Urgent processing of Canadian Citizenship for medical emergency

[alxms10]

Hi guys

I really need your help and I would really appreciate full details. I have a medical condition and I need to urgently address my health issue by travelling abroad. I want to got to Egypt but I need a visa and I called the Egyptian Embassy and the told me I'd need to wait 40 days for approval from their government back in Egypt plus 1 to 2 months wait which is too long. I need urgent processing of my Canadian application and hence my passport to easily enter Egypt. My question is: in addition to confirmed booking in an Egyptian hospital and doctor's note/test from here in Canada, is there anything else I need to submit, or that you suggest I include in my Web Form?

I look forward to your responses

 

[armoured]

You can try but I doubt there is any such criterion for urgent processing, i.e. it's a bit odd to claim need citizenship urgently to get a visa to go somewhere else to get medical treatment only feasible in one specific country. But sure, try.

Seems to me would be more logical to request urgent processing of visa by Egypt on basis that you have a medical condition that will be treated there.

 

[alxms10]

Thank you armoured for your input, much appreciated. The major difference is that as a "Canadian" I won't need a visa to enter Egypt! But you're right, there is no harm of trying.

 

[armoured]

Thank you armoured for your input, much appreciated. The major difference is that as a "Canadian" I won't need a visa to enter Egypt!

Yes, I understood that part - the problem (from my point of view) is that the urgent matter related is getting entry to Egypt, and that is in the direct control of the Egyptian authorities; Canada's relationship to that is derivative, or one step removed from the issue at hand.

And as a Canadian PR you'd have access to medical care in Canada - I realize there are valid reasons to want to get medical care abroad, but most are (arguably) not urgent, because urgent medical care is provided in Canada. So almost by definition, medical care you want to get abroad is ... not urgent. (There are narrow exceptions for which the provinces sometimes already provide evacuation or treatment in the USA, mainly because of an actual shortage/unavailability in Canada)

One might disagree on those definitions but in disagreements of this type ... government gets to decide.

That said, again, go ahead and try. But I'd also redouble efforts with Egypt, they're the ones who are not letting you in.

 

[johnjkjk]

The only relevant clause for urgent processing is for serious illness and being unable to obtain a passport in your current nationality. If you have, or can readily obtain a passport, you don’t meet the criteria. I successfully obtained urgent processing as I demonstrated both criteria with documentary evidence.

if however your application has been approved and you’re waiting for oath, they may consider expediting your ceremony for an urgent need to travel.

 

[dpenabill]

I really need your help and I would really appreciate full details. I have a medical condition and I need to urgently address my health issue by travelling abroad. I want to got to Egypt but I need a visa and I called the Egyptian Embassy and the told me I'd need to wait 40 days for approval from their government back in Egypt plus 1 to 2 months wait which is too long. I need urgent processing of my Canadian application and hence my passport to easily enter Egypt. My question is: in addition to confirmed booking in an Egyptian hospital and doctor's note/test from here in Canada, is there anything else I need to submit, or that you suggest I include in my Web Form?

I basically agree with what has been offered by @armoured and @johnjkjk . . .

. . . but will add, for emphasis, that PRs must generally rely on their home country passport for international travel, and generally expedited processing is not provided to accommodate a PR's international travel needs. With exceptions, including what @johnjkjk referenced, situations in which the processing is essentially complete and the request for urgent processing more or less has the effect of prodding the local office to take the final steps in scheduling the oath. Given your timeline information, your application could indeed be at a stage where the oath is scheduled any day now.

Note, however, unless your application is poised for scheduling the oath soon, even if the urgent processing request prods the local office to to take the final steps, this can still take a significant amount of time. As you note, no harm trying.

But I also wanted to clarify something . . .

The major difference is that as a "Canadian" I won't need a visa to enter Egypt!

You mean as a Canadian citizen you would not need a visa to enter Egypt. Under the Canadian immigration scheme, Canadian PRs are Canadians, not Foreign Nationals. That is, "Canadian" includes both citizens and PRs.

