August 2014 Citizenship Applications

[ottawaResident]

Share my experience:

Hi Guys,

For those in Ottawa who have had test and interview, can you share your experience with some details..also advice on oath etc ?

Thanx guys...

7.45 - Drive over to the center. Friend lives very close it was easy, since I stayed at her place.
8.10 - Arrive after heavy traffic and go into building
8.12 - Waiting in line in the CIC office. Lady checked my PR card, invite letter, and told me to go sit in the test room
8.15 - This was the test time indicated on the paper, and I was inside the room by this time
8.20 - Lady comes in and starts reading rules and regulations for 10 minutes, in both English and French. She also answered some questions people had.
8.28 - Test is handed out, and we have to keep them upside down
8.30 - Test starts
8.34 - I walk out of the room, having finished the test and go sit in the waiting room.
8.40 - I get called to the interview booth

Interview details:
1. CIC officer greets me. Congratulates me that I got 20/20 on my test. Asks me for my two pieces of ID, PR card, and COPR form.
2. She gives them back to me and asked for my passport.
3. One by one, she goes through the passport to check the times spent outside of Canada.
4. She skipped the ones that didn't have stamps - which were all the US exit and Canada entry/exit ones.
5. Hands me back my passport and asks some questions.
6. Questions asked: Do I have a criminal record, or had any trouble with the law? Do I have any family in Canada? Where is my family right now?
7. She then writes "no concerns" on the comment box in her form.
8. Tells me that she will be granting me citizenship, and that I should hear from them within 1-3 months about the ceremony.
9. I say Thank you and goodbye!
10. I have the biggest grin on my face.

8.55 - The grin continues as I exit the room, get into my car.
9.00 - Exit the parking lot

Soooooo close, I can taste it

Hope this helped.

 

[thecoolguysam]

Share my experience:


7.45 - Drive over to the center. Friend lives very close it was easy, since I stayed at her place.
8.10 - Arrive after heavy traffic and go into building
8.12 - Waiting in line in the CIC office. Lady checked my PR card, invite letter, and told me to go sit in the test room
8.15 - This was the test time indicated on the paper, and I was inside the room by this time
8.20 - Lady comes in and starts reading rules and regulations for 10 minutes, in both English and French. She also answered some questions people had.
8.28 - Test is handed out, and we have to keep them upside down
8.30 - Test starts
8.34 - I walk out of the room, having finished the test and go sit in the waiting room.
8.40 - I get called to the interview booth

Interview details:
1. CIC officer greets me. Congratulates me that I got 20/20 on my test. Asks me for my two pieces of ID, PR card, and COPR form.
2. She gives them back to me and asked for my passport.
3. One by one, she goes through the passport to check the times spent outside of Canada.
4. She skipped the ones that didn't have stamps - which were all the US exit and Canada entry/exit ones.
5. Hands me back my passport and asks some questions.
6. Questions asked: Do I have a criminal record, or had any trouble with the law? Do I have any family in Canada? Where is my family right now?
7. She then writes "no concerns" on the comment box in her form.
8. Tells me that she will be granting me citizenship, and that I should hear from them within 1-3 months about the ceremony.
9. I say Thank you and goodbye!
10. I have the biggest grin on my face.

8.55 - The grin continues as I exit the room, get into my car.
9.00 - Exit the parking lot

Soooooo close, I can taste it

Hope this helped.

congratulations

 

[Rossei]

Hey Rossei...good to know I am not alone...hope we meet on June 17th..!!

As I said before, it could be earlier than June 17 and it is.

My E-cas has a new line with oath invitation now,

We sent you a notice on May 19, 2015 to appear and take the oath of citizenship at the citizenship ceremony to be held on June 3, 2015 at 9:15 AM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.

I still haven't received the actual invitation letter.

 

[Indigo.Indigo]

As I said before, it could be earlier than June 17 and it is.

