Issue with the Citizenship Test Officer

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Hi,
I went and had my citizenship test done and I passed with 20 out of 20. The interwvy with the citizenship officer went really bad. I am a Canadian resident from Sweden for 20 years. The officer started the minute I sat down to be condescending and discriminatory towards me. When I said I was Swedish he smirked at it and said I know Swedish people. He mocked me over being a model when I came to Canada and tried everything to make me nervous so I would answer wrong. I was already a little nervous about the test etc. so I messed up on some dates when I came back from a trip from Sweden (still way within the legal time I am allowed to be outside of Canada).

He was extreamly intimidating and nasty. After the test I waited outside and he walked over to a man from another country (the officer, S****, was from that part of the world too) and he told that man that he had passed the test and he was then invited to a restaurant with their national dishes.

I did not get to take my citizenship oath the next day, he needed to investigate me further. I was stunned, since I passed 20 out of 20 and had all papers correct and have been a resident of Canada for 20 years. What can I do? Is there a place to go and complain about discrimination and sexist behaivior? He said I will be investigated further and in 3 months maybe I will get my ceremony.

How much power does a citizenship officer really have? Is he the one that decide?

I can still not believe how I was treated(it made me cry)!

I would really appreciate an answer to this and have anyone else been discriminated against like this?

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and questions with us.

It is unfortunate that you have had to experience this.

You can find some information on what the key duties of a Citizenship Officer is in the CIC CP2 Decision Making Operations Manual.

1.17. Key duties of citizenship officer

A. The officer evaluates the documentation and information gathered and recorded by him or herself and by others (CPC Sydney, Immigration, etc.).

B. The officer must ensure the evidence is satisfactory to him or herself before submitting the file to a judge. In other words, the evidence necessary to grant citizenship must be available to the officer.

C. An officer submits the file to the judge only when there is enough evidence on file to allow the judge to make a decision. The officer may request more information or evidence from the client when it is not clear that the subject has complied with regulatory requirements.

D. The officer ensures all evidence is available to the judge. The file must contain any relevant information gathered by CIC in its investigations such as records of conversations with port of entry officials regarding a client’s immigration status or residence in Canada.

E. The officer must make a decision about the grant of citizenship based on the judge’s determination. The citizenship officer refers the file to Case Management Branch (Litigation Management) if the officer believes the Minister may wish to exercise his right of appeal.

We hope that if there are any other users who may have unfortunately experienced something similar share their comments with 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