This is a little tricky. The criminal defense lawyer's advice to consult with an immigration lawyer is good advice.
Obviously you failed to timely inform IRCC of the change in information you submitted (as you agreed to do when you signed the application). Moreover, what a stay of criminal proceedings means for purposes of citizenship prohibitions can vary depending on the particular details. Remember, an individual is subject to a prohibition for having an assault charge pending, not just if convicted.
That is, it makes a difference whether:
-- the charge is formally dismissed, subject to reinstituting the charges, or
-- whether prosecution is stayed pending conditions, to be dismissed upon the completion of those conditions
I do not know Canadian criminal procedure much at all, other than to be aware that the disposition of such charges could be one or the other of these (among other possible dispositions), usually involving a Peace Bond. It would be best to have an immigration lawyer review the precise paperwork for the criminal case . . . so, again, the criminal defense lawyer's advice to consult with an immigration lawyer is good advice.
Caveat: I am surprised that the criminal defense lawyer said "
he has never seen any stayed of proceedings reopening again into a new trial in his experience." A lot of people in similar situations fail to stay out of trouble for the year, triggering reopening the stayed criminal proceedings (this is somewhat common in domestic assault cases, where the underlying stress leading to the first charge continues to be present in an ongoing relationship and too often lead to another incident).
But, if he meant that he has never seen a case reopened where the defendant stayed out of trouble for the full year, that makes sense.
So, I do not disagree with
@Dark_Night as such.
I agree that it is probably better to notify IRCC of the situation rather than wait for them to find out about the charge when conducting a GCMS screening prior to taking further action on the application. But, that said, better to consult with an immigration lawyer about what YOU should do now.
Some further observations:
I believe that if there is a formal dismissal of the charges in the record, even if that is subject to a Peace Bond or other condition and the possibility of reopening, that is NOT a prohibition, and your application should be OK now . . . BUT I am
NOT at all sure about this. Again, an immigration lawyer would be a better source.
There is not much anecdotal reporting about how IRCC handles the stayed but still pending situation (that is, where the charge remains pending but is stayed and will be dismissed in a year upon completion of conditions). Technically I think this constitutes a prohibition but I am not sure what IRCC does. I think it can:
-- deny the application based on the prohibition, or
-- suspend processing pending the final resolution (to affirm a dismissal at the end of the year), or
-- proceed with processing as if the conditional dismissal of charges pursuant to the stay does not constitute a prohibition
So, I have said a lot which mostly is to say "
see a qualified immigration/citizenship lawyer."
