October 2024 - Citizenship Applications

[wizardofwest90210]

I did the oath ceremony this morning at IRCC Vancouver branch. There were 2 time slots at 9 and 11am. Mine was 11am, there were about 66-67 people. It was simple and fast. They gave us the paper certificate of citizenship, whoever wants the electric one had to return the paper certificate. Around 4pm, we received the email with instruction to download the electric certificate from the IRCC portal.
Good luck to all of you who are still waiting!

Hello, congrats! So the paper certificate is given in-person on the day of the oath? I thought they mail it out and can take upto 10 business days? I feel the e certificate is a better option no? Thanks!

 

[USProgrammer]

As a further update, my virtual oath was Wednesday (March 26), and I sent to oath form immediately after. I still don't have the e-certificate and the tracker has not changed.

To recap: I followed up with another email the next day, after realizing I never got the customary auto-reply, asking if they received it. I received an auto-reply to that email (with no attachment), so I emailed it again, printing the PDF to a new PDF, hoping if there was an issue with the file, a different file would help. After getting no auto-reply to that too, I sent it via the web form for "add documents to your application", since that will "timestamp" it that I sent it within the required 48 hours.

Hopefully someone will process it at some point, and hopefully I'm Canadian now, since I cut up my PR card.

 

[armoured]

Hello, congrats! So the paper certificate is given in-person on the day of the oath? I thought they mail it out and can take upto 10 business days? I feel the e certificate is a better option no? Thanks!

Yes, paper certificate given at the in-person ceremony. The report above was first I've heard of them offering the e-certificate option at the in-person ceremony - not saying it doesn't happen, just first I've heard of it.

Which is better: personal opinion only. IMO: only advantage of the physical one is that it looks nice, and for those used to paper, feels more 'real.'

 

[USProgrammer]

Yes, paper certificate given at the in-person ceremony. The report above was first I've heard of them offering the e-certificate option at the in-person ceremony - not saying it doesn't happen, just first I've heard of it.

Which is better: personal opinion only. IMO: only advantage of the physical one is that it looks nice, and for those used to paper, feels more 'real.'

The other advantage is that you'd have it... unlike me. lol. Once I get it though, I'll be happy with the e-certificate, since it can be preserved digitally and is "the original" every time you view or print it.

 

[hoahoa]

The other advantage is that you'd have it... unlike me. lol. Once I get it though, I'll be happy with the e-certificate, since it can be preserved digitally and is "the original" every time you view or print it.

Exactly I think half of the room returned the paper certificates after taking photos haha. IRCC staff told us to not laminate the paper certificate, and if we lost it, we have to apply to reissue the one => the e-certificate sounds safer and easier to maintenance for me.

 

[hoahoa]

Hello, congrats! So the paper certificate is given in-person on the day of the oath? I thought they mail it out and can take upto 10 business days? I feel the e certificate is a better option no? Thanks!

The paper certificate was handed out in the ceremony. IRCC chose a honor person to gave the "welcome home" speech => we gave the oath together => we lined up to sign the oath and receive the certificate on the stage => sing the anthem together and it's done. Whoever chose to receive e-certificate will return the paper one to IRCC staff, they told us the instruction to download e-certificate will be within 5 business days, but it was fast, we received it in the afternoon.

 

[Harman@25]

Type: Online Application
Location: Surrey
App type: Single
Physical Presence days: 1
App sent date: October 10, 2024
AOR: October 21, 2024
Tracker Access- October 24, 2024
Fingerprint request- Nov 01, 2024
Fingerprint done- Nov 04, 2024
Background complete -Nov 15
Test request- 24 dec 2024
Test window- 27 dec-Jan25
Test taken- Dec 27 2024
Test complete on tracker- Jan09 2025
LPP- March 27, 2025
Oath- still not started

 

[USProgrammer]

Type: Online Application
Location: Surrey
App type: Single
Physical Presence days: 1
App sent date: October 10, 2024
AOR: October 21, 2024
Tracker Access- October 24, 2024
Fingerprint request- Nov 01, 2024
Fingerprint done- Nov 04, 2024
Background complete -Nov 15
Test request- 24 dec 2024
Test window- 27 dec-Jan25
Test taken- Dec 27 2024
Test complete on tracker- Jan09 2025
LPP- March 27, 2025
Oath- still not started

I'm excited you got LPP, presumably from the Vancouver office! Haven't seen much movement out of them lately (here).

Edit: Physical presence days: 1 ???

