November 2021 - Citizenship applications

[americanidiot]

The IRCC has not yet received the “science” results from the Liberal government to stop using COVID-19 as an excuse. I am outside of Canada, nobody cares about masks or COVID-19 anymore.

How is this relevant? FYI not sure if you're aware but masks haven't been required here in over 2 months now

 

[wksj]

How is this relevant? FYI not sure if you're aware but masks haven't been required here in over 2 months now

I had to wear a mask and show vaccination proof for my domestic flight just last week, and then no masks for my transatlantic flight. It is relevant because they are still saying they don't have enough resources to complete files, respond to web forms or ATIP requests in a timely manner with the COVID-19 excuse.

 

[saou17]

Hi all,
I've been lurking this forum for some time now. Please, feel free to add me to the tracker.
Online application, sent Nov 23. Got AOR on February 8th, and no updates since.
I spent almost 8 years in Canada, 3.5 as a student, 2 in a PGWP, 2 as PR. For personal circumstances I moved out of Canada 2 days after applying for citizenship (I actually delayed the moving process to be able to apply as I was just days shy of being eligible). My PR expires in 2024 so no rush there. My question is, I already have a Canadian son and we want to have a second kid. If I get pregnant and have a kid outside Canada before getting my citizenship, does anyone know what to do to get citizenship for that future baby? Being the dependent of a PR he/she would have to apply for PR too and I would have to notify immigration about a new dependent but can he/she be included in my online application somehow? If anyone is able to find information it would be very helpful. My husband will be applying for citizenship at the end of the summer (similar case as mine but different timeline), should I advise him to apply on paper and then add the new dependent to his application later on? If anyone can find a similar post/thread with the same question or situation please share it with me. Thank you

For your questions:
- At anytime during the citizenship processing, inform IRCC of any changes to your application, including change of address, if you left the country, and your child birth when it occurs. Pregnancy is not something that IRCC requires you report while they process your application.
- To inform of any changes to your application including the birth of your child, you contact IRCC via webform and send them your child's birth certificate. This process goes for whether you applied online or offline, whether your child is born in Canada or outside of Canada.
- Process to contact IRCC is via webform can be found on IRCC's website.
- If child is born before husband applies to citizenship, yes child will be included in husbands application regardless of he applies paper or online
- if child is born after husband applies to citizenship, yes husband should inform IRCC using webform. Same applies to you if your application is still processed at any time (even if you give birth after oath and prior to receiving your certificate, or even after obtaining citizenship certificate and not yet applied for passport, or even after applying for passport and not yet received it).

I hope this answers your question. To the 2nd part on husband applying for citizenship while outside of Canada, I hope he fulfilled the 1095 days physical presence as there is no working around that. Also assuming he lived in Canada prior to becoming PR, he can only claim 365 days of his time as Temporary resident (on student visa or work permit) in his 1095 days. I am assuming you calculated the 1095 days of physical presence in the 5 years eligibility.

For citizenship of child born outside of Canada, NEITHER you NOR your husband can pass citizenship to the child born outside of Canada as NONE of you is born in Canada.

Details:

Passing the citizenship to a child born outside of Canada is a bit of a complicated process (especially when on PR and OUTSIDE of Canada). Basically as naturalized citizen, you'll have to apply for PR for your child and for him/her to obtain Canadian citizenship, they'd have to go through the process (1095 days physical presence in Canada except if Canadian naturalized parent works for Canadian government outside of Canada).
As far as my understanding of the citizenship acquisition law, If child is born outside of Canada while parents on PR, same rule applies. However if you lose your PR while your child is on PR, this is problematic (for instance to bring back the child to live in Canada to fulfill the 1095 days, you or father need valid immigration status to travel with the child who has the PR). Same complexity goes to the case if child gets PR but does no fulfill the 1095 days (assuming you and husband get citizenship but child remains on PR). At one point you need to go back to Canada to live there so child fulfills the 1095 as far as my understanding of the below. I don't think the child will keep PR status if he/she lives outside of Canada indefinitely while parents are naturalized citizens. Child risks loosing PR if the time spent outside of Canada as PR exceeds 2 years within the given PR period. Child can choose to apply for PR when they become adult if they establish some links to Canada (we don't know how the law will change in the future, but as you see, the child will not get automatic citizenship. PR is also not to be taken for granted as it requires the child to live in Canada for at least 1095 days - 3 years within 5 years of eligibility to apply for CAN citizenship, regardless of your own status CAN Citizen or PR -- the case gets worse if you as an applicant lose your PR status!)