My E-cas has a new line with oath invitation now,

We sent you a notice on May 19, 2015 to appear and take the oath of citizenship at the citizenship ceremony to be held on June 3, 2015 at 9:15 AM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.

I still haven't received the actual invitation letter.

Yes..you were right...I received it yesterday..for June 3rd...see you there..

 

[Edmonton84]

Hey Congratulations.

Which province and city you are in, in Western Canada. And what is your timeline. Thanks

I applied in September, I am in Edmonton, it is still in process.

Any news about applicants on November 2014 from Edmonton

 

[Rossei]

Yes..you were right...I received it yesterday..for June 3rd...see you there..

I received the letter on May 22. I didn't know that we should be on business attire (hate it). Anyway, see you there.

 

[andrew7007]

I too am in the same boat. Have a job offer. File was transferred to the local Edmonton office on May 7 and no reply yet about a test date. Can you tell me where and whom to contact in the Edmonton office?

 

[Rossei]

So, I'm also a Canadian Citizen now, eh! 8)

Oath Experience at London Office:

My oath ceremony was scheduled at 9:15 am on Jun 3, 2015. It's an hour drive from Sarnia to London and I reached there around 9. There were a lot of people in the line waiting to register/ surrender PR cards. Anyway, they didn't check anything other than PRC, CoPR and oath invitation letter. They gave me some pamphlets, returned back my CoPR (with a stamp that it's not valid anymore) and an oath signing form.

I had to show the form when I entered the oath ceremony room (same room I took my test on Mar 5, 2015). I was given a seat in 3rd row. It was a full house with lot of guests standing not finding a seat. The clerk (who took my interview) started the proceedings around 9:40 am by stating the agenda. She was repeatedly asking the parent to take the babies/kids into the lobby; but no one bothered. It was a chaos. Well, the judge came along with one guest from MP's office. There were few short speeches, we took the oath, sang the anthem and that's it. We were done by 10:36 am.

Not having any guest, I rushed out at once it was over. But one could take photos with the judge/guest after the ceremony was officially over. I stayed at London for few more hours and then drove back home.

Here's my timeline:
11-Aug-2014: Application sent
14-Aug-2014: Application received by CIC
6-Nov-2014: AOR received (email)
4-Dec-2014: Application In-Process (e-cas)
17-Dec-2014: File Transfer (e-cas)
19-Feb-2015: Test letter sent (received on 24-Feb)
5-Mar-2015: Test & Interview
19-May-2015: Oath letter sent (received on 21-May)
3-Jun-2015: Oath ceremony

(It took almost 10 months for the whole process to complete)

 

[thecoolguysam]

So, I'm also a Canadian Citizen now, eh! 8)

Oath Experience at London Office:

My oath ceremony was scheduled at 9:15 am on Jun 3, 2015. It's an hour drive from Sarnia to London and I reached there around 9. There were a lot of people in the line waiting to register/ surrender PR cards. Anyway, they didn't check anything other than PRC, CoPR and oath invitation letter. They gave me some pamphlets, returned back my CoPR (with a stamp that it's not valid anymore) and an oath signing form.

I had to show the form when I entered the oath ceremony room (same room I took my test on Mar 5, 2015). I was given a seat in 3rd row. It was a full house with lot of guests standing not finding a seat. The clerk (who took my interview) started the proceedings around 9:40 am by stating the agenda. She was repeatedly asking the parent to take the babies/kids into the lobby; but no one bothered. It was a chaos. Well, the judge came along with one guest from MP's office. There were few short speeches, we took the oath, sang the anthem and that's it. We were done by 10:36 am.

Not having any guest, I rushed out at once it was over. But one could take photos with the judge/guest after the ceremony was officially over. I stayed at London for few more hours and then drove back home.

Here's my timeline:
11-Aug-2014: Application sent
14-Aug-2014: Application received by CIC
6-Nov-2014: AOR received (email)
4-Dec-2014: Application In-Process (e-cas)
17-Dec-2014: File Transfer (e-cas)
19-Feb-2015: Test letter sent (received on 24-Feb)
5-Mar-2015: Test & Interview
19-May-2015: Oath letter sent (received on 21-May)
3-Jun-2015: Oath ceremony

(It took almost 10 months for the whole process to complete)

congratulations......

