Leaving Canada after oath before citizenship certificate arrives and without passport

[Elkam123]

I have my oath upcoming and I have a travel schedule that will be extremely difficult to change. I will stay for few months outside Canada. I might have to leave before the citizenship certificate arrives in the mail. But my husband will be at home here and will receive it and can bring it to me outside Canada when he joins me next month.

I will have to apply to my first passport from outside Canada then. I can apply from USA or from another country.

My question is: Can I apply for the first passport from outside Canada if I have the citizenship certificate and all the required documents? Any specific advise about this?

In the very unlikely event that the citizenship certificate doesn't arrive or gets lost in the mail and I am already locked outside Canada with no PR and no passport? can I apply for another one online? or will it be a major problem then?

In the mail they sent for the oath they say this in bold: "You shouldn’t finalize any travel plans until you get your citizenship certificate and then your passport." I wonder why do they have this warning in place?

Thanks to everyone who will be kind to help.

 

[armoured]

You won't be locked outside Canada but you may be delayed and hence inconvenienced at your own cost. I don't know orocessokg times and may depend where you are.

Alternatives do exist in emergencies.

If you can travel to USA, you can cross at land border using the citizenship certificate (and supporting id).

 

[akbardxb]

I have my oath upcoming and I have a travel schedule that will be extremely difficult to change. I will stay for few months outside Canada. I might have to leave before the citizenship certificate arrives in the mail. But my husband will be at home here and will receive it and can bring it to me outside Canada when he joins me next month.

I will have to apply to my first passport from outside Canada then. I can apply from USA or from another country.

My question is: Can I apply for the first passport from outside Canada if I have the citizenship certificate and all the required documents? Any specific advise about this?

In the very unlikely event that the citizenship certificate doesn't arrive or gets lost in the mail and I am already locked outside Canada with no PR and no passport? can I apply for another one online? or will it be a major problem then?

In the mail they sent for the oath they say this in bold: "You shouldn’t finalize any travel plans until you get your citizenship certificate and then your passport." I wonder why do they have this warning in place?

Thanks to everyone who will be kind to help.

Could be simpler if you are from a country that permits dual citizenship. If you are from a country like India, getting your first Canadian passport in India could be troublesome when you are trying to exit.

Travelling by land from the US, entering Canada as a Canadian without a Canadian passport would not be a problem as mentioned by @armoured

 

[funloving]

I have my oath upcoming and I have a travel schedule that will be extremely difficult to change. I will stay for few months outside Canada. I might have to leave before the citizenship certificate arrives in the mail. But my husband will be at home here and will receive it and can bring it to me outside Canada when he joins me next month.

I will have to apply to my first passport from outside Canada then. I can apply from USA or from another country.

My question is: Can I apply for the first passport from outside Canada if I have the citizenship certificate and all the required documents? Any specific advise about this?

In the very unlikely event that the citizenship certificate doesn't arrive or gets lost in the mail and I am already locked outside Canada with no PR and no passport? can I apply for another one online? or will it be a major problem then?

In the mail they sent for the oath they say this in bold: "You shouldn’t finalize any travel plans until you get your citizenship certificate and then your passport." I wonder why do they have this warning in place?

Thanks to everyone who will be kind to help.

You can apply from outside of Canada with the original certificate. To get duplicate certificate you will have to apply again and current wait times are about 15 months.

Citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship)

15 months

We updated this processing time due to the impacts of COVID-19. Applications outside Canada and the United States may take longer.

 

[hussamfarooq]

You can request expedited delivery or in-person pick up of certificate from officer at oath. I have same issue i have oath ceremony tomorrow and i need to travel end of feb.. I will request expedited delivery

 

[aurora2014]

Not every site seems to allow in-person pickup. I was told I couldn't go get mine in-person (Vancouver)

 

[RoseDB]

You can request expedited delivery or in-person pick up of certificate from officer at oath. I have same issue i have oath ceremony tomorrow and i need to travel end of feb.. I will request expedited delivery

Hi, Were you able to pickup the certificate in person after Oath ceremony? I am curious to know a I have my oath soon and can't wait for my certificate to arrive in mail after 2-4 weeks as I have to travel.

 

[RoseDB]

I have my oath upcoming and I have a travel schedule that will be extremely difficult to change. I will stay for few months outside Canada. I might have to leave before the citizenship certificate arrives in the mail. But my husband will be at home here and will receive it and can bring it to me outside Canada when he joins me next month.

I will have to apply to my first passport from outside Canada then. I can apply from USA or from another country.

My question is: Can I apply for the first passport from outside Canada if I have the citizenship certificate and all the required documents? Any specific advise about this?

In the very unlikely event that the citizenship certificate doesn't arrive or gets lost in the mail and I am already locked outside Canada with no PR and no passport? can I apply for another one online? or will it be a major problem then?

In the mail they sent for the oath they say this in bold: "You shouldn’t finalize any travel plans until you get your citizenship certificate and then your passport." I wonder why do they have this warning in place?

Thanks to everyone who will be kind to help.

Hi there, what did you finally do? Were u able to leave without Canadian passport? I am curious as I am in same situation as yours.

 

[hussamfarooq]

Hi, Were you able to pickup the certificate in person after Oath ceremony? I am curious to know a I have my oath soon and can't wait for my certificate to arrive in mail after 2-4 weeks as I have to travel.

Yes I picked up my certificate from Niagara falls office and applied for urgent passport processing in 2 days i got them all and travelled

 

[Dalboy1980]

I've just applied for my Canadian passport from outside of Canada in the UK....so will see how long it takes now....anywhere between 4-8 weeks all being well

 

[RoseDB]

Yes I picked up my certificate from Niagara falls office and applied for urgent passport processing in 2 days i got them all and travelled

thanks for your reply. So, I need to inform to IRCC officer during the Oath ceremony? My office is Montreal, however, the Oath letter does not have the address listed on it.

 

[Flori-Ana]

Yes I picked up my certificate from Niagara falls office and applied for urgent passport processing in 2 days i got them all and travelled

Hi hussamfarooq, I am exactly in the same situation as you were (Oath on May 10th, travel on May 20th). Please, how many days after your oath ceremony could you pick up your certificate? Thank you!

 

[MW2015]

You won't be locked outside Canada but you may be delayed and hence inconvenienced at your own cost. I don't know orocessokg times and may depend where you are.

Alternatives do exist in emergencies.

If you can travel to USA, you can cross at land border using the citizenship certificate (and supporting id).

Does land border accept citizenship certificate more readily than flying into say Pearson? I am in the same boat, applied for passport but have not received it. Do have my certificate.

 

[MW2015]

Hi hussamfarooq, I am exactly in the same situation as you were (Oath on May 10th, travel on May 20th). Please, how many days after your oath ceremony could you pick up your certificate? Thank you!

Certificate arrives by mail in about 2 weeks.

 

[armoured]

Does land border accept citizenship certificate more readily than flying into say Pearson? I am in the same boat, applied for passport but have not received it. Do have my certificate.

Here's the deal: the law says border officials 'shall' let citizens into the country. The only 'but' here is as long as the border official is satisfied the individual is a Canadian. This is at ANY port of entry (just that there's no way to get to the ones in the airports except by plane).

So yes, at a land border, you should be fine with showing other identification (eg with photo name and DOB) and your citizenship certificate (or even a copy or UCI etc to allow them to find you in the database).

The wrinkle is that a citizen must show a passport to board a plane to Canada (I'm ignoring a few minor exceptions for now). This doesn't apply at a land border as no airline in the way. (Actually I think technically it's 'common carriers' so might cover buses and trains but not private vehicles, I don't know about different types of boats).