I filled and mailed out the citizenship application with all supporting documentation on October 16, 2017. I came to Canada 3 and a half years ago and on the form where it is asking if I have stayed outside for more than 183 days, I said 'No' and did not attach police certificate from my country.
I realized this mistake (as my time before becoming PR was split into 3 countries, one of which was 2soon after sending the form, and I requested a refund through CIC fee payment website on October 21, and I got a full refund on my credit card ($630 on October 23).
I will be able to apply in December so that when counting the last 4 years, I would have lived in my country about 175 days and I am hoping to avoid the hassle of getting a police certificate.
My question to the experts in this forum is this: When I apply again in December, how do I answer the question: "Have you applied before for citizenship?". I think my answer should be 'No' because my application wasn't processed because the CIC haven't received the application fee and for this matter, it won't be counted as an application.
I'm not sure if I am going to get my application back or they will dispose it.
Please advice me on how to fill my next application correctly. Thank you very much.
I am NOT an expert. And I try to avoid giving any personal advice because I am not qualified to give personal advice.
But I can offer some observations.
Foremost: relax. NO need to Panic. Really, there is no crisis.
I am not the only one in this forum urging people to
SLOW DOWN and approach the process of applying for citizenship more deliberately. Let me just note there are good reasons for slowing down, not rushing.
I will confess, however, I am among those who failed to anticipate how much
PANIC some would suffer once the application was sent off and they apprehended some mistake made in the application.
Even when that happens, and frankly no matter how serious the error was (other than committing blatant fraud),
NO need to Panic, and the general admonition still applies,
SLOW DOWN and approach the process deliberately.
By the way, for anyone who did commit blatant fraud, that's a tough one to pull back. Best we can discern, even though IRCC does not open a GCMS file for a citizenship application if the application is returned, it appears IRCC likely retains a photocopy of the entire application, including the outside of the packaging it arrived in. (At least this is what is discerned from anecdotal reports by applicants who obtained a complete physical copy of their file through the ATIP process, and it makes sense.)
But short of blatant fraud, there is no need to panic about having made even rather serious mistakes in the application. As long as the applicant timely acknowledges and corrects any significant misstatements of fact, the worst that can happen is the loss of the fees and the individual needs to re-apply. And that would only happen if the error precludes eligibility for citizenship even after correction. (Some errors cannot be corrected, like entering the wrong date for when the application is signed. Applying too soon, before meeting the presence requirement, cannot be fixed. Among other examples.) Many errors can be corrected and while they may have an impact on how long things take, what side trips the application takes along the way, ultimately the outcome is still favourable and eventually the applicant takes the oath and becomes a citizen.
For others who have done this, checked "No" in item 10.b even though in fact they were in another country for 183+ days during the preceding four years, there is NO need to panic, no need to seek a refund of fees, no need to pursue withdrawing the application . . . UNLESS, like you, they definitely prefer to totally avoid the risk of having to obtain and submit a police certificate.
For you it appears obtaining the refund of fees was the best approach, since apparently you do not want to take the chance that later on you would be required to obtain and submit a police certificate. (Should note, it is not clear to me how it is you managed to be in another specific country for a total of 183 or more days if you have been in Canada three and a half years and your time before that was split between two countries, but I assume you have done the arithmetic and within the four years prior to applying you were in a particular other country at least 183 days.)
Others in this situation can wait to see how things go. Checking "no" for item 10.b probably gets the application through the completeness check, so nothing is likely to happen in regards to this particular part of the application until the local office begins assessing it. IRCC might even overlook it altogether. The prudent applicant, however, would obtain a police certificate in the meantime, and either send it to IRCC along with an explanation about misunderstanding how to answer 10.b or wait to present the police certificate at the interview, acknowledging the misunderstanding to the interviewer. Or just wait to see if IRCC asks further about it. Worst case likely (emphasis on
likely) is that IRCC asks for the police certificate and that delays how long it takes to get to the oath. The "no" check could be deemed a misrepresentation, but if the applicant explains how he or she misunderstood it, that should be satisfactory enough. (Unless the applicant actually has a criminal record in that country, in which case that changes things dramatically, especially if the applicant also did not disclose the criminal history in response to item 16.)
For you, going forward: I can only suggest you
NOT rush to withdraw the application, since there is no way to do that (without risking further complications) before you get AOR
except, perhaps, by what you have already done, which is to in effect cancel payment of the fees. As others noted, it is quite likely the application will now simply be returned to you. You would then be able to apply anew at your leisure, when you have figured out it is the right time for you to apply. Odds are IRCC has a copy of your previous application. But that really poses no issues. IRCC is not at all likely to read nefarious motives or devious schemes into this. Yours is not the only application for which something similar to this is happening right now.
When you do apply again, whether to check "yes" in response to item 3 (have you applied before?) I am not sure. An inquiry to IRCC might clarify how to best deal with that the next time (note: if a telephone query, be sure to call at least twice and be very careful about asking the precise same question both times, and compare the answers before relying on them; the call centre is notoriously unreliable for anything other than what can be read from a FAQ script). Checking "yes" and adding a supplemental page referring specifically to item 3, and on it explaining that you sent in an application before (give date), realized you made mistakes and that you were not ready to apply at that time, that you obtained a refund of the fees, and the application was returned. That should totally resolve any issues with that.
In any event, you have time. Again
SLOW DOWN, really. You need to get AOR before you can withdraw the application without risk of further complications. As noted, it is very likely the application will now be returned (not be given AOR) due to your action to obtain a refund of the fees. Be sure to keep the application for your records. But otherwise, when you are ready to apply again, do not rush it. Do rough drafts. Review your answers carefully. Read and follow the instructions. And you will be fine.
Edit to add: if the application is not returned, but there is AOR, which seems unlikely but IF that happens, you could go ahead and withdraw. In that event you would definitely need to check "yes" to item 3 (in current application form), that you have applied before. Again, include supplemental page explaining you applied (give date), realized you made mistakes and were not ready, obtained refund of fees and withdrew the application. Again, should not be a problem at all.
