There are RARE, and I do mean RARE reports of adult grant citizenship applicants allowed to take the oath outside Canada. Most of the very few (very few) verified or otherwise credible reports have been in extremely specialized cases. A couple (and I mean literally just two, but maybe three) involved individuals in Ukraine.
Current law REQUIRES adult grant citizenship candidates take the oath IN Canada. The Minister can allow or approve an exception. There is no indication this is an authority the Minister delegates to another, and without extensive research to indicate otherwise, it appears this is
NOT an authority that can be delegated.
A year and more ago there were claims made in this forum that the government (this would require more than just IRCC) might be moving toward allowing the oath outside Canada comparable to how IRCC allows taking the test while outside Canada. More than a year has passed since those claims were made, referencing NO reliable sources, and there has been no further indication that will happen.
To be clear, giving the test online to applicants outside Canada versus administering the oath outside Canada are very different: there is NO authority in the statutes or regulations which supports suspending processing applications based on an applicant being outside Canada, so there is no basis for denying or prohibiting applicants from taking an online test while outside Canada. Basically, if IRCC opened testing to online, they had to open to applicants regardless of their location.
In contrast, the regulations governing the oath required for adult grants of citizenship (that is, those under section (5(1) in the Citizenship Act) prescribe that the oath must be taken before a Citizenship Judge, at a citizenship ceremony, IN Canada. This is provided by Citizenship Regulations 19 and 24 seen here:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-93-246/page-2.html#h-952206
As noted, EXCEPTION is allowed, which is prescribed by Regulation 22. On its face it appears to require the Minister to make this authorization personally and personally sign it.
Without characterizing their presence and activities here (allowing some, too many, are probably as you label), in regards to the prospect of taking the oath outside Canada there has been a fair amount of misleading commentary, some of which is outright misinformation, more of which is just lacking reliability.
As I noted, there have been some (a very few) verified reports, including a couple high profile cases published in mainstream media, and otherwise credible reports, illustrating that the exception allowed in Regulation 22 has been exercised and individuals have been allowed to take the oath abroad.
It warrants noting that there are lots and lots of "
exceptions to IRCCs policies" of various sorts in various situations. The governing law allows for exceptions in numerous circumstances.
To be clear, allowing the oath be taken by an individual outside Canada is not really an exception to IRCC policy, but an exception to the law itself, as prescribed by the applicable regulations.
Which brings up the fact that not all exceptions are created equal. There is a huge difference between an exception to "
policy," which generally is more broadly allowed and more common, versus exceptions to governing law, which requires the exception itself be provided by law. IRCC has broad authority to adopt "
policy" and that includes broad authority to change policy, generally, or in particular instances, including allowing "
exceptions," regarding which there are many (enforcement of the PR Residency Obligation is perhaps among the more salient examples where some of the exceptions sometimes seem so common they might appear to be the rule).
But, again, the requirement the oath be taken in Canada is not really an exception to IRCC policy, but an exception to the law itself, as prescribed by the applicable regulations.
And, again, not all exceptions are created equal. Some exceptions may be exercised by individual officials with broadly defined discretion. Some exceptions are unusual, only exercised in special cases, and are subject to narrowly defined criteria. And some exceptions are RARE, only exercised in most unusual, special cases, and can only be authorized by the Minister. So far, allowing the taking of the oath outside Canada, for the grant of citizenship pursuant to Section 5(1) in the Citizenship Act, is the latter: RARE and (as best can be discerned) requiring specific authorization by the Minister personally (and it appears, this is only accessible by way of a petition approved by the registrar of citizenship).
All that said, to the extent the gist of your post was to frankly address false hopes, I understand and in effect concur; it appears there are some waiting for an opportunity to take the oath outside Canada for which there is almost no chance of that happening, and it would be cruel to not be forthright and frank about that.
Anyone here who claims to know how things will go for a particular individual should not be trusted.
The odds are not good you will be allowed to take the oath while abroad. The door is not absolutely shut however. How you choose to navigate the process going forward is a very personal decision.
I do not generally offer suggestions let alone give advice. But no specialized expertise necessary to recognize that the applicant who is abroad long term, and especially one who is in a situation making a return to Canada (such as for taking the oath) difficult (let alone impossible), should seriously consider hiring a lawyer to be their representative and go from there. At the least, for example, a lawyer can help decide if, when, and most importantly how to appropriately petition the registrar of citizenship.
