At the very least, as I have posted maybe fifty times in this forum, every time there is any action taken on a citizenship application there is a GCMS check which encompasses a name-record check for criminal history. At the very least this screens for hits in the RCMP AND U.S. FBI/NCIC name-record databases. While applicants scheduled for the oath very soon following the test & PI interview may not have to be screened again beyond the GCMS screening done attendant the test & PI interview, ordinarily (based on policies implemented a few years ago) there will be another screening before the oath. This task probably takes no more than a minute or three UNLESS, of course, there is a HIT.
Apart from that criminality screening, there are many reports indicating that the formal RCMP background check is often
UPDATED later in the processing of a citizenship application. Last internal agency memorandums I have seen (which are a bit dated now but there has been nothing to suggest this has changed) indicate the referrals to the RCMP for an update are ROUTINE and typically are made in batches for up to 99 applicants at a time . . . there has been little indication this step results in much if any delay UNLESS, of course, there is a HIT.
While the passage of time appears to be a factor in who is subject of a referral to the RCMP for an updated clearance, obviously there are a variety of factors which might trigger such a referral, some of which are merely due diligence criteria, and some related to overt cause for concern. But again, the referral for the RCMP updated clearance appears to have minimal impact on processing timelines for the vast majority of applicants.
Which leads to additional observations I have posted about scores and scores of times:
-- the copy of GCMS records sent to applicants in response to ATIP requests are rife with default codes which are utterly NOT informative. While sometimes warranted and useful, the vast majority of these requests and responses as reported in this forum are an utter waste of time and effort, not worth the fluttering of fingertips to key the requests. Interpreting these reports and relying on the interpretation is generally about as productive as gerbils running in a wheel.
-- help centre agents are known to recite various versions of the waiting-for-clearances explanation for continuing processing times even though typically the background clearance referrals have been submitted to IRCC . . . BUT formal checking off of that task's completion is waiting for a responsible processing agent or Citizenship Officer to take the next step in processing the application, at which time the clearances are formally complete (noting, again, this will ALWAYS be concurrent with the processing agent or Citizenship Officer ALSO doing the GCMS check which encompasses a name-record check for criminal history).
In regards to the latter, for example, following the PI interview the interviewer (typically a processing agent) prepares the file for a Citizenship Officer to review and make a decision. It is apparent that in doing this sometimes applicants are added to a batch referral for a RCMP clearance
update. It is also apparent that this referral generally does NOT take long for RCMP to provide the updated clearance (with obvious exceptions, such as the fact of a recent arrest). BUT the updated clearance simply goes into the GCMS, in fields obviously NOT shared with clients (and thus NOT likely visible to help centre call agents either), and are not checked-off as complete until the Citizenship Officer actually takes the step of reviewing the file in the course of making a decision on it (probably, speculating just a bit, a task which takes only a FRACTION of an HOUR). So as far as what the help centre agent sees, the GCMS still shows the clearance as outstanding right up to the hour in which the Citizenship Officer makes a decision. So, if the client calls the day before the Citizenship Officer actually takes the decision-making step, it is quite likely (for any applicant who is subject of a referral for an updated clearance) the call centre agent will report some version of the
waiting-for-clearances explanation . . . even though the final decision might be coming the very next day. Or, to be clear, even though the applicant's file is sitting IN QUEUE and might continue to sit IN QUEUE for weeks or even months to come.
Unlike
helicopter-parents, who tend to stunt their children's development,
helicopter-applicants tend to merely fuel their own anxiety spinning needlessly over the minute details of the process. For the overwhelming vast majority of qualified applicants who follow the instructions and provide accurate information, there is NO cause to worry UNLESS the applicant himself or herself already knows of an actual reason to worry . . . and the operative strategy is WAITING, waiting and watching for communication from IRCC.
