Lux et Veritas said:
I've been thinking about the citizenship laws today and I find the following 2 things confusing:
1) If you applied under 3/4 rules but your application falls under the new processing procedure (the so-called faster processing), will you get an RQ under the new process and if so, does that mean that both routine and non-routine applications are now processed in 1 year or less?
New procedures have been in effect since last August 1.
New requirements taking effect June 11 only apply to applications which are received at CIC after June 10 (recognizing that incomplete applications recieved by June 10 and not returned as complete also by June 10 will not count as received by June 10).
The so-called "faster processing" referred to in CIC information is a general description of internal CIC activity, the processing of the backlog, and in part a forecast or promise based on expectations given the impact of a range of changes, statutory, regulatory, internal practices, and (I further believe) the expected dramatic reduction in the number of applications being submitted after June 10 (due in large part to the dramatic reduction in the pool of PRs eligible due to the suddenly extended, by one year minimum, time it will take to meet the residency requirement).
Reminder: CIC online information is
NOT official, and this
one-year processing is more or less a promise, one that CIC is not bound by. I suspect it will indeed work out this way, as promised, for
routine applicants, and also be far more timely for non-routine applicants as well. But it is shy of being a guarantee.
The sorts of reasons which led applications into non-routine processing will almost certainly continue to apply. Both for applications submitted by June 10 which are governed by the old requirements, and those submitted after June 10 and governed by the new requirements. CIC will still screen applications for risk indicators, or a reason to question residency, and issue RQ . . . again, to both before and after applicants.
Indeed, it seems quite likely there was a rush to apply recently and probably a rush of shortfall applications as well (basic residency cases short of the 1095 APP threshold), and so it is likely there will a large number of recently made applications given RQ.
I don't think CIC is promising to fully process these non-routine applications in less than a year. And, if CIC fails to meet its promise, this is the group most likely to be affected.
Lux et Veritas said:
2) For those who applied under 3/4 rules, would the "intent to reside" regulations apply if they receive their passports after June 11, 2015? Or would that only apply to people whose applications are received on or after 11 June?
To be clear: the "intent to reside" requirement will have absolutely no application to anyone who has received their Canadian passport. Does not matter when. Does not have any effect on citizens and only citizens are issued a Canadian passport.
The "intent to reside" requirement also does not have any application to applicants who are processed under the old requirements . . . that is, it does
NOT apply to applicants whose
complete application is received by CIC by June 10. That said, CIC may still be targeting any of these applicants who CIC perceives to have
applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport . . . that is, an extended absence while the application is pending, particularly working abroad on anything other than a temporary assignment from a Canadian employer,
risks increased scrutiny, RQ, or even a more skeptical approach by CIC.
