cassied said:
I'm going to apply for citizenship in a few days but unfortunately I lost my old passport I am afraid to get RQ.
cassied said:
Also I have all the proof that I respect the requirements to ask for citizens but i dont know if i had to send them additional documents when i will applied to avoid RQ.
era1521 said:
After 3 months I received the decision, and it was a refusal. The main reason was based on that I do not have a passport to prove that I was not travelling outside canada more than what I declared in application (I had 5-7 trips). It didnt matter taxes, bank statements, mortgage, my divorce in canada, doctor appointments, etc, etc. I did not appeal the decision.
As the report by
era1521 reflects, CIC and CJs tend to look very skeptically at applicants unable to produce all travel documents covering any and all parts of the relevant four years. Applicants unable to provide all passports make up a significant share of Federal Court cases in citizenship appeals.
Generally there is minimal chance (if any) to avoid RQ by submitting additional documents with the application.
The absence of a relevant passport may not be seen by CIC until the time of the interview. Thus, even though the application passes the initial triage criteria screening and a pre-test RQ is not issued, the prospect of being issued RQ at or following the interview and test is probably quite high.
Innocence in the cause for lost or otherwise absent passport is somewhat relevant, but without all passports covering the full four years CIC seems to just plain be skeptical.
The reason for this is not necessarily rooted in overt suspicions, but rather it is rooted in the nature of the burden of proof. The applicant has the burden of proof.
All potentially relevant travel documents are considered to be important evidence. In any judicial or quasi-judicial process, if important evidence is missing, that undermines the case being made by the party with the burden of proof. Moreover, CIC is not looking merely for stamps reflecting dates of travel, but also wants to see if status to work or permanently reside in some other country has been obtained by the applicant.
However, this does not mean an applicant cannot succeed if a passport is missing for part of the relevant four years.
Indeed, some of the Federal Court cases include those where the CJ granted approval and CIC is the party which appealed, sometimes successfully but not always. And some of the cases are appeals by applicants who win the appeal despite the CJ's denial and the failure to have all passports covering the relevant four years.
I cannot explain what happened in the first application by
era1521 or guess whether or not an appeal might have succeeded, but a lot has changed since then.
One of the key things that has changed is that the CBSA travel history is far more complete now than it was more than four or five years ago. This can help to document specific dates of re-entry into Canada including during the time period for which you no longer have the passport.
Another big change is the RQ procedure itself, which actually encompasses multiple changes over the last several years. Prior to the summer of 2012, as apparently was the case in the first time around for
era1521, residency issue cases could go to a CJ without a thorough vetting by CIC. That simply will not happen now. To some extent this may be a disadvantage in that the process pursuant to which CIC now conducts a far more extensive and thorough assessment of residency cases can take a very long time. But for qualified applicants, those who really did come to Canada and settle in Canada as they declare, and who did meet the actual physical presence test for presence in Canada (1095+ days APP), this extensive and thorough assessment should more or less document or confirm the applicant's declarations.
Nonetheless it is a personal judgment call, as to whether to apply sooner rather than later, or whether to wait so that the lost passport is no longer relevant. (And if you wait, hopefully no other passports are lost in the meantime.)
There are many factors to consider.
The extent to which the applicant has objective documentation showing residency and actual presence in Canada is the main factor. How much of the four years falls within the scope of the lost passport looms large (the more, the worse).
The more of a buffer over and above the threshold 1095 days of APP (actual physical presence) the better.
And of course now the coming-into-force date for the
SCCA is looming, which will increase the minimum APP to 1460 days (in six years), which could mean a significantly longer wait if you delay applying.
In any event, as
era1521 suggested, if you decide to apply sooner rather than wait, not much point in submitting additional documentation with the application, but definitely be collecting your information and documentation to be ready if and when RQ is issued.