If I'm understanding correctly, they're looking into stamps from 10+ years ago? And asking for specific questions (like Hong Kong travel) even though it doesn't apply to you. It's indeed very strange.
It doesn't easily fall into any category.
For example, if there's any issue with your security clearance, they'll just let the application collect dust and not make any progress at all.
Thanks for the input, and I sincerely appreciate your hypotheses.
Prohibitions and background check are done. In fact, everything on my tracker appears as completed (background was completed in january of 2020, actually...). My name is relatively rare, so I would be extremely surprised if there was someone else with a criminal background and my same name. Unfortunately, I think this is a combination of unlucky circumstances (as if we did not have enough of those already in this group). I think i signed at 1098 days or something.
They are unable to confirm 2 dates from my trips that do not appear on the internal ICES report, and so they looked into my passport stamps to try and find those. My passport was not stamped for those two trips (officers in many places do not stamp passports now, actually), so they are asking questions about some stamps that are not very legible (my guess is that they are doing this to check if they correspond to the 2 trips they are trying to verify). They are not legible because they are super old and the ink wears out. So i have tried to provide evidence with flight itineraries and boarding passes when available, both for the stamps and the 2 missing trips.
The hong kong thing.... my guess is that it is related to a trip to mainland China during my eligibility period. I did not visit Hong Kong, but I did visit Beijing. I definitely find the request strange, but my guess is that they ask the question since Hong Kong still has a border with China and check points still exist. So it's probably to add more info on that trip. Fortunately, I have an exit stamp from where I was before China, an entry stamp into China the same day, an exit stamp out of China some time later, and an entry stamp into Canada for that same day. Since there are no additional stamps from China anywhere on my passport, I think it is quite evident that I was never in hong kong (that would have implied more stamps, either leaving and returning to china, or additional trips from Canada directly to Hong Kong, which is not the case). I explained the whole situation, and hopefully it makes sense to them.
I honestly do not think there is anything wrong with my file or personal profile. I am unlucky that the two trips they wanted to verify do not have stamps and I got an extremely picky agent. =/
Why do those trips not appear in the system properly? No idea. They are both "half" there. For one trip, the departure date was missing, and for the other it was the return date. Go figure.
I have contacted my MP and the local visa office... we'll see if anything comes from that.
