Kitchener Office.
1 - Received June 1st 2012.
2- Processing December 28th 2012.
3- Test October 28th 2013.
4- Oath February 18th 2014.
Background: Came to Canada in 2001 as a student. Post-graduation work permit. Applied for PR through Canadian Experience Class. Became a PR in January 2010. I travel a few times a year to see my family, work events, holidays but I have been living in Canada continuously for almost 13 years.
A few notes from my experience:
- I wasn't well prepared for the interview after the test. I applied with only 1097 days of physical presence. The officer did not ask me any questions or say much, he simply spent 5-10 minutes going through my passport page by page, stamp by stamp. There was a stamp missing from a day trip to the U.S. in 2008 which I had not noticed and had not recorded in my application since it was less than a day. It took me a few minutes to remember what this trip was and I explained to the officer but he didn't seem convinced. I had my CBSA record with me just in case and I showed it to him, it was also missing the record of that trip. It seemed like I was in big trouble and I asked the officer if there is anything I can provide at a later time to account for this trip. He said he will check if the procedures would allow and he would call me if needed. The next day he called me and said that he has been looking through my CBSA report and that something "doesn't jive" with my dates (to my horror). He wanted me to go in again and sign a release to allow him to request the CBSA record again himself (I guess he thought I might have multiple travel documents or something). I went in an hour later and signed the release. He mentioned that he found 2 instances where my CBSA record says that I arrived after midnight and that I had counted those 2 dates in my application( thats because the border officers who stamped my passport on those two dates hadn't rolled their stamp over and the stamp didn't match the computer record ??? ). Anyways, he said he will request another copy of the CBSA record and that if I don't hear anything in 3 months then thats good news. Just over 3 months later I got the notice for the oath even though I was convinced that I was getting an RQ. Moral of the story: apply with more than 2 days buffer, at least a week, make sure you record every trip even if its less than a day, make sure your dates are 100% correct and match your CBSA record, err on the side of safety, and make sure you bring enough documentation to your test and that you are sure of what is listed in the documentation.
- After the oath I asked the officer when I could apply for a passport, she said she will put the information in the system the same day and that I should check with the passport office the next day. I went into the passport office the day after my oath, sure enough my name was there in the system and I was able to apply for an urgent passport which I now have in my hands 2 days after my oath
.
1 - Received June 1st 2012.
2- Processing December 28th 2012.
3- Test October 28th 2013.
4- Oath February 18th 2014.
Background: Came to Canada in 2001 as a student. Post-graduation work permit. Applied for PR through Canadian Experience Class. Became a PR in January 2010. I travel a few times a year to see my family, work events, holidays but I have been living in Canada continuously for almost 13 years.
A few notes from my experience:
- I wasn't well prepared for the interview after the test. I applied with only 1097 days of physical presence. The officer did not ask me any questions or say much, he simply spent 5-10 minutes going through my passport page by page, stamp by stamp. There was a stamp missing from a day trip to the U.S. in 2008 which I had not noticed and had not recorded in my application since it was less than a day. It took me a few minutes to remember what this trip was and I explained to the officer but he didn't seem convinced. I had my CBSA record with me just in case and I showed it to him, it was also missing the record of that trip. It seemed like I was in big trouble and I asked the officer if there is anything I can provide at a later time to account for this trip. He said he will check if the procedures would allow and he would call me if needed. The next day he called me and said that he has been looking through my CBSA report and that something "doesn't jive" with my dates (to my horror). He wanted me to go in again and sign a release to allow him to request the CBSA record again himself (I guess he thought I might have multiple travel documents or something). I went in an hour later and signed the release. He mentioned that he found 2 instances where my CBSA record says that I arrived after midnight and that I had counted those 2 dates in my application( thats because the border officers who stamped my passport on those two dates hadn't rolled their stamp over and the stamp didn't match the computer record ??? ). Anyways, he said he will request another copy of the CBSA record and that if I don't hear anything in 3 months then thats good news. Just over 3 months later I got the notice for the oath even though I was convinced that I was getting an RQ. Moral of the story: apply with more than 2 days buffer, at least a week, make sure you record every trip even if its less than a day, make sure your dates are 100% correct and match your CBSA record, err on the side of safety, and make sure you bring enough documentation to your test and that you are sure of what is listed in the documentation.
- After the oath I asked the officer when I could apply for a passport, she said she will put the information in the system the same day and that I should check with the passport office the next day. I went into the passport office the day after my oath, sure enough my name was there in the system and I was able to apply for an urgent passport which I now have in my hands 2 days after my oath
.
