I'm wondering about a question in the Residence Questionnaire issued when one has applied for citizenship. They ask to list all family members (mother, father, brother etc) and their whereabouts since one has arrived in Canada. Why is this question asked? How does it affect me if I became a landed immigrant through a family application, and I was the only one who was able to come to Canada and meet all my obligations? Also, if I write that some of my family members were not here in Canada all the time, hence not meeting all their residence obligations, can this info be used against them? Are they flagged in the system or something? Would love to know your thoughts on this Leon, and anyone who has knowledge and experience. Thanks a lot!
Residence Questionnaire - LEON please reply
- Thread starter missmiss
- Start date
The question is asked to determine if you are the only one of your family who has to leave, that is, it may strengthen your application if your family lives in Canada but only you have to go back and forth because of a job for example.
There is an example here:
However, since you will have given them the information, they could enter it in the system to use in the future. Say your brother has lived in another country for the past 4 years, they could put a flag on him to report him when he enters. I don't know if they do but because they will have the information, they could. However, you are not doing anything wrong by telling the truth. If your brother had really lived outside Canada for 4 years as a PR, then he does not meet the RO and so according to the rules, he should lose his PR and I am sure he knew that when he made the decision not to live in Canada.
There is an example here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/cp/cp05-eng.pdf - page 14 said:
However, since you will have given them the information, they could enter it in the system to use in the future. Say your brother has lived in another country for the past 4 years, they could put a flag on him to report him when he enters. I don't know if they do but because they will have the information, they could. However, you are not doing anything wrong by telling the truth. If your brother had really lived outside Canada for 4 years as a PR, then he does not meet the RO and so according to the rules, he should lose his PR and I am sure he knew that when he made the decision not to live in Canada.
That's great Leon, thanks so much for your answer, as always so helpful. I got the RQ but am baffled because I meet every rule in the book, and genuinely so! I have my whole life here, children, husband, business - everything.... i have traveled a total of 3 months in 4.5 years! I am having to collect a mind boggling amount of documentation and have spent 100s of dollars doing so already... I understand very much the need to be meticulous with applications, but I thought I would be the last to be asked about this. In any case, I have piles of papers to send, I plan to include a cover letter stating any documents requested that I could not include. For example I was unable to include:
- Record of Movement from my home country (is this requested even though I have had only one passport issued to me since before my arrival to Canada up to today?) I have tried to obtain it, and have emails between me and the embassy to show it etc.
My question is, what is the best way to compile all this info and send it off? I want my application to be as concise and as easy to navigate as possible for the judge, to help him/her make the best decision. Do you have any advice for what I should and should not do? I am asking because I understand you have an excellent insight.
My other question -- althoug I have nothing at all to worry about - is the stamps. Everything is documented in my passport, and in my "national country" they always stamp the passport in and out. However, I realized that in Canada, they do not always do that!!! As one of my entries back into Canada was not stamped.... that's crazy! What does this mean? When I give consent for the to check with CBSA, will ALL my entries and exits be apparent regardless of what is on my passport?
I have ample evidence that I was here this whole time in any case, but this is upsetting because obviously I never thought to check after officers when crossing borders what they stamp etc.. Any re-assuring advice would be really appreciated. Thank you so much!
- Record of Movement from my home country (is this requested even though I have had only one passport issued to me since before my arrival to Canada up to today?) I have tried to obtain it, and have emails between me and the embassy to show it etc.
My question is, what is the best way to compile all this info and send it off? I want my application to be as concise and as easy to navigate as possible for the judge, to help him/her make the best decision. Do you have any advice for what I should and should not do? I am asking because I understand you have an excellent insight.
My other question -- althoug I have nothing at all to worry about - is the stamps. Everything is documented in my passport, and in my "national country" they always stamp the passport in and out. However, I realized that in Canada, they do not always do that!!! As one of my entries back into Canada was not stamped.... that's crazy! What does this mean? When I give consent for the to check with CBSA, will ALL my entries and exits be apparent regardless of what is on my passport?
I have ample evidence that I was here this whole time in any case, but this is upsetting because obviously I never thought to check after officers when crossing borders what they stamp etc.. Any re-assuring advice would be really appreciated. Thank you so much!
What I would do is organize all your data in a binder with separators so that they are easily accessible. You can order the CBSA records yourself to see what they say but they may not be complete, i.e. it is possible that they are missing your exits from Canada and possibly some entries. You can order entry/exit records for the US if you have travel to or through the US. You can get your health records from the health care in your province to prove that you were in Canada between those trips and maybe a letter from your dentist verifying your appointments as well.
What I think you should do for your passport stamps is make copies of your passport pages and on each page, circle the stamps and make an arrow out to the margin where you allocate the stamps to a trip, say trip A for example. On your CBSA record and if you get one from the US as well, you can also write out on the margin "Trip A" and on your forms for your trips listed, you can also write A. That way, it will be easy to locate by the immigration officer.
