Leaving Canada after the citizenship test

[hasti.s.v]

Hello,

I applied for Canadian Citizenship in October 2018 with 1321 days in my physical presence calculator. I passed my citizenship test and interview early in March 2018.

Late in March I emailed CIC to let them know that I will be travelling to Germany for six month and asked them to schedule my citizenship ceremony before my travel date if possible.

I received an email from CIC saying that they are waiting on my clearance and if they don't receive the results before my travel date, they will put my file ON HOLD for that six month and schedule my ceremony after I come back.

My question is: Are they putting my file ON HOLD because they do not process my application if I am away? or they are just trying to be considerate of my travel dates?

I don't want my file to be on hold when I leave. Is there a way to avoid that?

Thanks for any information.

 

[scorph]

Hello,

I applied for Canadian Citizenship in October 2018 with 1321 days in my physical presence calculator. I passed my citizenship test and interview early in March 2018.

Late in March I emailed CIC to let them know that I will be travelling to Germany for six month and asked them to schedule my citizenship ceremony before my travel date if possible.

I received an email from CIC saying that they are waiting on my clearance and if they don't receive the results before my travel date, they will put my file ON HOLD for that six month and schedule my ceremony after I come back.

My question is: Are they putting my file ON HOLD because they do not process my application if I am away? or they are just trying to be considerate of my travel dates?

I don't want my file to be on hold when I leave. Is there a way to avoid that?

Thanks for any information.

Is your trip to Germany that urgent?
Why don’t you postpone it till your citizenship application completes?
You want to travel for 6 months and you don’t want CIC to put your file on hold? Think about those applicants who are waiting patiently. Is it unfair to put your application on hold while you are away and handle those of applicants who are waiting wisely here in Canada?

 

[Seym]

The clearances are not done at IRCC's level, but received from other federal agencies.
Those agencies will work on your clearances and send them to IRCC regardless of your presence in Canada.

If everything goes smoothly, it only means that no oath invitation will be sent before you come back, which is exactly what you want. If it does not, you will receive what's needed from IRCC (a last minute RQ is always a possibility, albeit small!) when you are physically present to be able to send them what's needed.

There is also another possibility : if you can arrange to come back for your oath at the last minute, do so. You may get your passport in 4 business days (2 days delay before you can apply + urgent pick-up) in that situation, or come back to Germany and request it from a canadian consulate there. You have plenty of time to do so since you're spending months in Germany.

 

[sns204]

Hello,

I applied for Canadian Citizenship in October 2018 with 1321 days in my physical presence calculator. I passed my citizenship test and interview early in March 2018.

Late in March I emailed CIC to let them know that I will be travelling to Germany for six month and asked them to schedule my citizenship ceremony before my travel date if possible.

I received an email from CIC saying that they are waiting on my clearance and if they don't receive the results before my travel date, they will put my file ON HOLD for that six month and schedule my ceremony after I come back.

My question is: Are they putting my file ON HOLD because they do not process my application if I am away? or they are just trying to be considerate of my travel dates?

I don't want my file to be on hold when I leave. Is there a way to avoid that?

Thanks for any information.

I think it's the latter. They will continue to process your application but when it's time to schedule your oath invite, they will take into consideration when you are away and schedule for when you get back. Unless you don't have a way to obtain travel documents (i.e. - are stateless), then there is no grounds, and to be honest no reason, to process urgently. Simply take the oath when you get back. Go enjoy yourself!

 

[hasti.s.v]

Is your trip to Germany that urgent?
Why don’t you postpone it till your citizenship application completes?
You want to travel for 6 months and you don’t want CIC to put your file on hold? Think about those applicants who are waiting patiently. Is it unfair to put your application on hold while you are away and handle those of applicants who are waiting wisely here in Canada?

My trip to Germany is for work, not for vacation and therefore is not evitable. I have lived in Canada for almost 10 years and prefer to avoid a six month delay in my application if it is not against the regulations.

