Hi I also got the request for interview while I am outside the country?So I assume I can notify them I will have it while I am away?Is it any disadvantage to do that like delaying the next steps?And what is the reason for the interview anyway?Can you please tell me what do they ask/check?thanks
Rescheduling Oath Ceremony
- Thread starter MIKEPEPSI
- Start date
Update:
As mentioned in my previous posts, I had to reschedule my Oath Ceremony because I was outside of the country. I was told by an immigration officer to send them an email, when the time comes, letting them know that I was back in Canada. However, one week before returning to Canada, I got a new Oath invitation for February 16, 2022. I didn't even have to send them an email saying that I was back. It was better than expected because I thought that I was going to have to send the email after coming back and wait for a long time before hearing back from them with a new ceremony date.
For those who are curious, my timeline is below (Calgary office):
- April 17, 2020: Application Received by the Office.
- Oct 26, 2020: Acknowledge of Receipt (this is when they update the application in the system).
- November 27, 2020: Started processing the application.
- Jan 28, 2021: Background verification activity status updated to Completed.
- Jun 4, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to In Progress (Invited to take the test between June 14, 2021, and July 5, 2021).
- Jun 11, 2021: I sent an email asking to reschedule the citizenship test because I was out of the country (at that time, it was not possible to take the test from overseas). They replied on the same day saying that I was going to be rescheduled after I returned.
- Jul 26, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to In Progress (Invited to take the test between July 26, 2021, and August 16, 2021).
- Aug 9, 2021: I passed the citizenship test.
- Aug 24, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to Completed.
- Oct 22, 2021: Invited for an interview on Oct 28, 2021. The interview was online and I was outside of Canada. The officer said that was going to update all the statuses to Completed and I was going to be queued for the Oath Ceremony.
- Oct 28, 2021: All the statuses, except the Oath Ceremony, were updated to Completed.
- Nov 20, 2021: About 4 weeks later, the Oath Ceremony Status changed to In Progress, and I got an invite email two days after asking me to attend the ceremony on December 15, 2021.
- November 24, 2021: I sent them an email asking them to reschedule it after January 2022. I got no response from them apart from that Automatic Response.
- December 15, 2021: I joined the Oath Ceremony call and spoke with an officer about rescheduling. She said that there was already a note in my file saying that I was outside of the country and probably would not attend the ceremony. During the call, she added one more comment to my file specifying the exact day that I'll be back (I asked if she could add this comment and she said yes and did it). However, she said that I still should send an email when I get back to remind them that I'm ready.
- December 20, 2021: Citizenship oath status has been updated to Not Started.
- Jan 18, 2022: Citizenship oath status has been updated to In progress, and the Oath was scheduled for Feb 16, 2022.
- Feb 16, 2022: Oath Ceremony (scheduled).
As mentioned in my previous posts, I had to reschedule my Oath Ceremony because I was outside of the country. I was told by an immigration officer to send them an email, when the time comes, letting them know that I was back in Canada. However, one week before returning to Canada, I got a new Oath invitation for February 16, 2022. I didn't even have to send them an email saying that I was back. It was better than expected because I thought that I was going to have to send the email after coming back and wait for a long time before hearing back from them with a new ceremony date.
For those who are curious, my timeline is below (Calgary office):
- April 17, 2020: Application Received by the Office.
- Oct 26, 2020: Acknowledge of Receipt (this is when they update the application in the system).
- November 27, 2020: Started processing the application.
- Jan 28, 2021: Background verification activity status updated to Completed.
- Jun 4, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to In Progress (Invited to take the test between June 14, 2021, and July 5, 2021).
- Jun 11, 2021: I sent an email asking to reschedule the citizenship test because I was out of the country (at that time, it was not possible to take the test from overseas). They replied on the same day saying that I was going to be rescheduled after I returned.
- Jul 26, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to In Progress (Invited to take the test between July 26, 2021, and August 16, 2021).
- Aug 9, 2021: I passed the citizenship test.
- Aug 24, 2021: Citizenship test activity status updated to Completed.
- Oct 22, 2021: Invited for an interview on Oct 28, 2021. The interview was online and I was outside of Canada. The officer said that was going to update all the statuses to Completed and I was going to be queued for the Oath Ceremony.
- Oct 28, 2021: All the statuses, except the Oath Ceremony, were updated to Completed.
- Nov 20, 2021: About 4 weeks later, the Oath Ceremony Status changed to In Progress, and I got an invite email two days after asking me to attend the ceremony on December 15, 2021.
- November 24, 2021: I sent them an email asking them to reschedule it after January 2022. I got no response from them apart from that Automatic Response.
- December 15, 2021: I joined the Oath Ceremony call and spoke with an officer about rescheduling. She said that there was already a note in my file saying that I was outside of the country and probably would not attend the ceremony. During the call, she added one more comment to my file specifying the exact day that I'll be back (I asked if she could add this comment and she said yes and did it). However, she said that I still should send an email when I get back to remind them that I'm ready.
- December 20, 2021: Citizenship oath status has been updated to Not Started.
- Jan 18, 2022: Citizenship oath status has been updated to In progress, and the Oath was scheduled for Feb 16, 2022.
- Feb 16, 2022: Oath Ceremony (scheduled).
Thanks for sharing it andrews.juchem, this is very helpful!
I believe I'm in a similar situation of most of you guys with a slight difference: I sent an email explaining I was out of Canada and I couldn't attend the ceremony, and here is the agent's answer: "... We reviewed your explanation and regret to inform you that it was deemed unreasonable because travel for personal reasons does not warrant postponement of the Oath of Ceremony. As such you continue to be required to attend the event scheduled for February 23, 2022. Failure to appear for this event will result in being sent a Final Notice to Appear."
