Residency Questionnaire

[adam299]

Hi all,

I would like to ask anybody on this forum if they have gone through a similar situation to mine. I have immigrated to Canada in 2002 and finally resided permanently in august 2007. Applied for citiznenship october 2010 after having stayed in Canada for 1095 and 81 days of absence. I took the thest Nov 2011 and was sent a Residence questionnaire one month after taking the test. I have provided all necessary documents with in one week. This included passport copies, university papers, leases, Credit statements, tax returns etc. It has been three months since I received the residence questionnaire and have not yet received a reply. Has anyone gone through a similar situation? How long have you waited?

Thank you.

 

[amirchov]

I think it depends not just on your case, but also on the specific CIC office you are dealing with. Some are more backlogged than others.
I waited 16 months for RQ decision, and that's without attending a judge hearing (St. Clair CIC).

Did they explain why you received the RQ?

Good luck!

 

[adam299]

Hello,

Well my case is in Montreal, and I was caught by surprise to have been given the residency questionnaire. No reason was provided, at the time of the test I was informed that I will not get the result of my test and I should wait to be asked to take the oath. The assistant judge did not ask much, only to hand in the passports, had a brief conversation and was ticking off the dates I submitted. Instead I was sent the residency questionnaire one month later. I have no clear cut idea as to why I have been handed the RQ and the cic agents do not give any information except the RQ documents have been received and must wait until a judge can take a look at the documents. Do you have any recommendations about what I should do? Should I pursue this case with a lawyer to speed up the process? 16 months is absurd since I have already been waiting 17 months since I applied for citizeneship.

 

[amirchov]

It's hard to tell without knowing the reason behind it. Did you already send the RQ with all the documents?

My advice is to make sure you add your own letter, detailing the whole period of time since being a PR till time of application. Detail your involvement with local culture, work, and personal relationship - whatever you can add. Even photocopies of credit cards (erase the number), Sobeys, Metro, gym membership, etc.

You can also ask for the OHIP records in order to demonstrate that you have visited a doctor while living in Canada.

I have also sent them my vehicle proof of purchase, regular maintenance records, my dentist records, etc. At the end, I did not see a judge! It was approved and I received an oath date.

So don't despair it is not necessarily going to take 16 months. My whole process took about 2 and a half years.