Apply for Citizenship

Citizenship
1

Hi, I’m a Permanent resident, I have one question here:

(1) do i must to stay in Canada after I submitted my citizenship application? can I leave Canada during application processing period until I will be called for the test?

Please kindly advise and thank you.

2

Yes, you can travel as long as you make sure keeping your Permanent Residence physical residency requirement which is 2 years in 5 years. The reason for that is you have to keep your permanent residency till the day of your citizenship oath.
Also you may receive by mail some notifications or invitation for test, so make sure somebody can access to your mail box for the mails.

3

thanks for your reply. could you please kindly advise on my case as following:

(1) I became PR in Dec 2013 and I will fulfill the physical residency requirement to apply for citizenship in early Aug 2018.
(2) my PR is going to expire on Feb 2019, as per regulation, i can apply as long as my PR is going to expire in less than 9 months, i’m going to renew my PR in May 2018 and shall get new PR new in July 2018
(3) i plan to leave Canada in Aug 2018 (after i apply for my citizenship & got my new PR card which is around July 2018) and come back when i will be called for test and citizenship oath.
(4) so the processing time for my citizenship will take 1 year from Aug 2018 to Aug 2019
(5) so my question is from the time i apply for my citizenship till the day of citizenship oath, do i still good for keeping my permanent residency? cos I dont stay in Canada since i have my new PR card, and in this case, where they count the time frame for 5 year?

Thank you very much for taking time to read and looking forward for your response.

4

Yes, they will check the last 5 year, So in August 2019, they will check if you were residing in Canada for two years from August 2014 to August 2019.

Your citizenship process may take less than 1 year. So be prepared that you may have to come earlier for the oath.

Note that PR card and PR status are not the same things. So you don’t need a PR card to keep your PR status. Even without your PR card, you can still get a entry document from the Canadian Consulate in your home country to come back to Canada as a PR.
PR card is just a card, you are already a PR even if your card is expired or renewed.

5

thank you very much for your reply. now i have better and a clearer understanding. i really appreciated it.

6

Hello,

You can find some additional information on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website in the Can I leave Canada after I mail my citizenship application? section.

Here is an excerpt,

In terms of meeting your residency requirements for Permanent Residency, you must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years) in every 5-year period. The 5-year period is assessed on a rolling basis. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will look back at your time in Canada over the previous 5 years.

This means that, in terms of the process when re-entering Canada and whether or not you are still considered a Canadian Permanent Resident, each time you enter Canada, Citizenship and Immigration may calculate 5 years back from the date you have entered or re-entered Canada to see if you have fulfilled your residency obligation.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org

7

I had applied for my Canadian citizenship in last November 2017 and have not heard any response except the acknowledgement of the application. How do I check the progress about the processing? Where can I check it?

8

Hello there,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be concerned about this situation.

You may want to try and contact the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre directly to see if they have any information they can provide you.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org

9

Hello, i have submitted my completed citizenship applicaiton (As a family). While i received confirmaitonform CANADA POST that it was delivered to Nova scotia address, i have not received any confirmation (or rejection) yet since from CIC till now and it is more than a 45 days now. WHen do they confirm receipt of application or acknowledgement?
DP