Leaving Canada after applying for Citizenship

[john.foot]

After I fulfill the 1095 day requirement I plan to leave Canada for an extended period (many years due to personal reasons) and come back for the Citizenship test and Oath only and leave Canada again.

When I checked with CIC they said that there is no problem with this as long as I meet the 1095 day requirement, but when I did a bit of research on the Internet I found contradictory statements. Some say this should not be a problem while some say that this will trigger a Residence Questionnaire (what is a Residence Questionnaire by the way?) and since I have been out of Canada for an extended period of time the Citizenship Judge might refuse my Citizenship application since I have more or less moved my residency.

Can someone please shed some light on this. I dont want to hide any facts, but I want to make my intentions clear and get a clear answer for this.

 

[Leon]

There are no rules disallowing this. You must be in Canada when you apply and you must have at least 1095 days. Anybody could get an RQ. You can not really say that just because you left, you would get an RQ but possibly, if you apply with exactly 1095 you might get an RQ.

By the way, you do not need to tell immigration that you are moving. You can keep an address in Canada for your mail as long as the people who are picking up your mail are reliable and let you know right away if you get called for the test&oath.

 

[sting]

Like Leon said, this is not an issue.

 

[john.foot]

By the way, you do not need to tell immigration that you are moving. You can keep an address in Canada for your mail as long as the people who are picking up your mail are reliable and let you know right away if you get called for the test&oath.

But when they have a look at my Passport they will notice that I have moved out of the country. Plus can the Citizenship Judge refuse my Citizenship Application on the grounds that after 3 years of physical presence I have moved out of Canada (since I have been away from Canada for a number of years) and effectively moved my residence out of Canada? Is this is a vague area which I have to convince the Citizenship Judge on or is this a clear cut case?

Plus is there anyone who has successfully done this (leaving Canada after applying for Citizenship and got Citizenship) without running into any problems.

 

[Leon]

But when they have a look at my Passport they will notice that I have moved out of the country. Plus can the Citizenship Judge refuse my Citizenship Application on the grounds that after 3 years of physical presence I have moved out of Canada (since I have been away from Canada for a number of years) and effectively moved my residence out of Canada? Is this is a vague area which I have to convince the Citizenship Judge on or is this a clear cut case?

Plus is there anyone who has successfully done this (leaving Canada after applying for Citizenship and got Citizenship) without running into any problems.

How will they see on your passport that you have moved out of the country? And even if they do, there are no rules against this. They can not refuse you citizenship based on you having moved away.

 

[basharar]

do not worry, i am in the same shoes, i have been here for almost 3 years and can't get decent employment " i have 1 US, I Canadian graduate degrees", I am planing on leaving after finishing my required days by law... i think if you fulfill your days you are good, just make sure that you have a good friend/relative to check your mail/communications.... all the best

 

[sting]

Hi john.foot,

They will look for dates in your passport when you go for citizenship test. They are only interested on dates before you submitted your citizenship application. They will do a cross reference check with your residency calculator (if applicable). They did on me when I went for citizenship test two weeks ago. They don't care about the dates after your submit your application given that you meet your all requirement including your # of days physical presents in Canada.

If you are not satisfied by what we have replied so far to your query, you better call CIC call center. And, I believe they will tell you exactly same thing.

I don't know why you are making easy things difficult.

Thanks and Good luck!

 

[john.foot]

Hi john.foot,

They don't care about the dates after your submit your application given that you meet your all requirement including your # of days physical presents in Canada.

If you are not satisfied by what we have replied so far to your query, you better call CIC call center. And, I believe they will tell you exactly same thing.

I don't know why you are making easy things difficult.

Thanks and Good luck!

Thanks for your replies everyone, I might be over-analyzing stuff as well but I want to be 100% sure. If I move out of Canada (back to my home country) for a number of years and continue to work there, wont they (CIC) say that I have effectively moved my residency out of Canada and deny my citizenship application or just ask for additional proof of the 1095 days which I was present in Canada?

I also assume the RQ is sent because they want additional proof of my 1095 days and not because I have been out of Canada for an extended period?

My timeline are as follows

2012 - 2014 - Meet my PR Requirement and get issued a new PR card for the next five years (My PR expires in 2014).
2014 - 2015 - Stay one more year and meet the 1095 day requirement for citizenship, apply for citizenship and move out of Canada back to my home country.
2015 - 2017 - Assuming the citizenship process takes 1.5 years I will get informed to come for the test somewhere around 2017 during which time I still meet the PR requirement (since I have the PR card valid till 2019 and I have fulfilled 1 year out of that) to which I will return to Canada for the test. After that I return to take the oath providing everything goes well.

Does the above timeline sound ok?

 

[Leon]

The citizenship process doesn't always take 1.5 years. It can take 8 months in some cases, in others 2.5 years. The average might be 1 year to 13 months maybe.

Will you have proof of your 1095 days in Canada? You should keep your boarding cards when you arrive, all boarding cards from any trips you make outside Canada during the time and preferably you should have a full time job throughout because that is really the best way to prove you were in Canada. Every time you quit a job, get a letter stating the dates you worked there full time. Also keep your pay slips if asked for further evidence. If you have your 1095 days, there is nothing they can do. If you don't have your 1095 days or they are convinced that you don't, then they might start looking at if you are living in Canada or not.

 

[john.foot]

If you have your 1095 days, there is nothing they can do.

Thanks Leon for your answer but my biggest concern is, providing I have solid proof of 1095 days of presence in Canada and then move out of Canada after I apply for Citizenship to work in my home country for a couple of years, can they (CJ or CIC) reject my application saying that I do not intend to stay in Canada after getting Citizenship and does this usually happen?

 

[sting]

lol...dude I would call CIC call center and will ask them to details instead of putting here same thing over and over. Thanks!

 

[sting]

lol...dude I would call CIC call center and will ask them the details instead of putting here same thing over and over. Thanks!

 

[ajslp]

If you have gathered a solid evidence of your 1095 days stay, CIC won't be able to deny you a citizenship legally. Keep this in your mind that you need to be in a valid PR status at the time of oath. So if you get RQ and/or your case gets delayed by more than 2 years, make sure your PR status is never in doubt. In the worst case, you will have to go to court if your case gets denied.

CIC is aware of the cases where people leave the country after satisfying 1095 day requirement. So if the Ministry of Immigration changes a relevant law between now and by the time you take oath, it may or may not be a different ball game.

 

[ajslp]

Remember just because your PR card validity will be till 2019 does not mean you will have a valid PR status. A PR status is determined by whether you have maintained 2 year requirement during last 5 years period at any point of time. If the Immigration Officer at the border determines that you have not satisfied 2 year out of 5 year requirement, they can revoke your PR status. Then you will be ineligible to take an oath of citizenship.

This can be an issue if your case gets delayed beyond 2 years. Since you will be living outside Canada, you have a high probability of getting an RQ. Getting an RQ could cause that kind of delay.

 

[gpeperat]

If CIC said it is not a problem, then I would believe that, not any other news sources you can find on the internet. Maybe apply with way more than the minimum days required (1095), and tell CIC as little as possible about your traveling after you applied. I would keep some residency ties to Canada (some address) so that CIC cannot argue that you have no more residency in Canada at all. Good luck.