+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Does a low paid(minimum wage) job affect citizenship? ?

bigben3

Star Member
Jul 7, 2011
155
17
Hi,

I just wanted to know if you work are making less money with a low paid job..can you apply for citizenship? ? Or there is a minimum wage limit ?
 

Goldline

Hero Member
Mar 16, 2014
711
26
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
bigben3 said:
Hi,

I just wanted to know if you work are making less money with a low paid job..can you apply for citizenship? ? Or there is a minimum wage limit ?
No problem with that. It's not your fault if you can't find a job that pays $10 000 a month.
 

MUFC

Champion Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,223
214
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Most of the newcomers are working underpaid jobs for 10-20$/h... There is no income requirement to become Canadian.
bigben3 said:
Hi,

I just wanted to know if you work are making less money with a low paid job..can you apply for citizenship? ? Or there is a minimum wage limit ?
 

polara69

Hero Member
Mar 9, 2013
760
60
MUFC said:
Most of the newcomers are working underpaid jobs for 10-20$/h... There is no income requirement to become Canadian.
I do not think one is a newcomer anymore after 4 years of living in Canada. Hopefully by then you are not still on minimum wage..
 

era1521

Hero Member
Oct 7, 2014
443
27
polara69 said:
I do not think one is a newcomer anymore after 4 years of living in Canada. Hopefully by then you are not still on minimum wage..
I love these smart a*ses around here with suggestive nick names lecturing how you should be after 4 yrs in canada.
 

jckdry

Hero Member
Apr 28, 2009
285
15
Actually they prefer low wage or minimum wage workers for citizenship.
So you will get it before others making more money then you.
It is cic policy to favour underprivilaged and poor people.
 

polara69

Hero Member
Mar 9, 2013
760
60
era1521 said:
I love these smart a*ses around here with suggestive nick names lecturing how you should be after 4 yrs in canada.
You are welcome.. hope you learnt something today.
 

HighFive

Hero Member
Mar 13, 2014
390
7
Toronto, Ontario
Category........
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
jckdry said:
Actually they prefer low wage or minimum wage workers for citizenship.
So you will get it before others making more money then you.
It is cic policy to favour underprivilaged and poor people.
+1. Also I heard from a friend of mine, CIC gives priority to the families where some individual(s) with disabilities exist.
 

era1521

Hero Member
Oct 7, 2014
443
27
HighFive said:
+1. Also I heard from a friend of mine, CIC gives priority to the families where some individual(s) with disabilities exist.
I agree too. Generally the government is sympathetic with less fortunate individuals. I only wonder where during the citizenship process is coming into question the applicant income.
 

oldfriend

Star Member
Mar 26, 2011
172
1
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Very interesting , what about the case if one couldn't get any job during the whole 3 or 4 years before the application for citizenship or lets say he got a job for a short period only (less than a year for example). Can this bring any problems in the processing of this application. Can questions of the kind like "how you could survive all this time without an income" be raised in the interview . Given that he has no disability and he didn't apply for any governmental financial assistance and he lived only on his savings that he brought with him to Canada. ( may be it is a very rare case but it can happen)
Please, any one who experienced such case can give us some helpful notes.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
93,165
20,647
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
oldfriend said:
Very interesting , what about the case if one couldn't get any job during the whole 3 or 4 years before the application for citizenship or lets say he got a job for a short period only (less than a year for example). Can this bring any problems in the processing of this application. Can questions of the kind like "how you could survive all this time without an income" be raised in the interview . Given that he has no disability and he didn't apply for any governmental financial assistance and he lived only on his savings that he brought with him to Canada. ( may be it is a very rare case but it can happen)
Please, any one who experienced such case can give us some helpful notes.
No - this won't impact your citizenship application. As others have said, your income (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with the citizenship process. The only thing that could complicate your citizenship process is if CIC has concerns you don't meet the residency requirement and requests RQ - and then you have trouble proving your days in Canada.
 

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,298
3,062
oldfriend said:
Can questions of the kind like "how you could survive all this time without an income" be raised in the interview .
The short answer is yes, almost any question related to the circumstances of one's life during the relevant four years may be raised in the interview.

The more telling answer is that this may be a question CIC has and the interviewer asks questions related to it, but does not directly ask the question this particular way. That is, CIC may ask questions about employment, income, expenses, means of support, and make inferences from the answers. There are multiple Federal Court decisions in which CIC and CJs doubted the applicant's claims as to presence and residence based in part (not entirely) on inference there was a possibility the the applicant had a source of income from unreported employment abroad.

These cases seem to usually be situations involving families with obvious needs but with no obvious means of support, and other circumstances raising concerns (from CIC's perspective) as to the applicant's residency. In other words, the reported cases indicating attention to this issue do not indicate that this alone would cause CIC to doubt the applicant's declarations as to residency, but if there are other reasons-to-question-residency this can add to CIC's concerns and be a factor in a CJ's determination.



Contextual Observation:

This may appear to be, but really is not in disagreement with the post by scylla.

Thus, while I generally avoid definitive propostions dependent on broad, sweeping generalizations, such as

scylla said:
No - this won't impact your citizenship application.
I emphatically agree with what I interpret to be the point being made:
scylla said:
The only thing that could complicate your citizenship process is if CIC has concerns you don't meet the residency requirement and requests RQ - and then you have trouble proving your days in Canada.
There is absolutely no direct tie between income and qualification for citizenship. (Over the years I have observed a number of more-affluent immigrants gnashing their teeth and muttering outloud that there is little or no advantage given those who pay a lot in taxes to Canada; and no, there is no advantage either for being poor.)

However, CIC can examine and consider the full gamut of factors and circumstances in the applicant's life for the relevant four years, and if something causes CIC to do so more closely than is done in the routine case, CIC usually will indeed tend to examine and consider the full gamut of factors and circumstances in the applicant's life for the relevant four years. Comparison of means of support and lifestyle included.

And of course there is plenty of indirect effect related to affluence or the lack thereof. Factors like home ownership, vehicle ownership, and overall stability, can affect how the overall picture looks. Steady employment, and in particular an easily documented career, can help paint a more complete picture of a life lived in Canada. In contrast, individuals living on the margins, relying on family or friends for a place to live, living largely in a cash-based economy, are at some disadvantage if and when proof of residency is in issue.

The affluent almost always have advantages. That is nature of the beast. Canada seems to do a fairly good job at leveling the playing field, as well as if not better than most countries, and particularly so given the size and diversity of both the geography and demographics of the country. Thus, while many come to Canada for economic opportunities, many others of us (me included) have come to Canada to live in a more fair and just country despite some economic disadvantage.
 

oldfriend

Star Member
Mar 26, 2011
172
1
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
In this context, can any of the following help to prove the physical residence : tax return notifications, credit card history , rent payments (cheques pictures), a health insurance and doctor visit records , phone bills, and similar things , and how to use these evidences , should one submit them with the application or waiting until being asked .