Will C-6 (positively) affect applications already being processed?

[skier]

Hello!

My case is being a little complicated. I will summarize the facts here: I arrive in Canada in 2010 on a visa. Became PR in 2012. I was on track to apply for the citizenship in 2015; however due to some unforeseen circumstances I missed the chance of submitting an application before the C-24 by ONE day.
I waited 1 year, until I had enough physical presence days according to the new law and applied.
Everything went smooth from the beginning until my post test interview. I passed the test (20/20), my partner also had passed his test earlier (he took it on a different date, due to travel). His process shows already "decision made" since a couple of days after his test.

Mine, however, became a mess.

During the interview, the officer noticed I made a mistake forgetting to add one trip on my online calculator. I have an extensive travel history, my 3 passports are awfully full of stamps; although I tried to be very careful keeping track of everything, this one trip was forgotten.
The officer was really nice, explaining the whole process, that she would have to request to the CBSA my travel history, etc to verify if I meet the minimum physical presence. If she sees I don't meet the requirement, she said she would have to send my case to the judge and then he/she would be the one making the decision to approve/reject my application.

As soon as I got home, I did the calculations again and unfortunately I am 99% sure I will fall short ~15 days from the 1460 minimum (I do meet the 183 days/year criteria, and everything else is ok).

So, my question is: with the implementation of the C-6, do you think my application will simply keep going following the old rules, or as soon as the C-6 is in effect it will be then evaluated under the new rules?
With the C-6, I do have more than enough days. But at this point I am just not sure what is going to be likely the case.

I don't know if I should simply apply to have my case and my partner's case processed separately, and then withdraw mine and start over ASAP. Or simply, let it go and wait for the outcome.

The IRCC officer notice my "panic" during the interview, and she said that she has seen "more complicated cases ending up well", and therefore I should wait until she gets the CBSA report and then we would go from there. She told me she would call me as soon as she had the report "within a week".
It has been a little over a month now and no news. I found unlikely I would get that call within a week, but I had hope. But now, as the time is passing, I don't know anymore what to do (withdraw and apply again, let it go, write an official letter of explanation with the complete and corrected calculator, etc).

She didn't reject my application there on spot (although it was quite clear I wasn't going to meet the minimum physical presence days anymore, when including the missing trip); I haven't got (yet!) and RQ, and now the new law is coming up.

Any comments will really appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers!

 

[NewUser2018]

sorry for what u went through, I would have been freaked out. your case is very unique. you should qualify by now under c24 so c6 wont matter for you, its all on hands of judge wether to grant or reject which means you will have to re apply if worst case scenario rejection happens, explain to judge it was honest mistake. but if days u missed are higher than 2 weeks I would withdraw asap and re apply asap before C6 comes into effect and before flood of applications come in, thousands of folks are waiting for c6.And when do u see judge? if its months from today I would withdraw and reapply asap.

 

[skier]

sorry for what u went through, I would have been freaked out. your case is very unique. you should qualify by now under c24 so c6 wont matter for you, its all on hands of judge wether to grant or reject which means you will have to re apply if worst case scenario rejection happens, explain to judge it was honest mistake. but if days u missed are higher than 2 weeks I would withdraw asap and re apply asap before C6 comes into effect and before flood of applications come in, thousands of folks are waiting for c6.And when do u see judge? if its months from today I would withdraw and reapply asap.

Thanks NewUser2018. I still don't know what the "decision" is. They are supposedly waiting/verifying things with the CBSA report. After that I would then be notified about the next steps - which could be 1) rejection; 2) RQ; 3) judge; or unlikely 4) acceptance. I've called the IRCC twice and last time the person told me they still waiting for the report.

That's why I was considering writing a letter to my local office, explaining everything (and the reasons for so many trips, etc), showing how I tried to keep track of the absences (I've saved every single boarding pass, and so on), and attaching the corrected calculator showing the accurate number of days.

Maybe I should simply give a call to the IRCC again asking if they know which law my process will follow: C-24 or C-6. Anyways, thanks again for your thoughts.

Cheers!

 

[rizmayo]

Thanks NewUser2018. I still don't know what the "decision" is. They are supposedly waiting/verifying things with the CBSA report. After that I would then be notified about the next steps - which could be 1) rejection; 2) RQ; 3) judge; or unlikely 4) acceptance. I've called the IRCC twice and last time the person told me they still waiting for the report.

That's why I was considering writing a letter to my local office, explaining everything (and the reasons for so many trips, etc), showing how I tried to keep track of the absences (I've saved every single boarding pass, and so on), and attaching the corrected calculator showing the accurate number of days.

Maybe I should simply give a call to the IRCC again asking if they know which law my process will follow: C-24 or C-6. Anyways, thanks again for your thoughts.

Cheers!

As NewUser2018 suggested, it might not be a bad idea to withdraw your application and reapply immediately. The worst case scenario anyway is for you to re-file your application, as this is only a honest mistake

 

[NewUser2018]

c6 is not implemented yet until fall (sep 22-to December 2017) which means decisions they currently make is based c24.

