense to do the test+oath in one day. The uncertainty of not knowing if I would pass or if the interview would go okay was unnerving and stressful, especially because I invited a couple people, but it was SUPER nice to do it all in one day. And I suspect that it all would have been very stressful in any case, so I am thankful to have done it all at once! It was a huge, important day....and I was exhausted at the end of it. And thankful. Very thankful.

I wish all of you well, especially you fellow June 2014 applicants, and I hope your waits are over soon. This forum has been an essential resource in my PR and citizenship journey, and I am so thankful to have found it back years ago when I was trying to figure out what in the world the process was to become a PR. Thank you all!
 

PalCan

Star Member
May 15, 2014
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QCSunshine said:
So, I just want to post an update. On January 12, I received a letter in the mail saying that my citizenship test date would be January 29. There were three pages in the envelope: a page with the test invitation and location info, a page that said if I passed the test I would become a citizen in an oath ceremony immediately after, and a page that was a waiver that said I was okay if my photo was taken during the ceremony and used. It said the oath ceremony would be approximately 2 hours after the start time of the test and said that we could invite people.

The test went well. I studied a ton (every fact and caption in the book) and used the Richmond library practice questions to quiz myself as part of my process. I found my exam questions to be basic and I could have studied less and still done well, but I am glad to know so much more about Canada's history now. (An interesting timeline detail: they said that if you cheat, there is a two-year wait to take the test again, but if you fail the test, there is only a two-month wait to take the test again.)

After the test, they called people one by one for interviews. My interview was with a very nice officer and it was maybe about 10 minutes long. Perhaps less. He told me my test score, looked at my IDs and asked a couple basic questions. Then he said congrats and said the ceremony would follow shortly. I then called and texted the couple people I had invited to come (if I passed the test), and they came and the ceremony actually began about 2.5 hours after my appointment start time. I think there were 67 people who became citizens in my group. The ceremony was really good. (Are all ceremonies bilingual? I guess so, since they are federal.) It lasted maybe an hour. They let us take our photo with the judge afterward. As I was leaving, I realized that there was a new group entering the auditorium, just like we did. So I suspect they had another group start their tests after us, and they were going to do another ceremony too with this second group.

It was pretty intense to do the test+oath in one day. The uncertainty of not knowing if I would pass or if the interview would go okay was unnerving and stressful, especially because I invited a couple people, but it was SUPER nice to do it all in one day. And I suspect that it all would have been very stressful in any case, so I am thankful to have done it all at once! It was a huge, important day....and I was exhausted at the end of it. And thankful. Very thankful.

I wish all of you well, especially you fellow June 2014 applicants, and I hope your waits are over soon. This forum has been an essential resource in my PR and citizenship journey, and I am so thankful to have found it back years ago when I was trying to figure out what in the world the process was to become a PR. Thank you all!
Congrats and thanks for the informative description. Do you mind sharing where your local office is? Also, would you say the test questions were identical to the Richmond library ones?
 

QCSunshine

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Aug 25, 2010
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My application went through Montreal. And no, my questions were not identical to the Richmond questions. However, there were similarities and if you could answer all the Richmond questions, you would have aced my test. Those questions were good preparation for me, and my actual test questions were easier than what I had prepared for. But I admit, I studied really hard with lots of flash cards made using all the facts in the Discover Canada book.
 

PalCan

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May 15, 2014
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QCSunshine said:
My application went through Montreal. And no, my questions were not identical to the Richmond questions. However, there were similarities and if you could answer all the Richmond questions, you would have aced my test. Those questions were good preparation for me, and my actual test questions were easier than what I had prepared for. But I admit, I studied really hard with lots of flash cards made using all the facts in the Discover Canada book.
Thank you
 

Desert Lion

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Mar 14, 2014
283
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u4g5 said:
Hi all, just want to share my experience. it was a full house with 79 ppl becoming citizens.so only 1 that was absence.
The whole ceremony took 30 min max, the judge didnt say much but walked everybody through the oath , sang "o canada" and handed everybody the certificates. after taking a few pics with him, i am outta there by 2:40. and the ceremony started at 2 pm.
btw, the girl who sat next to me said it only took her 3 months to get her citizenship. she applied early november. so it can be very fast!!
YOUR time will come!!!!!!!!
have a good weekend guys
Congrats u4g5
 

bnkcitizen

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Aug 13, 2014
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Stukapidli said:
bnkcitizen, did you put in separate application for each member or sent it together? We were advised to send as separate applications so that even if one person's application gets delayed, the others' files will move on. Me and my sister's study guide and letter came fairly fast by my mom's was quite delayed.

