When will I be eligible to apply for Citizenship?

[fadu4u]

- Arrived in Canada on 8th January 2010 as an International Student
- Became PR on 11th May 2014.
- Had applied under old law in federal investor program.
- Basic Residence Days according to Calculator is: 789 and shows I'm eligible to apply for citizenship on 11th May 2016.

but the new law will go into effect by July 2015, will I still be processed according to old law because I have applied under law, I was supposed to be eligible by 2016.
but if I'm processed under new law then my half of the period towards citizenship as a student wont be counted and will have to stay 4 years.

this means I will be eligible in 2018, so will I be eligible with the old law? 2016 or the new law 2018?

 

[scylla]

You will be processed under the new law - not the old law. It doesn't matter when you became a PR. What matters is when you submit your citizenship application. Since you won't be submitting your citizenship application until after the new law is in place, you will fall under the new law (4 out of 6 years) and won't be eligible until 2018.

 

[fadu4u]

wow that sucks

 

[fadu4u]

You will be processed under the new law - not the old law. It doesn't matter when you became a PR. What matters is when you submit your citizenship application. Since you won't be submitting your citizenship application until after the new law is in place, you will fall under the new law (4 out of 6 years) and won't be eligible until 2018.

and the student period wont be counted towards citizenship either, correct?

 

[zwho]

and the student period wont be counted towards citizenship either, correct?

Time prior to PR -study, work, visit whatever it is- will not be counted as residence requirement according to the new law.

 

[fadu4u]

so even if I get citizenship, and I'm not staying in the country, they will revoke the citizenship.
nice law.

 

[brbr]

so even if I get citizenship, and I'm not staying in the country, they will revoke the citizenship.
nice law.

That is inaccurate, citizenship revocation is under extreme circumstances such as treason, fraudulent path to naturalization , terrorism, etc... As a Canadian citizen you will still have full mobility rights so that would not cause them to strip you of citizenship. Under the new law, assuming you do NOT leave Canada at all, you would be eligible to apply for citizenship on May 12, 2018. The law talks about the INTENT of staying in Canada once an individual becomes a Canadian citizen, however there is NO enforcement mechanism for that, it's basically aiming to make sure that people apply in good-faith at the onset and not just to become citizens of convenience, which pardon the snap judgment, but that's where it seems your head is at.

 

[pecON]

Can I ask a question here?

Why are you so concerned with becoming a Canadian Citizen, in such a hurry, if you are already thinking about not staying in Canada? One of the reasons for the changes and stricter rules with obtaining citizenship is to ensure that it is granted to people who intend to settle here and live their life as an integrated Canadian.

From what I have read about the changes next July they will be looking much closer at all applicants and how well they have integrated into the country by way of work, paying taxes and owning property.

 

[fadu4u]

sure.

I will be coming back and forth. It is not completely possible to break ties with your home country.
people who are born here and living here permanently won't understand it and always criticize us and it's futile to explain them.

Ofcourse if you have a property here you will be paying taxes. I always file them.
since now it's online, it's much more convenient to file taxes.

I'm just saying what if I'm staying back home for couple of months and come back here.. and live few months here and there..
if they are going to revoke citizenship because of I'm living there and working there and applied in investor program which basically gives money to canadian government so they can invest this money into creating new jobs and benefit society as a whole.

 

[pecON]

Thank you for your reply. I was just curious as the new system will be much stricter. They will look very closely at your movements during the 4 years that you are waiting to apply and of course you will have to keep a very accurate record of every trip you make out of the country.

We even had to account for day trips across the border to Watertown USA, and they cross checked every passport stamp with the list we had provided them with. They questioned a few visits at random, such as what was the purpose of this visit. When completing the application you have to list the date you left, date you returned, place you went to and reason for the visit. Its not easy trying to remember all of that information when being interviewed by a citizenship officer.

Provided your application for citizenship is granted, you should then be free to come and go as you please.

I wish you very good luck. It has been a 5 1/2 year journey for us and we are looking forward to becoming citizens later this month.

 

[fadu4u]

I see, Thanks.
My dad had applied in investor program in 2009 and due to their backlog we got our PR in 2014.
in these 4-5 years I paid international fees, we also paid hefty sum so they can contribute into Canada and create jobs for the canadians.

I mean we are not trying to fraud the system. We are actually victim of their backlog, we suffered, if I had my PR my 2011 I would be citizen by now and had paid domestic fee. Its not our goal to get citizenship and leave Canada permanently, what's the point of taking citizenship in the first place.
but we want to keep coming back and forth and look for a possibility of business, how can I tell right now, weather our goals will be accomplished, for example business goals.

I guess, once I get my citizenship and the restrictions will be taken away from me, but they would keep a strict eye on me for during these 4 years whether I have established a significant ties in Canada, like bought any Property, work and paying taxes.

someone also told me to keep Travel dates but I didn't know they would ask me reasons for travelling.
I would keep that in mind thanks for that information.


Goodluck for your citizenship next month! it must be all exciting!

 

[keesio]

Don't worry, that clause about "intent to reside in Canada" is all for show with no real impact. brbr is 100% correct in his explanation.

 

[fadu4u]

Don't worry, that clause about "intent to reside in Canada" is all for show with no real impact. brbr is 100% correct in his explanation.

alright, thanks.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Don't worry, that clause about "intent to reside in Canada" is all for show with no real impact. brbr is 100% correct in his explanation.

Oh, I think that it will have an impact on applicants who apply and then only return from abroad for the test and the oath.

 

[brbr]

Hi


Oh, I think that it will have an impact on applicants who apply and then only return from abroad for the test and the oath.

Hey PMM,

So do you think they would actually cross-reference the CBSA exit and entries post-citizenship application date? I think that would be the only way they would know that you came back to Canada just to do the exam and oath, no? Because from what I understand is that they are only interested in the specific 3 years of residence accumulation before applying up to the date of the application (not that it affects me in any way shape or form haha, I've been in Canada for 9 years now )