 

[hasti.s.v]

The clearances are not done at IRCC's level, but received from other federal agencies.
Those agencies will work on your clearances and send them to IRCC regardless of your presence in Canada.

If everything goes smoothly, it only means that no oath invitation will be sent before you come back, which is exactly what you want. If it does not, you will receive what's needed from IRCC (a last minute RQ is always a possibility, albeit small!) when you are physically present to be able to send them what's needed.

There is also another possibility : if you can arrange to come back for your oath at the last minute, do so. You may get your passport in 4 business days (2 days delay before you can apply + urgent pick-up) in that situation, or come back to Germany and request it from a canadian consulate there. You have plenty of time to do so since you're spending months in Germany.

Thanks for your reply. I can come back to Canadafor taking the oath within the six month. I am wondering if it is acceptable to ask them to schedule my oath whenever they receive my clearance? Or they have a regulation to put my ceremony onhold even though I can come back?

 

[hasti.s.v]

I think it's the latter. They will continue to process your application but when it's time to schedule your oath invite, they will take into consideration when you are away and schedule for when you get back. Unless you don't have a way to obtain travel documents (i.e. - are stateless), then there is no grounds, and to be honest no reason, to process urgently. Simply take the oath when you get back. Go enjoy yourself!

I would like to get my oath letter as soon as my clearance is passed. Is it ok to ask them to schedule my ceremony regardless of my travel dates or not?
I told them about my travel just in case they could schedule it before my trip. Otherwise I wouldn't email them at all.

 

[css2011]

Which city you are from ?

 

[hasti.s.v]

Which city you are from ?

Vancouver. Hmm,does the city make a difference?

 

[Alurra71]

If you have already advised them of your travel times, then I would email them and advise them that you are willing to return to Canada for your oath should it be scheduled within that time period. They should then keep your file active and send you an invite when your file is finished processing and there is an open space available for oath.

 

[css2011]

Vancouver. Hmm,does the city make a difference?

Some places interview will be tough, if they see that you are outside ...

 

[foodie69]

Some places interview will be tough, if they see that you are outside ...

 

[Seym]

I would like to get my oath letter as soon as my clearance is passed. Is it ok to ask them to schedule my ceremony regardless of my travel dates or not?
I told them about my travel just in case they could schedule it before my trip. Otherwise I wouldn't email them at all.

Scheduling your ceremony regardless of your presence in Canada is their default policy, unless you specify otherwise...
So sure, ask them to just ignore your trip if you can fly last minute to Canada if you can.

No idea if they'll just ignore your travel dates since they have them already, but give it a shot !
Good luck

 

[hasti.s.v]

If you have already advised them of your travel times, then I would email them and advise them that you are willing to return to Canada for your oath should it be scheduled within that time period. They should then keep your file active and send you an invite when your file is finished processing and there is an open space available for oath.

Thanks for your reply. This sounds reasonable. My only concern is that it may convey impatience and result in a residence questionnaire and more delay. Is there a chance for an RQ or other additional processing at this stage (after test and interview)? If so, I prefer them to keep my file on hold rather than triggering a lengthy process on my file.

P.S. I have missed to attend some work-related conferences in the recent past due to the visa issue and want to avoid this happening again as much as possible.

 

[LauraTschetter]

Thanks for your reply. This sounds reasonable. My only concern is that it may convey impatience and result in a residence questionnaire and more delay. Is there a chance for an RQ or other additional processing at this stage (after test and interview)? If so, I prefer them to keep my file on hold rather than triggering a lengthy process on my file.

P.S. I have missed to attend some work-related conferences in the recent past due to the visa issue and want to avoid this happening again as much as possible.

When I had my interview at my exam I let my officer know about upcoming travel and she took note and said they would schedule my ceremony with that in mind. So, I think their response means they are just going to wait till you return to schedule your ceremony. Must make sure once you return you touch base with them via the webform to make sure they know you are back