 

[Vancouver2014]

I just received my test invitation by mail today for Monday, June 29, 2015 Vancouver Office. The letter is dated June 2, 2015 and no online updates at the moment. Any tips?

Thanks!

 

[thecoolguysam]

I just received my test invitation by mail today for Monday, June 29, 2015 Vancouver Office. The letter is dated June 2, 2015 and no online updates at the moment. Any tips?

Thanks!

Congratulations. Please ensure to read the letter sent by cic which will outline what needs to be done.

You will need to take all the originals of the copies those were submitted along with the initial application.
Also make sure you take all your passports that you have. Also, landing document, pr card, two pieces of original IDs etc.
You may take additional documents with you if you feel that can benefit/support your application.

Also, please read the official "Discover Canada" book multiple times and don't rely on free online tests to pass the test. Free online tests can make you learn the information however, you should not consider them to pass the test.

Good luck and my best wishes with you.

 

[Rossei]

I just received my test invitation by mail today for Monday, June 29, 2015 Vancouver Office. The letter is dated June 2, 2015 and no online updates at the moment. Any tips?

Thanks!

thecoolguysam has given you right info.

I just want to add one more to it:
If you have multiple visits to other countries especially US; make sure to locate the entry/exit stamps on your passport. If required, make a list on a piece of paper on which pages you can find them. At the interview, s/he will largely go through your passport(s) to match your residence calculation. If there are more trips (for examples, day trips to US) included in the PP other than the ones you showed in the calculation; s/he may get interested to ask about them.

In my case, the lady was trying to confirm all my absences from 3 of my passports and she couldn't locate any. So, I had to jump in to help her. Even I was having a hard time as I had many day trips (some had stamps). I have an Excel sheet to manage all my trips but never thought to bring it with me.

 

[HIC2011]

So, I'm also a Canadian Citizen now, eh! 8)

Oath Experience at London Office:

My oath ceremony was scheduled at 9:15 am on Jun 3, 2015. It's an hour drive from Sarnia to London and I reached there around 9. There were a lot of people in the line waiting to register/ surrender PR cards. Anyway, they didn't check anything other than PRC, CoPR and oath invitation letter. They gave me some pamphlets, returned back my CoPR (with a stamp that it's not valid anymore) and an oath signing form.

I had to show the form when I entered the oath ceremony room (same room I took my test on Mar 5, 2015). I was given a seat in 3rd row. It was a full house with lot of guests standing not finding a seat. The clerk (who took my interview) started the proceedings around 9:40 am by stating the agenda. She was repeatedly asking the parent to take the babies/kids into the lobby; but no one bothered. It was a chaos. Well, the judge came along with one guest from MP's office. There were few short speeches, we took the oath, sang the anthem and that's it. We were done by 10:36 am.

Not having any guest, I rushed out at once it was over. But one could take photos with the judge/guest after the ceremony was officially over. I stayed at London for few more hours and then drove back home.

Here's my timeline:
11-Aug-2014: Application sent
14-Aug-2014: Application received by CIC
6-Nov-2014: AOR received (email)
4-Dec-2014: Application In-Process (e-cas)
17-Dec-2014: File Transfer (e-cas)
19-Feb-2015: Test letter sent (received on 24-Feb)
5-Mar-2015: Test & Interview
19-May-2015: Oath letter sent (received on 21-May)
3-Jun-2015: Oath ceremony

(It took almost 10 months for the whole process to complete)

Congratulations

 

[Rossei]

Congratulations

congratulations......

Thanks both of you.

BTW, my E-Cas has a 7th line now saying:

"You became a Canadian citizen on June 3, 2015."

 

[ottawaResident]

Got an invite for oath. June 23 in Ottawa. You can see the rest of my timeline below!