Luckily, you are NOT pregnant yet. Just thinking about those scenarios is anxiety-inducing and mind-bogling to be honest lol!! So all this is just hypothetical. I recommend you check with an immigration lawyer when you ACTUALLY fall pregnant and ask the lawyer about your options if you deem that living in Canada is not possible for the moment or for years to come. If that's the case, I was wondering if it might not be easier to give birth to your child in Canada and spare yourself and your child the hassle? As you will see from the below, you won't be able to pass your citizenship automatically to your child due to the changes of citizenship acquisition law of 2009 as neither you nor your husband are Canadian first generations born in Canada.

Here is the citizenship acquisition laws to give you an idea:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/acquisition-loss/acquisition.html

Here is basically:

Citizen by descent [paragraph 3(1)(b)]
Citizen’s date of birth: on or after February 15, 1977
Paragraph 3(1)(b) sets out that a person is a Canadian citizen if that person is born outside Canada to a Canadian parent on or after February 15, 1977.
Persons born outside Canada on or after April 17, 2009
Aside from a few exceptions described under subsection 3(5), the amendments to the Citizenship Act introduced on April 17, 2009, now generally limit citizenship by descent to persons who are born to a Canadian parent abroad in the first generation. Since April 17, 2009, a person who is born outside Canada to a Canadian parent is automatically a Canadian citizen by birth only if that person is of the first generation born outside Canada.
Note: It is possible that a person born outside Canada to a Canadian parent on or after April 17, 2009, will be stateless because the person is not recognized as a Canadian citizen due in part to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent and in part to the person concerned not having acquired any other citizenship either by descent or by birth on soil because of other countries’ own domestic citizenship laws. In such cases, refer to subsection 5(5) of the Citizenship Act, which sets out the requirements for a grant of Canadian citizenship to stateless persons born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.


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[saou17]

I ordered my ATIP files a month ago. Here is what I posted to the forum of October 2021 applicants:

"Just received my ATIP files this morning. The file is in e-inventory, with secondary office Niagara Falls (assigned since 21 jan 2022). My application is routine: all documents I sent them have been reviewed except the non-PR days for physical presence. ATIP also says that as of Jan 21 (which is the date I received AOR), nothing have started but I see due dates for when security clearance and criminality were supposed to be completed ( the due dates were Feb 2022 and April 2022 respectively, and we are already June 2022).

I could see in the page 40 the notes of the Officer saying that my language credentials are valid and that the physical presence is also a yes. So maybe the BCG was in the works and not updated in the system, and the same for other categories. Whether they do so or not on time is the biggest question to be had. All the sections have due dates of Jan 2023 in my case (meaning they should update language, tax review, physical presence and even the test by this date). What I noticed in the ATIP is that it basically reproduces the process for granting the AOR but not anything else that comes after it. Since I registered in the e-tracker on jan 24 where my application was in progress, I don't know if ATIP tells the story of what happens after the AOR or not. That is my understanding but I could be wrong."

 

[GD.Iron.80]

I ordered my ATIP files a month ago. Here is what I posted to the forum of October 2021 applicants:

"Just received my ATIP files this morning. The file is in e-inventory, with secondary office Niagara Falls (assigned since 21 jan 2022). My application is routine: all documents I sent them have been reviewed except the non-PR days for physical presence. ATIP also says that as of Jan 21 (which is the date I received AOR), nothing have started but I see due dates for when security clearance and criminality were supposed to be completed ( the due dates were Feb 2022 and April 2022 respectively, and we are already June 2022).

I could see in the page 40 the notes of the Officer saying that my language credentials are valid and that the physical presence is also a yes. So maybe the BCG was in the works and not updated in the system, and the same for other categories. Whether they do so or not on time is the biggest question to be had. All the sections have due dates of Jan 2023 in my case (meaning they should update language, tax review, physical presence and even the test by this date). What I noticed in the ATIP is that it basically reproduces the process for granting the AOR but not anything else that comes after it. Since I registered in the e-tracker on jan 24 where my application was in progress, I don't know if ATIP tells the story of what happens after the AOR or not. That is my understanding but I could be wrong."

Thanks for the info. My GCMS notes also had "due dates" all being past due, by a good 1-2 months and then they had other "due dates" in Jan 2023, which is weird.