Keeping fingers crossed we all hear something soon!
I have two separate applications but sent together and only one payment.
 

laxmikanthms

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Congrats U4G5.....
 

BLT

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Jul 30, 2014
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u4g5 said:
Hi all, just want to share my experience. it was a full house with 79 ppl becoming citizens.so only 1 that was absence.
The whole ceremony took 30 min max, the judge didnt say much but walked everybody through the oath , sang "o canada" and handed everybody the certificates. after taking a few pics with him, i am outta there by 2:40. and the ceremony started at 2 pm.
btw, the girl who sat next to me said it only took her 3 months to get her citizenship. she applied early november. so it can be very fast!!
YOUR time will come!!!!!!!!
have a good weekend guys
Hey bro, did you see anybody brought along their toddler to the oath? Did the toddler get a seat with the parents or being seated in the guess area?
 

catchvb

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Oct 29, 2009
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Test: Appeared for citizenship test today. 20/20. Go through citizenship book and that's what you need. Easy test. Went to Kitchener office at 8AM. There were lot of test taker ..Test started around 8:30 and I took 7-8 minutes to finish. They started calling test taker in the same order as they finished the test for the interview. I guess I was 4th or 5th to finish. With interview and everything I was out by 9:15.

Interview: CIC officers were nice and courteous. Interview took 10 minutes mostly for verifying documents and stamps on passport. I had too many stamps (around 31 pages are full with visa and stamps) on passport so I offered ATIP and other documents. He said he does not need it but it's good that it's with me and also the ATIP is too detailed. He did not ask for any T4/NOA/ATIP... He told me that most of the stuff he can see on passport so everything is good to him. I asked again if he needs any document as I travelled a lot and some of my friends have been asked for documents after the test. He said that he knows but in my case he can see most of the stuff and US border officers and CBSA do not put correct entries/stamps always. He told me that he is approving the application today and oath will be scheduled between 1-2 months times. He told me that for oath I need to bring oath letter(once you receive in mail), PR card and max of one guest. he also suggested to keep landing paper safe and secured even after the citizenship is complete. Feeling good...wait for oath letter starts :)
So now I am booking a week off to Caribbean for next week. :D

All the best to all Juners and specially to email-AOR recipients.
 

poushi24

Star Member
Sep 12, 2014
190
9
catchvb said:
Test: Appeared for citizenship test today. 20/20. Go through citizenship book and that's what you need. Easy test. Went to Kitchener office at 8AM. There were lot of test taker ..Test started around 8:30 and I took 7-8 minutes to finish. They started calling test taker in the same order as they finished the test for the interview. I guess I was 4th or 5th to finish. With interview and everything I was out by 9:15.

Interview: CIC officers were nice and courteous. Interview took 10 minutes mostly for verifying documents and stamps on passport. I had too many stamps (around 31 pages are full with visa and stamps) on passport so I offered ATIP and other documents. He said he does not need it but it's good that I have it with me and also the ATIP is too detailed. He did not ask for any T4/NOA/ATIP... He told me that most of the stuff he can see on passport so everything is good to him. I asked again if he needs any document as I travelled a lot and some of my friends have been asked for documents after the test. He said that he knows but in my case he can see most of the stuff and US border officers and CBSA do not put correct entries/stamps always. He told me that he is approving the application today and oath will be scheduled between 1-2 months times. He told me that for oath I need to bring oath letter(once you receive in mail), PR card and max of one guest. he also suggested to keep landing paper safe and secured even after the citizenship is complete. Feeling good...wait for oath letter starts :)
So now I am booking a week off to Caribbean for next week. :D

All the best to all Juners and specially to email-AOR recipients.
Congrats catchvb, Hope you will get your oath invite soon. Good Luck.
 

eltorpe

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Jan 6, 2012
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catchvb said:
Test: Appeared for citizenship test today. 20/20. Go through citizenship book and that's what you need. Easy test. Went to Kitchener office at 8AM. There were lot of test taker ..Test started around 8:30 and I took 7-8 minutes to finish. They started calling test taker in the same order as they finished the test for the interview. I guess I was 4th or 5th to finish. With interview and everything I was out by 9:15.

