Summary: Canada will mail citizenship certificates from IRCC offices in Canada to addresses in the U.S. as well as in Canada, but
NOT to addresses in other countries.
However, applications for a citizenship certificate can be made to and processed through Visa Offices (abroad) where citizenship services are available, and the certificate may be mailed to an address outside Canada.
Here is a sample of information IRCC provides in its FAQ / Help Centre pages:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1560&top=5
Context Observations; Caveats:
The CAVEAT is the distinction between an application for a citizenship certificate versus IRCC delivery of the certificate to NEW citizens following the oath ceremony. Applications for a citizenship certificate can take longer than a year.
Another CAVEAT is that Covid-related measures supersede the usual, ordinary, routine procedures. What actually happens can and in various ways does differ from some of what is stated in PDIs (Program Delivery Instructions), FAQs, and other IRCC webpages (some reflect current covid related rules, but many do not). How things worked last month may have changed or could change soon. Particular individual details can make a real difference, so how things went for one person is not necessarily to how it will go for someone else (and often it is not close).
And yet another CAVEAT is that applicants for Canadian citizenship living abroad should be prepared for bumps along the way, some non-routine processing, right up to when there is a Decision Made, and even then but to a lesser extent right up to the Oath being actually scheduled. For such applicants, which presumably includes the OP, IRCC will not mail to an address outside the Canada. The OP reports updating their citizenship application file with their U.S. address, and states "
Now we need to come to Canada for the Oath Ceremony," without offering any other detail. It is not clear if the OP has been scheduled for the oath; if the OP has been scheduled for the oath, at the worst the OP should be able to provide a mailing address in Canada, assuming they have an address they can use and trust, and go with that.
And that is probably the safest approach. If the oath ceremony is in person, not a virtual ceremony, the OP could inquire, with the officials presiding at the ceremony, about using a U.S. address for mailing the certificate. And go with what the officials at the oath ceremony say.
Clarifying Distinction Between IN Canada services versus Visa Office Services:
Some of the observations in posts above appear to suggest that passport services through Visa Offices abroad is relevant. Just because a Visa Office will mail to an address outside Canada, in conducting the services the Visa Office provides, says
NOTHING about whether a service provided IN Canada will mail to addresses outside Canada. Some services IN Canada will mail ONLY to addresses in Canada; some will mail to addresses in Canada and the U.S. (such as in response to applications for a citizenship certificate); some may (I cannot cite an example) mail to addresses in other countries. But it depends on the particular service and rules and practices in IRCC for processing those services.
The U.S. is a common exception. But NOT for processing grant citizenship applications. For grant citizenship applications (with isolated and not relevant here exceptions) IRCC ONLY MAILS to IN Canada addresses.
How Things Work:
Generally IRCC offices IN Canada only mail physical documents domestically, meaning to Canadian addresses. Visa Offices abroad will mail to non-Canadian addresses.
Visa Offices abroad only provide certain services. Such as passport services (this service is not necessarily available at all Visa Offices however). Which is why passports can and will be mailed to addresses outside Canada.
Some services are ONLY available through a Visa Office, such as applications for Special Travel Documents by a Canadian citizen abroad, or for PR Travel Documents by a PR abroad.
Some IRCC services are only provided internally, such as most services related to processing citizenship applications. Thus, IRCC will ONLY mail citizenship application matter to addresses IN Canada. (Most communication now is email, or otherwise electronic, so physical mailing limitations have minimal impact . . . unless and until sending physical documents is involved.)
Some services are available BOTH IN Canada and in Visa Offices. Applications for citizenship certificates for example. But, where the application is made will almost certainly dictate what addresses the office handling the application will mail the certificate. Applications processed by Visa Offices will mail to addresses abroad. Applications processed by IRCC offices IN Canada will only mail certificates to addresses in Canada and the U.S.
That is, it is NOT necessarily about what document is involved, but can be, rather, about whether the service is being provided IN Canada or abroad in a Visa Office.
It warrants recognizing that what is done in internal office processing (meaning IN Canada), versus Visa Office processing, is mostly (not entirely) administrative, with lots of overlap (passport and other citizenship services, again, are handled both internally and in visa offices), and rife with exceptions.
What that means is that any particular service can be available ONLY IN Canada, or ONLY in a visa office, or in either (that is, both). Only if the service is available through a Visa Office will IRCC mail physical items, documents, to an address outside Canada. BUT, of course, there are exceptions, as there almost always are.
In regards to exceptions, there tend to be quite a few in regards to the U.S. Some Visa Office services for clients in the U.S., after all, are handled at physical locations in Canada, for example.
But the exceptions regarding the U.S. do not include citizenship application procedures. For transactions with citizenship applicants IRCC does not mail notices or letters or documents to addresses outside Canada. As noted, for citizenship certificates, IRCC in Canada will mail to the U.S. But not to other countries. Otherwise, Visa Offices abroad providing citizenship services will mail citizenship certificates to addresses in other countries.
Another Distinction: What Works Versus What Goes Smoothly and Quickly:
This forum is rife with "
answers" based on technical requirements. Meeting technical requirements works but this comes with a HUGE CAVEAT: barely meeting the technical requirement can complicate processing, potentially trigger elevated scrutiny and non-routine processing, and otherwise result in delays, or even lead to a negative outcome if the applicant fails to meet IRCC's interpretation and application of the burden of proof. The distinction, the difference, is more nuanced than that, of course, and the impact varies widely depending on the particular requirement and other context.
Consider:
"Canadian passports can be applied to from anywhere in the world if you have the certificate [and certificates can be mailed to addresses outside Canada]. However, anecdotally, someone who works in the US and came back to Canada for the oath, was instructed to remain in Canada until they get the passport. So, even if it's possible on paper, they seem to be opting for not doing it."
Not sure who the "
they . . . opting for not doing it" references, but the distinction I have already noted in regards to having a citizenship certificate mailed to an address outside Canada is a clue, a big clue.
Big difference between the NEW citizen being mailed a certificate immediately following the oath, minimal passage of time until the certificate is physically in the mail heading to an address in Canada (possibly addresses in the U.S. as well, but more likely not) versus an application for a certificate made to a Visa Office, which will mail the certificate to an address outside Canada . . . EXCEPT that may take a YEAR or more. No advanced degrees in philosophy necessary to recognize those who are becoming NEW citizens will almost universally prefer the certificate the fast way, and likewise following that, the typically much faster and smoother process of applying for their first Canadian passport IN Canada. Those willing to wait and to work with Visa Offices abroad, can do that. No surprise that personnel with IRCC suggest the former. Contrary to some reports otherwise, IRCC personnel tend to be rational, reasonable, and sometimes even exercise common sense.
