What if you can't attend the citizenship ceremony?

[nvnv616]

Hi there,

Is there anyone who can't make it to the citizenship ceremony? I have done my citizenship test in November 2012, and the notice says that it may take 3 to 5 months to inform those who passed the test and attend the ceremony. It has been 3 months now, but I need to go to China in May. So what will the CIC do if I can't attend the ceremony? or What should I do in this case?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Nordicgirl]

If you get invited to the ceremony, inform CIC as soon as possible. Then they will reschedule.

 

[nvnv616]

If you get invited to the ceremony, inform CIC as soon as possible. Then they will reschedule.

Will they make it very hard for us to reschedule? Or do I have to have a strong reason? I don't know if I can just say things like I am in China and not able to attend...

 

[Abahoni]

Will they make it very hard for us to reschedule? Or do I have to have a strong reason? I don't know if I can just say things like I am in China and not able to attend...

CIC usually gives at least two weeks time once they sent out the letter for oath. It is better for you to come back and do the oath ceremony, otherwise you may have to convince them or face judge for rescheduling. Ask your family members to watch the mail for you or check online case status everyday. Best of luck..

 

[Leon]

You can reschedule but you must send them a letter within 60 days I think stating the reasons why you could not attend and they will schedule your ceremony at their convenience, not yours. You will get a letter again, probably within the next year, inviting you again with around 2 weeks notice.

I have heard of one person who re-scheduled a 2nd time and they sent her a letter back and asked her if she was still interested in getting citizenship.

Regardless of passing the test, you don't become a citizen until you have done the ceremony.

 

[Nordicgirl]

You can reschedule but you must send them a letter within 60 days I think stating the reasons why you could not attend and they will schedule your ceremony at their convenience, not yours. You will get a letter again, probably within the next year, inviting you again with around 2 weeks notice.

It takes that long to reschedule?!?! In that case I would treat the citizenship ceremony as the most important thing and arrange my life around it.
Going to the citizenship ceremony is so important that I would rather cancel my plans than stick with them, if possible. Only if something really severe had happened in my family abroad, would I have skipped the ceremony.

A friend of mine crossed the Atlantic just to attend the ceremony!!!

 

[Leon]

Yes, it really takes this long. I was planning a trip around the time I would be doing the ceremony. I phoned CIC and asked them about it and from their answers it was clear that they consider citizenship important enough that you should schedule your life around them and not the other way around. They could not even give me an idea of when I might be called for the ceremony except they said it is usually 2-4 months after the test. I cancelled my trip. In my case, it was 2 months.

As for the up to one year to reschedule, that is what I have heard from other people who have had this happen. If you miss your exam or ceremony, CIC will not just reschedule you for the next one in your area but for some other date they pick which may well be a year in the future. However, they don't tell you a year in the future that this is when you are scheduled. They will still just send you a letter around 10-14 days in advance.

 

[us2yow]

Nordicgirl,

I was wondering - you noted that your friend crossed the Atlantic to come to the ceremony. At what point did they decide to leave Canada:

a) Sometime after applying for citizenship - which means all their letters /notifications came to a Canada address and they got updates that x or y or z arrived in the mail from a friend here ?

b) After taking test - which is much later in the game?

c) Did they have RQ ?

Also, were they independent applicant or a spouse of a Canadian. Your input would just be generally help to get a sense of how these things can be planned. Much appreciated and Thank you !

 

[Nordicgirl]

Nordicgirl,

I was wondering - you noted that your friend crossed the Atlantic to come to the ceremony. At what point did they decide to leave Canada:

a) Sometime after applying for citizenship - which means all their letters /notifications came to a Canada address and they got updates that x or y or z arrived in the mail from a friend here ?

b) After taking test - which is much later in the game?

c) Did they have RQ ?

Also, were they independent applicant or a spouse of a Canadian. Your input would just be generally help to get a sense of how these things can be planned. Much appreciated and Thank you !

Option A. My friend got a job in Europe and they moved there. About half a year afterwards she got invited to the citizenship test and came to Canada to do it. Then she also traveled to Canada to the oath ceremony.

She was an independent applicant, like all citizenship applicants are.

This was about 4 years ago, she never got an RQ. They might be more strict nowadays. Moving abroad is always a risk if you are applying for citizenship...

 

[J Flo]

Option A. My friend got a job in Europe and they moved there. About half a year afterwards she got invited to the citizenship test and came to Canada to do it. Then she also traveled to Canada to the oath ceremony.

She was an independent applicant, like all citizenship applicants are.

This was about 4 years ago, she never got an RQ. They might be more strict nowadays. Moving abroad is always a risk if you are applying for citizenship...

Hi Nordicgirl. Your friend acquired her citizenship under false pretenses and it could be revoked. Prior to 2017 part of the citizenship application asked you to confirm that you would remain living in Canada. The Trudeau government has removed that requirement since then, but that is the reason that I did not apply for Citizenship. Even though I have been living in Canada for 35 years, I always intended to retire to my home country. I know that many people lie to get what they want but for me, my integrity is firmly in place and nothing will shake it, not even a desire to be Canadian. Luckily I didn't have to compromise myself since last year I was able to apply and get my citizenship without having to discuss my plans for the future. I strongly believe that applying for something as important as citizenship one should be truthful, after all who wants to belong to a culture of liars?

 

[FloydCan]

The last post for this thread is from 2013!!!! Don't people see the dates before posting a reply?!!

 

[J Flo]

The last post for this thread is from 2013!!!! Don't people see the dates before posting a reply?!!

Yes, that is explicity why i replied - my response would not be appropriate if the post was since 2017. It may be an old post but they're still publicly available and people just like you still read them.

 

[Janjoun]

Hi Nordicgirl. Your friend acquired her citizenship under false pretenses and it could be revoked. Prior to 2017 part of the citizenship application asked you to confirm that you would remain living in Canada. The Trudeau government has removed that requirement since then, but that is the reason that I did not apply for Citizenship. Even though I have been living in Canada for 35 years, I always intended to retire to my home country. I know that many people lie to get what they want but for me, my integrity is firmly in place and nothing will shake it, not even a desire to be Canadian. Luckily I didn't have to compromise myself since last year I was able to apply and get my citizenship without having to discuss my plans for the future. I strongly believe that applying for something as important as citizenship one should be truthful, after all who wants to belong to a culture of liars?

The intent to reside in Canada after acquiring citizenship was introduced by Harper government not that long ago and is really a very peculiar requirement that you rarely find in other naturalization laws of other countries.
Based on date of post and substracting 4 years, the person in question applied in 2009. The intent to reside was not a requirement for citizenship at the time. Meaning she was in her right to move the day after she applied for citizenship.
Trudeau just repelled the change introduced by Harper.

Furthermore, the application takes a year or more and plans can change in that time. Example: a person being laid off, meeting his other half in some other part of the world and moving to live with them.

And while some people that intend to leave canada apply for citizenship just for the perk of the Canadian passport, many apply because the have some attachement to canada, and still contemplate the possibility of returning to Canada at some point. (This is specially true for people that can go work in Europe easily, before becoming Canadian like the person is question)