CBSA and Travel

[joe_fun]

Hi,

I have a quick question, since the new applications have CBSA request in them, when does CIC submit them? lets say I applied June 2013,
1) will CIC submit the request once the case is opened?
2) will these records cover only the time before the application <June 2013 or will it be based on the time CIC starts processing the case?
Example: CIC starts processing in August 2013 "2 months i submit the application", it will send the request to the agency: please provide us so and so CBSA records up to August 2013 or June 2013.....

i am wondering about these questions to see whether CIC can tell about travels post application date if its less than 2 weeks such as weekend trips to the US or somewhere else!!

 

[frege]

Hi,

I have a quick question, since the new applications have CBSA request in them, when does CIC submit them? lets say I applied June 2013,
1) will CIC submit the request once the case is opened?
2) will these records cover only the time before the application <June 2013 or will it be based on the time CIC starts processing the case?
Example: CIC starts processing in August 2013 "2 months i submit the application", it will send the request to the agency: please provide us so and so CBSA records up to August 2013 or June 2013.....

i am wondering about these questions to see whether CIC can tell about travels post application date if its less than 2 weeks such as weekend trips to the US or somewhere else!!

CIC is very interested in trips post-application date. They're trying to catch anybody who looks like they were staying in Canada just long enough to get citizenship and then leaving to live abroad. First, they may go over your four-year period with a fine-toothed comb. Second, if that doesn't work, they'll delay your application long enough so that if you're living abroad, you'll lose your PR status and can't become a citizen. You can expect an RQ if your passport shows trips in the three months before your citizenship test, for example.

 

[joe_fun]

Hi,

I understand leaving immediately after applying or coming back immediately before the test is suspicious, but if the process currently takes 2 years and you travel 3months after you apply for LESS than 2 weeks, is that a problem?
that's why i asked the CBSA question to see if CIC can find out "POST APPLICATION" that you did travel , see the problem that i failed to explain is that CBSA shows only entries , so if i travel 3 months after application they might see that but they wont be able to tell when i LEFT CANADA...
it can easily be explained during the test but i was wondering if merely the travel will cause the delay, that's why i asked about the PERIOD THAT CBSA COVERS, is it only before the application or after it as well??

 

[frege]

Hi,

I understand leaving immediately after applying or coming back immediately before the test is suspicious, but if the process currently takes 2 years and you travel 3months after you apply for LESS than 2 weeks, is that a problem?
that's why i asked the CBSA question to see if CIC can find out "POST APPLICATION" that you did travel , see the problem that i failed to explain is that CBSA shows only entries , so if i travel 3 months after application they might see that but they wont be able to tell when i LEFT CANADA...
it can easily be explained during the test but i was wondering if merely the travel will cause the delay, that's why i asked about the PERIOD THAT CBSA COVERS, is it only before the application or after it as well??

If CIC knows it was only two weeks, it's certainly not going to be a problem. If they don't, it's possible they'll be suspicious based on many post-application absences, but even for three months, I doubt there would be a problem.

At this point (i.e. since June 30, 2013), I believe the U.S.-Canada border agreement will give both sides information about exits by third-country nationals. For example, if you're a Canadian PR (but not a U.S. citizen), the U.S. will tell the Canadian authorities whenever you enter the U.S. from Canada, even by land. Also, I believe the CBSA has passenger lists for departing and arriving aircraft; however I don't know if this ends up in the travel history. It's possible that with the right kind of access to information request, this information can be obtained from the CBSA. (I know the U.K. gives access to this kind of information, for example.) Since it's primarily security-related, it may be kept separate from the main travel history.

I strongly suspect that CIC asks for CBSA information current as of the date of their request. I haven't been able to find anything conclusive, BUT the residence questionnaire asks about all absences from Canada from arrival to the time the RQ is filled out. That also includes passport stamps, CBSA travel history, and records of movement from home country. Also, they study your passport stamps as of the time of the citizenship test, so one way or another, they find out you've been travelling. I can't see why they would, on the one hand, ask for this up to the time of the RQ, but on the other deny themselves the opportunity to have more up-to-date information earlier in the process.

 

[purple shark]

If CIC knows it was only two weeks, it's certainly not going to be a problem. If they don't, it's possible they'll be suspicious based on many post-application absences, but even for three months, I doubt there would be a problem.

Would it still be a problem even if you fulfilled three years and then left? I mean, by law, they should only take into consideration the years before the application was submitted, right?

 

[frege]

Would it still be a problem even if you fulfilled three years and then left? I mean, by law, they should only take into consideration the years before the application was submitted, right?

Yes, by law, you're correct.

But most of the criticism from the Conservatives about supposedly lax citizenship laws was focused on the Canadian citizens living in Lebanon in 2006 who had to be evacuated. The Tories say they want to "preserve the value of Canadian citizenship," as if the fact I'm Canadian by birth is somehow tainted by the fact there are naturalized Canadians living in other countries. (I can't imagine the Tories would have been complaining quite as vociferously if these had been Canadians of British descent.)

In practice, you see the government imposing RQ's on people for absences post-application. That may delay them enough that they lose their PR before the oath ceremony. Also, if you read citizenship appeal cases, there are quite a few of them in which people have been targeted by CIC and have not gotten citizenship, even though they were perfectly eligible for it when they applied.

A decade ago, my mother became a citizen after 25 years in Canada, partly because she wanted the freedom to travel back to the U.S. without counting days. A person in the same situation who applies now will be penalized if they wait and apply only at the time they actually want to travel. So you would need to plan years in advance, even though there's no law that says this.

 

[purple shark]

A decade ago, my mother became a citizen after 25 years in Canada, partly because she wanted the freedom to travel back to the U.S. without counting days. A person in the same situation who applies now will be penalized if they wait and apply only at the time they actually want to travel. So you would need to plan years in advance, even though there's no law that says this.

Sad. There's always a way around the law, and it works both ways, unfortunately