farid- said:
hi friends,
I have a small question I am helping my sister in her citizenships application. I thought to double check with senior members n group before we submit. She is in Canada for awhile since last 4yrs. haven't been to anywhere out side Canada. I am just confused shall we submit all the pay stubs, utility bills etc.. for last 4 yrs. because in checklist just asked for last 4 yrs. tax return. but I was just thinking to send all to avoid RQ's etc. any suggestions? any answers will be really helpful thanks in advance.
Overall, the short answer: follow the instructions. Include what is requested and
no more (recognizing that certain items specifically indicate if additional documents should be submitted).
Moreover, the current citizenship application form
does NOT ask the applicant to send in any tax returns. There is no reference in the
checklist to tax returns or Notices of Assessment or any employment proof documents at all.
Item 6 H in the application requires the applicant to disclose his or her SIN and to check off boxes indicating whether, relative to the relevant tax years, the applicant was required to file income taxes, and whether taxes were filed.
Information sharing with CRA will allow CIC to confirm the information provided.
For an applicant who files an application this year who has remained inside Canada since landing in 2011, the relevant taxation years would be 2011 through 2014 (according to CIC's PDI and example, 2015 cannot count since no tax return for 2015 could be filed as yet).
Submitting extra documentation generally:
This was a matter of some dispute for applications made prior to June 11, 2015, there being reasonable arguments for including
some, but minimal additional documents, and reasonable (probably stronger) arguments against including extra documents. While some of those who advocated including additional documents went to far as to advocate proof of employment beyond T4s or Notices of Assessment, such as pay slips, that was a fringe position . . . it was almost certain there was
no chance those would help the applicant's case. (Of course they would be relevant if RQ was issued, but otherwise no, of no help.)
For new applications being submitted now and going forward: Obviously there are no anecdotal experiences reported for applications made after June 11, 2015, but it is almost absolutely certain that given the changes implemented pursuant to the
SCCA, the scope of what the current application does require, and CIC's dramatically expanded information sharing authority,
there is no reason to include anything other than what the instructions specifically prescribe.
It is worth noting that the new application form does not even ask for education records like the previous application did.
