MrskT said:
I am thinking of applying sometimes in October 2017 to enaure I have 1 month more at least than 1460 days. I am curioua if I have to be in Canada during the time my citizenship is being assesed. The issue is I plan to take a master degree overseas for a couple years. Can I do that during my citizenship file is in process? Of course not continuous two years. I want to be citizen soon.
MrskT said:
Hi Neutral, so if I apply for citizenship, I have to be in Canada during the period of the application? I can not even go out of Canada? Is there any rule stating how many days max I can be out during the application period? Thank you.
Ordinarily it is probably premature to try planning years in advance for when-to-apply. Stuff happens. And the rules can change in the meantime.
But of course long-term planning is often necessary for those pursuing advanced degree programs in particular fields.
There is no clear or reliable guideline about going abroad while the application is pending. There is no restriction which prohibits travel abroad. But even under the old law, residing abroad while the application is pending could be problematic. Not that residing abroad was a disqualification. It has been more about how CIC scrutinizes applicants who CIC has identified as living abroad, working abroad, spending extended periods of time abroad, or otherwise is an applicant CIC perceives to have
applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport.
And as already noted, the requirements which took effect in June this year include a requirement that the applicant
intend to continue residing in Canada if granted citizenship. This is new. None of us can really say how CIC will approach applying this requirement. Speculation has varied wildly. Minister Alexander (probably to be replaced soon) and CIC generally have intimated a formal affirmation of intent will suffice, but it seems almost certain there will be more to it than that.
Among the more salient issues which Bill C-24 (the
SCCA) generally, and the so-called
intent to reside clause in particular, was intended to address was the perceived problem sometimes described as applicants
applying-on-the-way-to-the-airport. And, as already noted, even for those applicants who applied before the
intent to reside clause took effect, CIC has long tended to elevate the scrutiny, impose RQ, delay processing, and perhaps go so far as to dig deep in search of reasons to deny citizenship, if it appeared the applicant was living abroad while the application was pending. Not always. No where near uniformly. Some have been affected far more severely than others. Not randomly or capriciously, but not easily predictable either.
My guess is that the
intent to reside clause was mostly implemented to target applicants who go abroad while the application is pending. Its literal meaning suggests that residing abroad while the application is pending is practically precluded, since a person cannot intend to
continue residing anywhere other than where they are currently residing. My sense is that the term "continue" was explicitly included so that CIC could deny any applicant who is identified as residing abroad.
There are no fixed parameters for what constitutes residing abroad. There are no specified instructions or guidelines from CIC as to what it will consider to constitute no longer intending to continue to reside in Canada.
And it could be a long time before there are any reports about how this goes, let alone enough to draw some conclusions about CIC's approach, since as yet there are probably relatively few applications being processed under the new requirements (for the vast majority of PRs approaching eligibility for citizenship, the increase in minimum presence in Canada and elimination of credit for non-PR time, essentially bumped the filing of new applications for an additional year at minimum).
In two weeks Canada will elect a new Parliament. Whether the trends of the last many years will continue is an unknown. The Liberals and the NDP have both vowed to repeal parts of Bill C-24. And if either of them forms the next government, there are bound to be some changes in how CIC approaches things. But this is all very unpredictable. The election is a horse race with no horse pulling ahead, no horse even managing to get into stride. And CIC is a huge bureaucracy, and bureaucracies tend to have great inertia, meaning that whatever trends there are will likely continue for some time regardless of who forms the next government.
If Canadian citizenship is important to you, probably prudent to make a concerted effort to plan staying in Canada for at least a year beyond the prospective date of applying. It is worth remembering that there are other logistical concerns attendant going abroad while the application is pending. CIC tends to give short notice for tests and interviews, and for the oath. The consequences for missing a scheduled event can be draconian, and under current policy the fact that the applicant was abroad is explicitly rejected as a reason for excusing a failure to appear when scheduled.
