Q13 - Does "immigration status" in another country include student / work visas?

[prash42]

Question for those that have specific knowledge of / experience with this situation. Q13 asks: "have you ever held immigration or citizenship status in a country other than Canada, including your country of birth?" I initially read this as excluding non-immigrant visas.

However the instruction guide adds "Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen)".

Would this include non-immigrant status, specifically in my case (a) F-1 student visa in the US (b) H-1B employment visa in the US (c) residence visa in the UAE. Note UAE residence visa is tied to employment, and is valid only so long as the employer keeps it valid, i.e. it is not PR.

 

[rafzy]

Well you can mention your Citizenship, F-1 visa and H-1B visa. Residence visa in UAE also needs to be mentioned.

 

[Mike263]

Question for those that have specific knowledge of / experience with this situation. Q13 asks: "have you ever held immigration or citizenship status in a country other than Canada, including your country of birth?" I initially read this as excluding non-immigrant visas.

However the instruction guide adds "Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen)".

Would this include non-immigrant status, specifically in my case (a) F-1 student visa in the US (b) H-1B employment visa in the US (c) residence visa in the UAE. Note UAE residence visa is tied to employment, and is valid only so long as the employer keeps it valid, i.e. it is not PR.

Immigration status covers all categories including student, employment/job/worker, refugee, citizen, permanent resident, tourist, visitor....

I had officially double-checked with ircc specifically about "immigration status" mentioned in Q13 of the Citizenship application. The answers were: you should include all countries where you had visited even as a tourist/visitor. In addition, even though you'd obtained a visa for a country but could not physically visit there, you should still mention it in the table of Q13.

2nd reference is ircc glossary which defines:

*Immigration status: A non-citizen’s position in a country—for example, permanent resident or visitor.

*REF: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html

 

[prash42]

Mike, thank you for the reply. While I initially put down only citizenship from my country of origin, IRCC's instruction guide and some posts on these forums prompted me to add student and employment status as well.

Your view that immigration status could include visitor status expands this quite a bit for me. As an Indian passport holder, I have needed visit visas for virtually every county I've traveled to. I would need to add a further 12-15 countries under visitor status, all of which were brief tourist/business trips. I feel this is not the intent of Q13, based on the instruction guide (text pasted below).

I doubt my situation is that rare, in today's globalized world. Would greatly appreciate anybody else who has an informed view chiming in!

13. Tell us if you have had immigration, permanent resident status and/or citizenship in any other country outside of Canada, including your country of birth.

• Check either yes or no.
• If you check yes, complete the chart.
• Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen).
• Provide the month and year (MM/YY) that you obtained each status.
• If your status is no longer valid, provide the month and year (MM/YY) your status ended. If you still hold this status, indicate “current”.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0002-application-canadian-citizenship-under-subsection-5-1-adults-18-years-older.html

Immigration status covers all categories including student, employment/job/worker, refugee, citizen, permanent resident, tourist, visitor....

I had officially double-checked with ircc specifically about "immigration status" mentioned in Q13 of the Citizenship application. The answers were: you should include all countries where you had visited even as a tourist/visitor. In addition, even though you'd obtained a visa for a country but could not physically visit there, you should still mention it in the table of Q13.

2nd reference is ircc glossary which defines:

*Immigration status: A non-citizen’s position in a country—for example, permanent resident or visitor.

*REF: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html

 

[Ladymarie]

Mike, thank you for the reply. While I initially put down only citizenship from my country of origin, IRCC's instruction guide and some posts on these forums prompted me to add student and employment status as well.

Your view that immigration status could include visitor status expands this quite a bit for me. As an Indian passport holder, I have needed visit visas for virtually every county I've traveled to. I would need to add a further 12-15 countries under visitor status, all of which were brief tourist/business trips. I feel this is not the intent of Q13, based on the instruction guide (text pasted below).

I doubt my situation is that rare, in today's globalized world. Would greatly appreciate anybody else who has an informed view chiming in!

13. Tell us if you have had immigration, permanent resident status and/or citizenship in any other country outside of Canada, including your country of birth.