 

[bellaluna]

The only relevant clause for urgent processing is for serious illness and being unable to obtain a passport in your current nationality. If you have, or can readily obtain a passport, you don’t meet the criteria. I successfully obtained urgent processing as I demonstrated both criteria with documentary evidence.

if however your application has been approved and you’re waiting for oath, they may consider expediting your ceremony for an urgent need to travel.

I remember someone had a case like the latter a couple of years ago... She had her oath date moved up and passport expedited to be able to leave Canada for a medical emergency.

No harm in trying for OP, definitely case to case basis and perhaps some luck.

 

[johnjkjk]

I remember someone had a case like the latter a couple of years ago... She had her oath date moved up and passport expedited to be able to leave Canada for a medical emergency.

No harm in trying for OP, definitely case to case basis and perhaps some luck.

The OP would need to substantiate why they specifically need to travel to Egypt for their medical emergency. Also many countries have medical Visas which take time, even for Canadian citizens. The OP is looking for tourist entry to Egypt.

 

[alxms10]

Dear all

Thanks a lot for your comments and taking the time to reply. I haven't been able to reply because my medical condition was deteriorated. I was able to see a specialist but my MRI is still on the wait list. I ended up not applying for urgent processing because it seems my situation does not qualify based on your answers and my own search.

FYI, I contacted the Egyptian embassy for expedited processing for my visa (I provided confirmed booking of my medical appointment in a hospital in Cairo) but they said they cannot, and I still have to wait for about 40 days for "Security Approval".

I just have a couple of comments for everyone's benefit:

And as a Canadian PR you'd have access to medical care in Canada - I realize there are valid reasons to want to get medical care abroad, but most are (arguably) not urgent, because urgent medical care is provided in Canada. So almost by definition, medical care you want to get abroad is ... not urgent.

I guess you have a lot of faith in the Canadian health system but they have their own definition of urgent which might not reflect your mental and physical state. I know a friend of a friend who died waiting for kidney stone related operation, so no I don't think this is accurate (with all due respect). But again thanks for your input, it's still helpful.

You mean as a Canadian citizen you would not need a visa to enter Egypt. Under the Canadian immigration scheme, Canadian PRs are Canadians, not Foreign Nationals. That is, "Canadian" includes both citizens and PRs.

This is not true. If as a Canadian citizen you're visa expect from entering Egypt for example, you cannot travel with your PR card and expect to enter Egypt without visa. I know you can for certain countries (list provided here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_permanent_resident_card) but this is not a general rule.

Again thank you everyone, I hope my situation gets better and that I don't have to deal with IRCC ever again.

 

[dpenabill]

You mean as a Canadian citizen you would not need a visa to enter Egypt. Under the Canadian immigration scheme, Canadian PRs are Canadians, not Foreign Nationals. That is, "Canadian" includes both citizens and PRs.

This is not true. If as a Canadian citizen you're visa expect from entering Egypt for example, you cannot travel with your PR card and expect to enter Egypt without visa. I know you can for certain countries (list provided here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_permanent_resident_card) but this is not a general rule.

"If as a Canadian citizen you're visa expect from entering Egypt for example, you cannot travel with your PR card and expect to enter Egypt without visa."​

In no circumstances should a Canadian citizen be traveling with or even posess a PR card. But if for some reason a former PR, now a Canadian citizen, still carries their PR card, best to not try using it for anything.

Meanwhile, if Canadian citizens are visa-exempt in Egyptian law they can expect to enter Egypt without a visa using their Canadian passport (keep the PR card, which they should not have, in an inside pocket or, better yet, destroy and dispose of it).

Generally Canadians who are not Canadian citizens, but still a Canadian PR, must rely on their home country passport when they travel internationally. With some exceptions, whether they are visa exempt will usually depend on what passport they carry . . . and the law of the destination country of course.

Note, however, the PR card is NOT a travel document. The wikipedia article referenced, about the Canada permanent resident card, referring to it as a "travel document," is either employing the term in a broad, general sense or is simply in error. The Canadian PR card is a "status document," not a travel document.


Otherwise I am not sure what you are claiming is not true in the quote.

To be clear, who are "Canadians" includes both Canadian citizens and Canadian PRs. That is Canadian immigration law.