What I think you should do for your passport stamps is make copies of your passport pages and on each page, circle the stamps and make an arrow out to the margin where you allocate the stamps to a trip, say trip A for example. On your CBSA record and if you get one from the US as well, you can also write out on the margin "Trip A" and on your forms for your trips listed, you can also write A. That way, it will be easy to locate by the immigration officer.
Thank you so much for your insights.. you don't know how helpful you are being - thank you. I have a couple more questions, please bare with me. My PR Card expires in one month, so I have to renew it of course. I do plan to go on holiday next year for two weeks, so that is important for me. I am wondering if this will complicate things for me, to send PR renewal, at the same time I send RQ, or if I have nothing to worry about? Of course, as you know I meet all the requirements and am good to go ie. there should not be any problems in my paperwork.
My other question is about the binder. The pile of paperwork I have to send is about 20 cm high! I will need more than one binder. Is it okay to punch holes in my documents to attach to the binder, or should I use the transparent/clear file sheets to put the docs in, and then attach to the binder? I know it may be a silly question, but I am really detail oriented!!
Thanks for the CBSA tip, but the problem is requesting these papers takes a month +. I have to send my RQ by then. I have given my consent for the IO or judge to request CBSA on my behalf. What I did , was also print my air tickets/travel itinerary with receipts, and added it to the files. I never kept my boarding passes, but I do have ample evidence that I was here physically from the date I re-entered Canada without it being stamped (Feb 2011). I have detailed phone bills with every call I made, leases, business licenses, receipts from suppliers, you name it. I have included everything I can think of that can prove that I have been here. I also ordered personal medical reports from my maternity and family doctors... and dentist reports with receipts.
My last questions:
- How should I send additional documents that I could not get in time of the deadline, for example my Personal Health History from OHIP or MSP records?
- Do I still have to send a "Record of Movement" from my home country, even though I have only been issued one passport since my arrival in Canada? It is most likely very hard to obtain, but will take all the steps needed. What can I do in this case?
- Do you recommend anymore docs/papers/evidence I can send to help my case and speed things up a little?
Thank you SO MUCH Leon... really thank you dearly.
My other question is about the binder. The pile of paperwork I have to send is about 20 cm high! I will need more than one binder. Is it okay to punch holes in my documents to attach to the binder, or should I use the transparent/clear file sheets to put the docs in, and then attach to the binder? I know it may be a silly question, but I am really detail oriented!!
Thanks for the CBSA tip, but the problem is requesting these papers takes a month +. I have to send my RQ by then. I have given my consent for the IO or judge to request CBSA on my behalf. What I did , was also print my air tickets/travel itinerary with receipts, and added it to the files. I never kept my boarding passes, but I do have ample evidence that I was here physically from the date I re-entered Canada without it being stamped (Feb 2011). I have detailed phone bills with every call I made, leases, business licenses, receipts from suppliers, you name it. I have included everything I can think of that can prove that I have been here. I also ordered personal medical reports from my maternity and family doctors... and dentist reports with receipts.
My last questions:
- How should I send additional documents that I could not get in time of the deadline, for example my Personal Health History from OHIP or MSP records?
- Do I still have to send a "Record of Movement" from my home country, even though I have only been issued one passport since my arrival in Canada? It is most likely very hard to obtain, but will take all the steps needed. What can I do in this case?
- Do you recommend anymore docs/papers/evidence I can send to help my case and speed things up a little?
Thank you SO MUCH Leon... really thank you dearly.
Is punching holes in the documents going to remove some of the text? Then you probably shouldn't.
I do not know what other documents you can send but if there are documents you are waiting for and can not get in time, you should list at the first page of your document package which documents you managed to obtain in time as included and which documents you did not manage to obtain in time but will send later as you get them. Then as you get them, send them along, carefully marked with your name, birthdate and file number.
Your PR renewal is not processed in the same office as the citizenship as far as I know. Maybe they will look up that you are under RQ for citizenship but the PR requirements are more lenient, only 730 days so if they believe you have at least 730 days, they should renew your PR card. In any case, there isn't much you can do about it but apply to renew and see what happens.
I do not know what other documents you can send but if there are documents you are waiting for and can not get in time, you should list at the first page of your document package which documents you managed to obtain in time as included and which documents you did not manage to obtain in time but will send later as you get them. Then as you get them, send them along, carefully marked with your name, birthdate and file number.
Your PR renewal is not processed in the same office as the citizenship as far as I know. Maybe they will look up that you are under RQ for citizenship but the PR requirements are more lenient, only 730 days so if they believe you have at least 730 days, they should renew your PR card. In any case, there isn't much you can do about it but apply to renew and see what happens.
Dear Leon, thanks again... my FINAL question and I promise I will not bug you again. My brother is now in Canada, he had not met physical presence days in Canada to keep PR, but when he entered from his home country no one said anything - they let him through. Of course we celebrated and were very happy for him. Now all he has to do is stay here, committed, which he is... he is carrying on his whole life here now as intended before, but was not able due to many factors "a little out of his hands". He will not renew his PR for the next two years. Only when he has enough days to do so, he will renew PR. He is renting a flat and his driving license expired, so he has to start from scratch with the Driving licence...
which maybe a bit of a hassle but am sure he will figure it out.