• Check either yes or no.
• If you check yes, complete the chart.
• Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen).
• Provide the month and year (MM/YY) that you obtained each status.
• If your status is no longer valid, provide the month and year (MM/YY) your status ended. If you still hold this status, indicate “current”.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0002-application-canadian-citizenship-under-subsection-5-1-adults-18-years-older.html

The instruction says permanent residence/citizenship. Visitor visa isn’t on the list so I don’t think you need that. Also, that would definitely be too much for the frequent travellers to list on their app. Pls follow the instruction guide closely ...goodluck

 

[prash42]

Agreed, thanks. I need to stop being paranoid

The instruction says permanent residence/citizenship. Visitor visa isn’t on the list so I don’t think you need that. Also, that would definitely be too much for the frequent travellers to list on their app. Pls follow the instruction guide closely ...goodluck

 

[Mike263]

Mike, thank you for the reply. While I initially put down only citizenship from my country of origin, IRCC's instruction guide and some posts on these forums prompted me to add student and employment status as well.

Your view that immigration status could include visitor status expands this quite a bit for me. As an Indian passport holder, I have needed visit visas for virtually every county I've traveled to. I would need to add a further 12-15 countries under visitor status, all of which were brief tourist/business trips. I feel this is not the intent of Q13, based on the instruction guide (text pasted below).

I doubt my situation is that rare, in today's globalized world. Would greatly appreciate anybody else who has an informed view chiming in!

13. Tell us if you have had immigration, permanent resident status and/or citizenship in any other country outside of Canada, including your country of birth.

• Check either yes or no.
• If you check yes, complete the chart.
• Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen).
• Provide the month and year (MM/YY) that you obtained each status.
• If your status is no longer valid, provide the month and year (MM/YY) your status ended. If you still hold this status, indicate “current”.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-0002-application-canadian-citizenship-under-subsection-5-1-adults-18-years-older.html

Well, I shall still agree to the ircc's own definition of Immigration status: A non-citizen’s position in a country.

*REF: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html

Since I have already talked to ircc and got it clarified. Your best bet is to call ircc client support and make it clear.

 

[tammy_z]

Agreed, thanks. I need to stop being paranoid

Hi @prash42, I have the same inquiry:
-whether I should list the visitor/tourist visas I had like Shengen and US B1/B2 Visa
- I also was a resident of the UAE for a long time. the drop down menu only includes a permanent resident category, and as you indicated the UAE resident visa is different than how a permanent resident is defined in Canada. How did you go about that? and did you create a separate line for every UAE visa renewal?

 

[felixtae]

I just realized that we should include student/employment status in other countries to Q13. I simply put my home country status over there. Should I contact CIC to update it?

 

[DimT44]

Immigration status covers all categories including student, employment/job/worker, refugee, citizen, permanent resident, tourist, visitor....

I had officially double-checked with ircc specifically about "immigration status" mentioned in Q13 of the Citizenship application. The answers were: you should include all countries where you had visited even as a tourist/visitor. In addition, even though you'd obtained a visa for a country but could not physically visit there, you should still mention it in the table of Q13.

2nd reference is ircc glossary which defines:

*Immigration status: A non-citizen’s position in a country—for example, permanent resident or visitor.

*REF: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html

Hey Mike, I agree with you that Immigration Status should include visitor as per the definition of IRCC and the options in the dropdown list of the application.

One question though, what is considered the date for the start and end of that status?

Say someone got a visitor visa for some place that was valid for 6 months. Do they put the whole 6 there or only when they entered and left the country? and what about status in places where they did not need a visa to enter? If they was waived in at the border and only had an entry and exit stamp on their passport, do they put those dates, or what they are allowed to stay. For example starting the entry date and up to 6 months if the country allows them to stay for 6 months. (Just like in the previous point about the visa issue date vs entry date, expiry date vs departure date).

Anyone else that could chime in would be great! Thanks.

 

[wink]

Based on many discussion on this subject on this forum, I would just list the visa obtained date and visa expired date. Not when I entered and exited. And even list the visas obtained but never visited. This is for Q13. Actual trips made (within eligibility period) are captured in Physical presence calculator. My interpretation is, they are not asking your travel history here but just what you obtained. Again, you would get conflicting views for this question, you have to make a call for yourself or call IRCC.

 

[Medmoh]

I'm in the same situation..what are your recommandation??

 

[DimT44]

I'm in the same situation..what are your recommandation??

List them all. See below:

Tell us which countries you have held status in, and exactly what status you held or currently hold (student, employment/worker, refugee/protected person, permanent resident or citizen).

 

[dostres]

I just realized that we should include student/employment status in other countries to Q13. I simply put my home country status over there. Should I contact CIC to update it?

Hey @felixtae, I'm in a similar situation, did you end up contacting CIC to get this resolved? Do you have any recommendation on how to proceed?

 

[abbas.pasha]

Hey @felixtae, I'm in a similar situation, did you end up contacting CIC to get this resolved? Do you have any recommendation on how to proceed?

send a webform and include a letter of explanation (LoE) if you have received AOR