Who is visa exempt in another country, such as Egypt, is not based on Canadian law but on Egyptian law.

If a Canadian citizen is visa exempt from a country, like Egypt, under Egyptian law, that does not make a Canadian PR visa exempt.

In particular, just being a "Canadian" (under Canadian law) does not make an individual visa exempt for a lot of countries in which Canadian citizens are, per the respective country, visa exempt. Who is visa exempt depends on the law in the particular country.

According to the wikipedia article a number of countries will allow visa exempt travel to Canadian PRs, presenting the Canadian PR card. Given the unreliability of wikipedia as a source for such information, it is important to verify in a reliable source (preferably at least authoritative if not official) before relying on such information. (Just like in regards to any information here.)

A Canadian PR card is not a travel document, but of course a Canadian PR carrying a passport from Egypt should travel with their PR card and can expect to enter Egypt without a visa. I also believe there are other countries which Egypt affords visa-exempt status to their citizens, and if a Canadian PR is carrying such a passport they too should nonetheless also carry their Canadian PR card, and generally should expect to be allowed entry into Egypt without a visa, upon presentation of their visa-exempt passport of course. (In other words, being a Canadian PR and carrying a PR card does not result in more stringent requirements than otherwise imposed depending on what passport the PR carries.)

 

[alxms10]

If a Canadian citizen is visa exempt from a country, like Egypt, under Egyptian law, that does not make a Canadian PR visa exempt.

This is exactly what I mean: a Canadian citizen (call him Person 1) versus a citizen of Tunisia, say, with a Canadian PR (call him Person 2). If Person 1 is able to enter Egypt without visa, Person 2 is not necessarily treated as Canadian to enter Egypt visa-free. I am Person 2 by definition. And I know the list in Wikipedia (regardless of trusting the source) still requires you to carry your passport of non-Canadian nationality in addition to your Canadian PR.

To be clear, who are "Canadians" includes both Canadian citizens and Canadian PRs. That is Canadian immigration law.

I am also not sure about that, because as a Canadian PR you cannot vote, so they're not the same.

Again I appreciate this discussion because it opens up ideas for more understanding

 

[armoured]

I ended up not applying for urgent processing because it seems my situation does not qualify based on your answers and my own search.
...
I guess you have a lot of faith in the Canadian health system but they have their own definition of urgent which might not reflect your mental and physical state. I know a friend of a friend who died waiting for kidney stone related operation, so no I don't think this is accurate (with all due respect).

Note, I did not say that you should NOT apply for urgent processing, just that you should be realistic about chances of success and how govt may consider - that your issue of entry to another country is due to that country's restrictions. Up to you of course. Perhaps they would do it quickly. But I wouldn't base my treatment plans solely on that probability.

Health care: you missed the point where I said 'arguably.' By no means constituted a vote from me on the health system.

 

[johnjkjk]

Dear all

Thanks a lot for your comments and taking the time to reply. I haven't been able to reply because my medical condition was deteriorated. I was able to see a specialist but my MRI is still on the wait list. I ended up not applying for urgent processing because it seems my situation does not qualify based on your answers and my own search.

FYI, I contacted the Egyptian embassy for expedited processing for my visa (I provided confirmed booking of my medical appointment in a hospital in Cairo) but they said they cannot, and I still have to wait for about 40 days for "Security Approval".

I just have a couple of comments for everyone's benefit:



I guess you have a lot of faith in the Canadian health system but they have their own definition of urgent which might not reflect your mental and physical state. I know a friend of a friend who died waiting for kidney stone related operation, so no I don't think this is accurate (with all due respect). But again thanks for your input, it's still helpful.



This is not true. If as a Canadian citizen you're visa expect from entering Egypt for example, you cannot travel with your PR card and expect to enter Egypt without visa. I know you can for certain countries (list provided here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_permanent_resident_card) but this is not a general rule.

Again thank you everyone, I hope my situation gets better and that I don't have to deal with IRCC ever again.

Wouldn't you still need an Egyptian "medical visa" as a Canadian citizen? That would presumably take the same amount of time as any other passport holder?