 

[armoured]

Exactly I think half of the room returned the paper certificates after taking photos haha. IRCC staff told us to not laminate the paper certificate, and if we lost it, we have to apply to reissue the one => the e-certificate sounds safer and easier to maintenance for me.

That is true, but this advantage is pretty small. You pretty much only ever use it to apply for your first passport and then ... that's it, really. I have the old card and haven't used it in ... a long time. Honestly can't recall using it since I was a young adult.

Now that is kind of a recipe for 'filing it somewhere' and then forgetting it forever, so not ideal should you end up needing it. Again, I mostly think the e-certificate is better - just the difference is small.

We'll see down the road, I expect most places will end up taking the scanned / photocopy version anyway.

 

[moman21]

That is true, but this advantage is pretty small. You pretty much only ever use it to apply for your first passport and then ... that's it, really. I have the old card and haven't used it in ... a long time. Honestly can't recall using it since I was a young adult.

Now that is kind of a recipe for 'filing it somewhere' and then forgetting it forever, so not ideal should you end up needing it. Again, I mostly think the e-certificate is better - just the difference is small.

We'll see down the road, I expect most places will end up taking the scanned / photocopy version anyway.

I keep my birth certificate and my wife's/kids plus all of our expired passports to date in our safety deposit box along with our other valuables. You only need photocopies of birth certificates for most things and US passports serve as proof of citizenship for life, even if expired. To your point, keeping them around the house would mean getting lost in my household. LOL I'll do the same with my Canadian citizenship certificate. Even if I get the ecertificate, a printout will go into the safety deposit box and so will my expired Canadian passports when I get to that point.

 

[Harman@25]

Type: Online Application
Location: Surrey
App type: Single
Physical Presence days: 1295
App sent date: October 10, 2024
AOR: October 21, 2024
Tracker Access- October 24, 2024
Fingerprint request- Nov 01, 2024
Fingerprint done- Nov 04, 2024
Background complete -Nov 15
Test request- 24 dec 2024
Test window- 27 dec-Jan25
Test taken- Dec 27 2024
Test complete on tracker- Jan09 2025
LPP- March 27, 2025
Oath- still not started

 

[armoured]

I keep my birth certificate and my wife's/kids plus all of our expired passports to date in our safety deposit box along with our other valuables. You only need photocopies of birth certificates for most things and US passports serve as proof of citizenship for life, even if expired. To your point, keeping them around the house would mean getting lost in my household. LOL I'll do the same with my Canadian citizenship certificate. Even if I get the ecertificate, a printout will go into the safety deposit box and so will my expired Canadian passports when I get to that point.

Yep, I'll admit safe deposit box better than my system of random drawers and boxes ))). But I think just about everyone will find that after getting their first passport - that citizenship certificate will pretty much just lie there forever. Even things like birth certificates - as you said, copies usually work fine, and getting 'original copies' (extracts which are considered same as originals) from most well-run jurisdictions online/by mail nowadays is trivial.

I don't see what purpose keeping expired passports in safety deposit boxes serves, but however you wish to do.

 

[moman21]

Yep, I'll admit safe deposit box better than my system of random drawers and boxes ))). But I think just about everyone will find that after getting their first passport - that citizenship certificate will pretty much just lie there forever. Even things like birth certificates - as you said, copies usually work fine, and getting 'original copies' (extracts which are considered same as originals) from most well-run jurisdictions online/by mail nowadays is trivial.

I don't see what purpose keeping expired passports in safety deposit boxes serves, but however you wish to do.

I'm glad I did it b3cauae now the US started online renewals and they want you to provide copies of the bio page online. If I had the old passports destroyed I wouldn't have been able to renew online and without submitting any proof. Anyway, I keep them there cause I have the space to I guess. At some point I'll send the old ones in to be properly destroyed.

 

[moman21]

We had some conversation on here about the difference between background check and prohibitions. As well as what RCMP does vs CSIS. Here is some information that sheds light on these topics directly from IRCC.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/committees/secu-august-28-2024/citizenship.html

 

[armoured]

I'm glad I did it b3cauae now the US started online renewals and they want you to provide copies of the bio page online. If I had the old passports destroyed I wouldn't have been able to renew online and without submitting any proof. Anyway, I keep them there cause I have the space to I guess. At some point I'll send the old ones in to be properly destroyed.

Oh, I keep copies electronically and the originals around (somewhere). I just don't consider them valuable/important enough to keep in a safe deposit box. But if that's the easiest, then by all means.

TBH haven't had to pull up an old passport in ages though.