 

[dpenabill]

As soon as I got home, I did the calculations again and unfortunately I am 99% sure I will fall short ~15 days from the 1460 minimum (I do meet the 183 days/year criteria, and everything else is ok).

So, my question is: with the implementation of the C-6, do you think my application will simply keep going following the old rules, or as soon as the C-6 is in effect it will be then evaluated under the new rules?
With the C-6, I do have more than enough days. But at this point I am just not sure what is going to be likely the case.

She didn't reject my application there on spot (although it was quite clear I wasn't going to meet the minimum physical presence days anymore, when including the missing trip); I haven't got (yet!) and RQ, and now the new law is coming up.

Any comments will really appreciated.

Basics (for which there is no doubt):

Changes related to physical presence requirements pursuant to Bill C-6 will have NO effect on any application made between June 11, 2015 and now, or for that matter any application made before the date those changes come-into-force, which will be some as yet unknown date this "fall."

Bill C-6 already has some effect otherwise; for example, applicants with applications currently in process no longer need to have an intent to continue residing in Canada.

But, to be clear, for any application already in process, the minimum actual physical presence requirement is 1460 days. And this will continue to apply to any application made right up to the day the 3/5 rule comes into effect (which, again, will be some as yet unknown date this fall). The 3/5 rule will only apply to applications made after the day that rule comes into force.

And, importantly, a citizenship applicant must meet the qualifications as of the day the application is made, which means the applicant must have spent a minimum of 1460 days actually present in Canada as of the day before the date the application is signed. Days in Canada after the day the application was signed will not, cannot, be counted toward meeting the physical presence requirement.


What this means for you:

If IRCC concludes you have failed to prove you were present at least 1460 days during the relevant time period, IRCC will decline to grant citizenship. There is no leeway, no flexibility, for this. 1459 days falls short and IRCC has no discretion to grant citizenship.

Obviously, if that is true, and taking into account the additional time outside Canada you fall short of 1460 days, you are wondering why there was not an immediate rejection of your application.

That is because your application contains a presence calculation asserting that you were physically present at least 1460 days. You are entitled to a fair procedure. Indeed, even if IRCC decides that you did fall short, IRCC will decline you grant citizenship but must still refer the case to a Citizenship Judge for a hearing (unless you withdraw the application). The CJ will make a determination of the facts, that is, the CJ will decide if you have submitted proof showing you were physically present at least 1460 days. And if so, the CJ approves the application and sends it back to IRCC, which will either schedule you for the oath or appeal. If not, if the CJ decides you did not prove presence for at least 1460 days, the CJ will deny your application.

Based on your description of the interview, it appears you had a sympathetic interviewer. That will not help, however, if in reviewing your CBSA travel history IRCC concludes you failed to report days outside Canada which result in falling short of 1460 days, even by one day.

But it appears the interviewer was at least willing to review IRCC's sources (the CBSA travel history in particular) to see what the data dictates. That is, perhaps there is leeway to, in effect, allow your calculation to stand and grant citizenship (if, for example, for whatever reason, the CBSA history does not show more trips than you declared). In contrst, if in reviewing sources, your calculations, and the CBSA travel history, the Citizenship Officer concludes you fell short of 1460 (even by one day), IRCC will not grant citizenship . . . indeed, IRCC has no authority to grant citizenship if it concludes you fell short, even if by just one day.

If upon reviewing the CBSA history it is concluded you fell short, what will happen then could vary. Most likely you would be sent RQ. That could happen soon or not for awhile. It is possible, however, you could be informed that they have concluded you fall short and that you are entitled to a hearing or to submit further information and documentation. They cannot summarily reject your application unless you withdraw or in effect you concede you do not meet the requirements. An applicant is entitled to have a Citizenship Judge decide the case before an application can be rejected based on challenging the presence-in-Canada calculation.



What you should do, as in should you withdraw and re-apply?

I am no expert and I am not qualified to give personal advice.

But the basics are clear. If you know for sure you fall short of 1460 days, as of the day you signed the application, you know how this is going to end.

You can wait to see what IRCC does next. After all, there is some possibility that after reviewing your file and the CBSA travel history, the Citizenship Officer concludes there is no reason to question or challenge your presence declarations. If IRCC goes this way, you could indeed be scheduled to take the oath. (If you are sure you really were short, however, this does not seem likely; possible, but not likely.)

If in contrast you get RQ, or a notice in effect allowing you to make further submissions or to request a hearing, you may want to go over your dates again, thoroughly, completely, and if you conclude you were short of 1460 days, there is little point in pursuing it any further.

If you choose to withdraw, best to include a clear explanation that upon further review you discovered an inadvertent oversight of some travel and now recognize because of that mistake you applied too soon, and so are withdrawing the application.

 

[skier]

Thanks a lot for all the answers, in special
dpenabill for such a detailed explanation.

Ok..I think we will then check how we can "split" our process (as I don't want to make my parter apply again, as the decision has been made already there), and then I will withdraw it and re-apply ASAP.

Have a great weekend!
Again, thanks for the comments. Really appreciated it.

 

[skier]

Reading and re-reading the CIC website I've found this: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/admin/general/multiple.asp

Any thoughts?
Once again, MANY thanks for all comments!