Interview: CIC officers were nice and courteous. Interview took 10 minutes mostly for verifying documents and stamps on passport. I had too many stamps (around 31 pages are full with visa and stamps) on passport so I offered ATIP and other documents. He said he does not need it but it's good that it's with me and also the ATIP is too detailed. He did not ask for any T4/NOA/ATIP... He told me that most of the stuff he can see on passport so everything is good to him. I asked again if he needs any document as I travelled a lot and some of my friends have been asked for documents after the test. He said that he knows but in my case he can see most of the stuff and US border officers and CBSA do not put correct entries/stamps always. He told me that he is approving the application today and oath will be scheduled between 1-2 months times. He told me that for oath I need to bring oath letter(once you receive in mail), PR card and max of one guest. he also suggested to keep landing paper safe and secured even after the citizenship is complete. Feeling good...wait for oath letter starts :)
So now I am booking a week off to Caribbean for next week. :D

All the best to all Juners and specially to email-AOR recipients.
Hey, catchvb! Congratulations!

For everyone:
Test: I was 3rd to finish today and got 20/20 as well. We started late because they didn't have enough test booklets so we waited while they made more.

Interview:
  • Took barely 5 minutes for me.
  • The officer checked my COPR, commented that I had kept it in very good condition and suggested I keep it that way as I will need it in the future for benefits, etc.
  • He checked my driver's license and health card against the copies I had submitted with the application. He noticed I had changed my driver's license (as I moved since applying) so he made a copy of the new driver's license and attached it to my file.
  • Next, was residency. He checked my passport against the absences/dates declared on the residence calculator and did not ask for additional documents.
  • He said everything looked good and he was approving my file. I watched him as he ticked a bunch of boxes on a form.
  • Finally, he told me to expect my oath ceremony to be in 1-2 months and that I only had to bring the media release consent form and my PR card then, and I can only bring 1 guest at most.

Additional notes:
While we were waiting for the test to start, the officer asked if we had any questions and someone asked about the wait time from the test to the oath ceremony. The officer said we will be in the next ceremony that they schedule and they schedule ceremonies one month in advance. I'm guessing that's why they say wait time is 1-2 months because it depends on the time of the month the test is written and whether they have scheduled the oath ceremonies for the following month already.
 

51smoker

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What is COPR?
eltorpe said:
Hey, catchvb! Congratulations!

For everyone:
Test: I was 3rd to finish today and got 20/20 as well. We started late because they didn't have enough test booklets so we waited while they made more.

Interview:
  • Took barely 5 minutes for me.
  • The officer checked my COPR, commented that I had kept it in very good condition and suggested I keep it that way as I will need it in the future for benefits, etc.
  • He checked my driver's license and health card against the copies I had submitted with the application. He noticed I had changed my driver's license (as I moved since applying) so he made a copy of the new driver's license and attached it to my file.
  • Next, was residency. He checked my passport against the absences/dates declared on the residence calculator and did not ask for additional documents.
  • He said everything looked good and he was approving my file. I watched him as he ticked a bunch of boxes on a form.
  • Finally, he told me to expect my oath ceremony to be in 1-2 months and that I only had to bring the media release consent form and my PR card then, and I can only bring 1 guest at most.

Additional notes:
While we were waiting for the test to start, the officer asked if we had any questions and someone asked about the wait time from the test to the oath ceremony. The officer said we will be in the next ceremony that they schedule and they schedule ceremonies one month in advance. I'm guessing that's why they say wait time is 1-2 months because it depends on the time of the month the test is written and whether they have scheduled the oath ceremonies for the following month already.
 

Donvalley

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BLT said:
Hey bro, did you see anybody brought along their toddler to the oath? Did the toddler get a seat with the parents or being seated in the guess area?
My toddler was with me and seated with us, when we took oath at Scarborough last month. In fact, at oath taking time, everyone in the hall including guests must stand up and repeat with the judge. There was another infant in the room, little bit noisy by the end of the ceremony, and parents were asked to take the kid to another hall.
As mentioned in the notice, Parents and their children, however, may be asked to leave the ceremony room if their children disrupt the ceremony.
At SC office the seating arrangements are (at least on my day) per group/family, like suppose if you have three oath takers, seat numbers will be like 45,46,47 and an empty seat to accommodate the guest. Seat number 48 starts next after your guest seat. I don't know about other offices thou.
So there is no problem for toddlers to be in the ceremony room, if he/she is silent.