Now that I got this RQ, am very worried for him. Of course, I will declare his exact dates when he was outside the country, and that he arrived in Canada earlier this year. He still does not meet the requirements, and am so concerned that this will "call him out". I have no choice though... and he understands that.. but my question is, what are the chances they will try to find him etc? Is he in a really bad situation now?
Also, during the years he was not here (he travelled back and forth), his accountant had suggested that he goes ahead and file his taxes each year anyway as all landed immigrants should do that. Now that I have been living here for the past five years, and I understand the tax system better, it raised a question for me: is what his accountant did actually ok, or not???? Maybe I am over worrying about my big brother who can take care of himself, but I just want to make sure he will not get into serious trouble, even though his intentions are very good, save the fact that in the past he was not able to meet every requirement to the dot.....
Am certain you have honest feedback about this... thank you so much Leon, I won't be bugging you anymore lol thanks again
which maybe a bit of a hassle but am sure he will figure it out.
Now that I got this RQ, am very worried for him. Of course, I will declare his exact dates when he was outside the country, and that he arrived in Canada earlier this year. He still does not meet the requirements, and am so concerned that this will "call him out". I have no choice though... and he understands that.. but my question is, what are the chances they will try to find him etc? Is he in a really bad situation now?
Also, during the years he was not here (he travelled back and forth), his accountant had suggested that he goes ahead and file his taxes each year anyway as all landed immigrants should do that. Now that I have been living here for the past five years, and I understand the tax system better, it raised a question for me: is what his accountant did actually ok, or not???? Maybe I am over worrying about my big brother who can take care of himself, but I just want to make sure he will not get into serious trouble, even though his intentions are very good, save the fact that in the past he was not able to meet every requirement to the dot.....
Am certain you have honest feedback about this... thank you so much Leon, I won't be bugging you anymore lol thanks again
missmiss said:
As far as I know, the RQ only asks you in which country your brother is residing and since when so when asked, you would say that he is residing in Canada since 2012, 2013 or whenever he arrived back. This does not disclose that your brother does not meet the residency requirements. For all they know, he could have been living here until 2010 and then moved away for 2-3 years or he might have been here 4-5 months a year. I really doubt that this would cause them to investigate your brother.
As for the tax question, CRA is not immigration and they do not share information. Otherwise, why would immigration ask you to send them documents from CRA? So whatever your brother does with CRA has nothing to do with immigration. Being a landed immigrant does not mean that you are resident for tax purposes. If you do not live in Canada and do not have income in Canada or assets, you are not resident for tax purposes. If your brother had landed but then left right away and continued to live in his home country and work there for the next 3 years, he was not tax resident in Canada and as such, he did not have to file taxes for those years. However, he can if he wants to.
Leon, you are absolutely right about this but in the 2013 version of the RQ, they ask to specify with dates, where each family member lived since I arrived in Canada (2007). Here is the question as it appears:
"10. Where have all your family members (eg. spouse, children, mother, father, brothers, sisters) lived since your arrival in Canada?
Family name, Given Name:
D.O.B:
Relationship:
From (y/m/d):
To (y/m/d):
Country:
"
What should I do now if he lived abroad from 2007 - 2012, and lived in Canada December 2012 - currently?? Please help!
"10. Where have all your family members (eg. spouse, children, mother, father, brothers, sisters) lived since your arrival in Canada?
Family name, Given Name:
D.O.B:
Relationship:
From (y/m/d):
To (y/m/d):
Country:
"
What should I do now if he lived abroad from 2007 - 2012, and lived in Canada December 2012 - currently?? Please help!
missmiss said:
Well, in that case, you can't lie so either you protect your brother and ignore the RQ and abandon your application to apply again later when he is safe or you take the chance that they will not report him and write the truth.
If I abandon the RQ now, do I just not reply and then re-apply from scratch for Citizen ship in 2 years when he has enough days? How will they mark my case, will it look really bad?? Meanwhile, I will renew my PR, will that raise questions at all for me personally - that is, will the PR department know that I was sent RQ and did not respond? Thanks in advance Leon, it is something I will seriously consider, my home country can be at war any minute, I don't want to risk them sending my brother back there any time soon.
missmiss said:
I do not know how they will mark your case but they might be suspicious that you did not respond to the RQ. They might decide to RQ your PR as well but there is nothing much you can do about that. You can send some of your documents with your PR application as proof that you were in Canada. However, you can't send too much because if they get 20cm of documents with a simple PR renewal application, they might also get suspicious.
If anybody ever asks you why you did not respond to the RQ, you can say that you never got that letter or that you got the letter but because you were extremely busy with other things in your life, you did not have the time to get the documents together or that you sent your RQ and you don't understand why they never got it. All of them plausible and none can be traced except maybe the first one if they sent you the RQ in registered mail.
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