When I tried calling IRCC today the automated system said: "all applications recieved after Jan 14th 2022 have not been started", which is a lie, as most paper applications received after this date are in process... My AOR was early Feb and everything is "Not started".

 

[wksj]

This is not a school assignment where they get punished for not doing it by the due date. All those dates are automatically placed on the files. They are basically suggestions that were relevant before the pandemic. Now they don’t matter at all, there is no accountability.

 

[saou17]

Thanks for the info. My GCMS notes also had "due dates" all being past due, by a good 1-2 months and then they had other "due dates" in Jan 2023, which is weird.

When I tried calling IRCC today the automated system said: "all applications recieved after Jan 14th 2022 have not been started", which is a lie, as most paper applications received after this date are in process... My AOR was early Feb and everything is "Not started".

Waw, never knew that they have this automated message. In all cases, if you are Nov online applicant, keep coming to the forum here to have an approximate timeline of when your turn will come for test. My AOR is 2 weeks ahead of yours. I will post here once I get an update. I am seeing people with AOR from last week of December to early January getting test invites. Perhaps they send test invite for AOR 2 weeks by 2 weeks (I am just guessing from what people are putting in the forum). I don't know. We'll become wait experts at the end of this citizenship process lol.

 

[saou17]

This is not a school assignment where they get punished for not doing it by the due date. All those dates are automatically placed on the files. They are basically suggestions that were relevant before the pandemic. Now they don’t matter at all, there is no accountability.

That's the sad part. Let's hope they stick to them.

 

[guille1612]

hello friends
Can anyone tell me if the test can be done at any hour/time within the dates window they provided? Any advise or warning of any hour not recommended for taking the test and if there is any best time to take it within the day?
Thanks in advance

 

[Raza0071]

Hello guys,
Here are the updates from me;
Vancouver, family
App sent: 30 Nov 2021
AOR: 11 Feb 2022
Background Completed: 3 March 2022
Test Invite Sent: 16 June 2022
Test Taken Online: 17 June 2022
Test Updated to Completed: 20 June 2022

Prohibitions, Physical Presence and Language Skills in process. Oath Ceremony not started.

Thank you!

Congratulations
From where did you prepare yourself for test

 

[Elgar33]

For your questions:
- At anytime during the citizenship processing, inform IRCC of any changes to your application, including change of address, if you left the country, and your child birth when it occurs. Pregnancy is not something that IRCC requires you report while they process your application.
- To inform of any changes to your application including the birth of your child, you contact IRCC via webform and send them your child's birth certificate. This process goes for whether you applied online or offline, whether your child is born in Canada or outside of Canada.
- Process to contact IRCC is via webform can be found on IRCC's website.
- If child is born before husband applies to citizenship, yes child will be included in husbands application regardless of he applies paper or online
- if child is born after husband applies to citizenship, yes husband should inform IRCC using webform. Same applies to you if your application is still processed at any time (even if you give birth after oath and prior to receiving your certificate, or even after obtaining citizenship certificate and not yet applied for passport, or even after applying for passport and not yet received it).

I hope this answers your question. To the 2nd part on husband applying for citizenship while outside of Canada, I hope he fulfilled the 1095 days physical presence as there is no working around that. Also assuming he lived in Canada prior to becoming PR, he can only claim 365 days of his time as Temporary resident (on student visa or work permit) in his 1095 days. I am assuming you calculated the 1095 days of physical presence in the 5 years eligibility.

For citizenship of child born outside of Canada, NEITHER you NOR your husband can pass citizenship to the child born outside of Canada as NONE of you is born in Canada.

Details:

Passing the citizenship to a child born outside of Canada is a bit of a complicated process (especially when on PR and OUTSIDE of Canada). Basically as naturalized citizen, you'll have to apply for PR for your child and for him/her to obtain Canadian citizenship, they'd have to go through the process (1095 days physical presence in Canada except if Canadian naturalized parent works for Canadian government outside of Canada).
As far as my understanding of the citizenship acquisition law, If child is born outside of Canada while parents on PR, same rule applies. However if you lose your PR while your child is on PR, this is problematic (for instance to bring back the child to live in Canada to fulfill the 1095 days, you or father need valid immigration status to travel with the child who has the PR). Same complexity goes to the case if child gets PR but does no fulfill the 1095 days (assuming you and husband get citizenship but child remains on PR). At one point you need to go back to Canada to live there so child fulfills the 1095 as far as my understanding of the below. I don't think the child will keep PR status if he/she lives outside of Canada indefinitely while parents are naturalized citizens. Child risks loosing PR if the time spent outside of Canada as PR exceeds 2 years within the given PR period. Child can choose to apply for PR when they become adult if they establish some links to Canada (we don't know how the law will change in the future, but as you see, the child will not get automatic citizenship. PR is also not to be taken for granted as it requires the child to live in Canada for at least 1095 days - 3 years within 5 years of eligibility to apply for CAN citizenship, regardless of your own status CAN Citizen or PR -- the case gets worse if you as an applicant lose your PR status!)