Has anyone ever seem a message like this? I'm wondering what would happen if I don't show up. I'm in a hope the mentioned Final Notice to Appear means I'll have another opportunity to attend a ceremony on a further date, but I'm worried about the possibility of they cancel my application as they declined my postponing request. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
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I've never seen them rejecting a request to postpone the Oath due to being outside of the country. What did you tell them? Maybe if you said that you were on vacation, then it would be deemed not a reasonable explanation. But if you said that you were stuck in another country because of Covid, then it would be okay. Since they use Covid as an excuse for everything, why not use it as well.
The PDF sent by email inviting you to take the Oath should have the paragraph below.
Pursuant to paragraph 13.2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, if you cannot appear and take the Oath at the date, and time indicated at the top of page 1, you must contact IRCC within thirty (30) days of the date of your appointment and provide a reasonable explanation for not attending. If you do not contact IRCC or if your explanation is not acceptable, your application could be delayed and you will receive a final notice to appear.
Based on what this paragraph says, you should receive a second invitation (not sure when). It sounds like you won't be able to tell them when you are back and ready to attend the oath. They will pick whatever date they want, and you will have to attend it. But you can try sending another email and explaining the situation better.
Hi everyone I would want to give some highlights on my incident. So I was expecting oath somewhere around December 1st week but my fate had other plans. My dad was in a critical situation and I had to travel within a day (rtpcr and the next day I had to travel) to india. So we reached on 31st of December and on 10th I get a notification on my oath for 24th. I was excited and things were back to normal at home so I decided to fly on 22nd Jan but my rtpcr came as positive and I was not allowed to travel. I sent out emails on Saturday explaining my situation and no response so I panicked and asked my friend to do a conference call with cic as I being from India couldn't connect to customer service of cic. The agent was so helpful and asked to join the oath and explain my situation. So I joined the call and they took us to the separate room where officer was in there. All I told officer is "Officer, I am not here to waste your time, I just wanted to explain my situation". He asked me when am I coming back and I give an estimation on my travel date as of quarantine etc. So I stafted my journey and on my way I was like let me check my application status and to my surprise I have oath again. I was dot on time. So guys it is no harm in rescheduling your oath. Just have faith
Hi, I am in a similar situation. I recently sent an email to reschedule my oath ceremony. As you mentioned that you logged into the call and explained the officer, I am thinking to do the same and explain my situation.
Thank you for the detailed info. I’m in a similar situation. i got the oath invite for end of this month but need to travel out of the country In mid-June. Not sure if this would be enough time for me to get my passport in time to apply for visas, which is why I’m debating if I should postpone the ceremony and request if they could provide me a date after my return. Unfortunately, can’t move travel dates since it’s my wedding. What would you recommend?
You have a very tight schedule and there is a good chance you won't receive the passport in time unless you apply for an urgent passport. However, the problem is not applying for the passport (which of you have the urgent request option), but the citizenship certificate. My certificate took about three weeks to arrive by mail after the oath, but I've heard about people who have been waiting for months. You should call IRCC and ask what they think you should do.
By the way, if you still need to apply for any visa after receiving the passport, then I'd try to postpone the oath. You need to provide as many details as possible and explain well the situation because I've seen them denying the postponing request.
Hello,
I am in the same situation. Had oath on 10th august, 2022 but was out of canada. Emailed them on 5th august but haven’t received anything yet. How did your case proceed. Plz help and tell me the steps to follow.
Thanks
Hi all,
I applied as a family application with my wife and a minor and received an email for the oath on 24 Sept, but my wife and minor are outside Canada and will be back on the 4th of October.
I am inside Canada is it possible for me can take the Oath on September 24, 2022, alone without family?
Wife and minor can take Oath on their return? or the whole family should take the Oath in one shot/ same day?
Does IRCC expedite the oath ceremony outside Canada?
Does anyone know how to get the different dates for the oath?
Thanks,
I applied as a family application with my wife and a minor and received an email for the oath on 24 Sept, but my wife and minor are outside Canada and will be back on the 4th of October.
I am inside Canada is it possible for me can take the Oath on September 24, 2022, alone without family?
Wife and minor can take Oath on their return? or the whole family should take the Oath in one shot/ same day?
Does IRCC expedite the oath ceremony outside Canada?
Does anyone know how to get the different dates for the oath?
Thanks,
Hi, I'm currently in India and my PR Card is expiring on November 17. I don't think I can return to Canada before that. So far, my BG check and test have been completed and I had applied in March 2021.
My query is in order to travel back to Canada, I believe I would have to apply for PRTD. But, once I'm in Canada and I get the oath, do I need to have my PR Card in hand in order to cut it during the ceremony? If yes, then would I have to apply for PR Card renewal after going back to Canada?
My query is in order to travel back to Canada, I believe I would have to apply for PRTD. But, once I'm in Canada and I get the oath, do I need to have my PR Card in hand in order to cut it during the ceremony? If yes, then would I have to apply for PR Card renewal after going back to Canada?
Since you can use an expired PR card for a citizenship application. My guess is that a valid PR card is not required for oath. Note that after completing the oath ceremony, your are no longer a PR, hence the PR card has to be destroyed. You will then have to wait to get the citizenship certificate to apply for a Canadian passport and be able to travel as a Canadian.
You don’t need to renew PR card. Even if it’s expired, keep it handy and don’t throw it.
You will need to cut it during oath ceremony.
regarding PRTD, can you check if you get prtd over expired PR? Technically you first need to renew PR and then get PRTD. Also that process is slow and don’t know how long it will take. I would suggest you to come back before PR expires if you can else you’ll get stuck in process