Residency visa in Kuwait when applying for citizenship

[Leonidas81]

Hello there,

I should be eligible to apply for citizenship beginning of 2017; I studied, worked, lived, and paid taxes here in Canada in the last 4 years. However, I still have a residency visa stamped on my passport, I kept it because I could visit my parents in Kuwait without any visa hassle (I would need a visa to visit the country of my birth -Kuwait- if I cancel my residency there) and since I still have strong ties with my parents, and since it's a very simple process for me to keep it rather than canceling it, I just kept it there, renewed it every 2 years, and used it for my family visits there which occur twice a year.

The question is, would it be a problem to have a residency visa stamped on my passport when I apply for Canadian citizenship? Note that I can justify that I'm using this visa only as an entry card to that country especially that it's my birth place and I have dependent family there, I seriously have no intention to live there again in the short term and I am willing to cancel it after I get the Canadian citizenship as I will be able to get a visa on arrival when I visit there and therefore, there won't be any need for Kuwaiti residency.

Please advise if it's a good idea to have the Kuwaiti residency on my passport while applying for Canadian citizenship.

 

[b52shot]

It will definitely raise some questions and concerns to them, be prepared for some delays in your application, make sure you get all of your entry/exit records from Kuwait. Also keep all airline info for your travels to Kuwait.
As of the current rules, it also clashes with the intent to reside but hopefully this is changed by the time you apply.

As for cancelling it right now, its your personal choice but in my opinion it won't matter right now because it already overlaps with the period you stayed over here.

 

[Leonidas81]

If the rule doesn't change, I am going to cancel it before I apply for citizenship (even though I am not using the Kuwaiti residency as an intention to reside there but I am using it as a hassle free entry permit. On top of that, I am seriously willing to cancel it the moment I get the Canadian citizenship).

I guess I have all the flight records. However, do you think it's a good idea to show the "timeline" in google maps as a definite proof that I was here? It's a tool in google maps that shows that places I've been to and the routes I've traveled, if they are suspicious about a certain date, I can simply open the app and show them where I was during that date, do you think it would convince them?

 

[links18]

IRCC/CIC have seemed to be particularly cautious with citizenship applicants with ties to the Gulf region in the past. But it probably doesn't matter now though if the permit is in your passport, because IRCC/CIC will look at all your passports. I would be prepared with entry/exit records and possibly consider sending a cover letter explaining the situation.

 

[Leonidas81]

IRCC/CIC have seemed to be particularly cautious with citizenship applicants with ties to the Gulf region in the past. But it probably doesn't matter now though if the permit is in your passport, because IRCC/CIC will look at all your passports. I would be prepared with entry/exit records and possibly consider sending a cover letter explaining the situation.

Awesome! Will do that, thank you so much

 

[frege]

IRCC/CIC have seemed to be particularly cautious with citizenship applicants with ties to the Gulf region in the past. But it probably doesn't matter now though if the permit is in your passport, because IRCC/CIC will look at all your passports. I would be prepared with entry/exit records and possibly consider sending a cover letter explaining the situation.

I wouldn't send a cover letter. Don't send them things they don't ask for in your initial application.

The fact that you have residency in Kuwait may make them scrutinize your application more closely and result in some delays, but there is nothing you can do about this.

Do keep airline records, as links18 suggests. Find out what the process is for getting entry/exit records from Kuwait, and what the typical waiting time is. It is possible that CIC will ask for this a couple of months after you apply, for a period ending on the date of your application. Also find out about those kinds of records for your country of citizenship.

This website is good for thinking about what records you need to keep: https://residencequestionnaire.wordpress.com/

 

[links18]

I wouldn't send a cover letter. Don't send them things they don't ask for in your initial application.

The fact that you have residency in Kuwait may make them scrutinize your application more closely and result in some delays, but there is nothing you can do about this.

Do keep airline records, as links18 suggests. Find out what the process is for getting entry/exit records from Kuwait, and what the typical waiting time is. It is possible that CIC will ask for this a couple of months after you apply, for a period ending on the date of your application. Also find out about those kinds of records for your country of citizenship.

This website is good for thinking about what records you need to keep: https://residencequestionnaire.wordpress.com/

Normally, I would be cautious about sending additional documents they don't ask for, but I think a residency permit from a Gulf country is going to require explanation. OP can acknowledge it up front and explain it, hoping CIC buys it, or wait to see if they makes an issue out of it. But if they do make an issue out of it, OP is in the position of responding to suspicions rather than potentially disarming them up front. Its not an easy decision.