Luckily, you are NOT pregnant yet. Just thinking about those scenarios is anxiety-inducing and mind-bogling to be honest lol!! So all this is just hypothetical. I recommend you check with an immigration lawyer when you ACTUALLY fall pregnant and ask the lawyer about your options if you deem that living in Canada is not possible for the moment or for years to come. If that's the case, I was wondering if it might not be easier to give birth to your child in Canada and spare yourself and your child the hassle? As you will see from the below, you won't be able to pass your citizenship automatically to your child due to the changes of citizenship acquisition law of 2009 as neither you nor your husband are Canadian first generations born in Canada.

Here is the citizenship acquisition laws to give you an idea:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/acquisition-loss/acquisition.html

Here is basically:

Citizen by descent [paragraph 3(1)(b)]
Citizen’s date of birth: on or after February 15, 1977
Paragraph 3(1)(b) sets out that a person is a Canadian citizen if that person is born outside Canada to a Canadian parent on or after February 15, 1977.
Persons born outside Canada on or after April 17, 2009
Aside from a few exceptions described under subsection 3(5), the amendments to the Citizenship Act introduced on April 17, 2009, now generally limit citizenship by descent to persons who are born to a Canadian parent abroad in the first generation. Since April 17, 2009, a person who is born outside Canada to a Canadian parent is automatically a Canadian citizen by birth only if that person is of the first generation born outside Canada.
Note: It is possible that a person born outside Canada to a Canadian parent on or after April 17, 2009, will be stateless because the person is not recognized as a Canadian citizen due in part to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent and in part to the person concerned not having acquired any other citizenship either by descent or by birth on soil because of other countries’ own domestic citizenship laws. In such cases, refer to subsection 5(5) of the Citizenship Act, which sets out the requirements for a grant of Canadian citizenship to stateless persons born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.


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Thank you for all the information provided!
My husband is actually going to Canada for work this summer to reach the 1095 days and then apply for citizenship. He couldn't delay the move date and still needs 30 more days that will get this summer in order to apply for citizenship.

The only thing that I believe you are wrong is that if I get citizenship before the future baby is born I can pass it to the baby. Citizens by naturalization are considered first generation even if born outside of Canada.

I hadn't considered that going through the PR route might not be possible because of the 1095 requirement even for newborns (given that we don't live in Canada so who knows when we'll be able to spend 3 years there).

We are aiming to have the baby in about a year so hopefully my citizenship application moves faster than that. And I cannot give birth in Canada because I don't have the money for the hospital bill and lost my right to healthcare when I moved.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your reply. You gave me a new point of view on my dilemma

 

[PolarBear78]

Is Citizenship ceremony status change from 'Not started' to 'In progress' only after receiving oath letter?

 

[PandS]

Update: All moved to completed!!! June 23,2022!!!

Type: Online application
Location: Winnipeg
Being processed by: Vancouver
Physical Presence Days: 1,123
Application: Single
Application submitted: November 8, 2021
Delivered: November 8, 2021
AOR: Nov 16, 2021
Background completed: April 1, 2022
Test Invitation: April 22,2022
Test: April 30, 2022
Score: 19/20
DM/Prohibitions, Physical Presence and Language Skills all completed: June 23,2022

 

[preet.tech89]

Hi, Do we need to enter the address for hotel/airbnb under Address/Residence section during the vacation outside Canada? What if exact airbnb/hotel address is lost and do not remember? Kindly suggest. Thanks

https://ibb.co/QmZc9fX

 

[dany125]

Congratulations
From where did you prepare yourself for test

apnatoronto and Richmond BC Public Library ....Cover almost all Citizenship questions....I got 20/20 by doing these questions and read one time quick read of the Discover Canada Book...Hope that helps.