Anyone here came as a refugee and applied for citizenship ?

[canmanottawa]

Was wondering if anyone here came to Canada as a refugee and applied for citizenship. How long did that take? did he/she have any hard time?

I came to Canada as a refugee and got accepted and became a permanent resident and will complete my 1095 by end of this month. So nervous and excited

 

[newtone]

You cannot come to Canada as a refugee and then get citizenship right away. There is a process, firstly they have to determine whether you are a genuine refugee, this can take anywhere from 1 year to 5 years. Once they've determined that then you need to spend 1095 days (3 years) to qualify for citizenship. Once this is done you can apply for citizenship. Current wait time is about 2 years.

 

[canmanottawa]

Thank you very much for your reply i already cme as a refugee and been accepted and been a permanent resident for over two years now and will complete my 1095 in Jan,

 

[keesio]

I guess the big question is how they count the days you lived in Canada before you became a PR (in the last 4 years). Usually they count those days as half. For example, I was on a work permit before becoming a PR and those days I live in Canada on work permit only counted has half while once I became a PR, days after that were counted on a 1 to 1 basis.

 

[canmanottawa]

yep that is true. and they count every day before u are a PR as a half until you reach a year then it doesnt count. CIC agent told me this . before I became a PR i was here for 3 years , yet they count only as one year and the calculator on cic site confirmed it.

 

[computergeek]

Time prior to PR counts at 50% time. Time after PR counts at 100%. The "look back" period is 4 years and the requirement is 3 years of residence.

Thus, if you became a PR 2 years ago and have two years prior to that to consider, you just meet the requirement:

730 days @ 50% + 730 days @ 100 = 1095 days.

If you had been in Canada for the four years prior to becoming a PR you start out with:

1460 days @ 50% = 730 days. Thus, you do not qualify.

After a year in Canada as a PR, you now have:

1095 days @ 50% + 365 days @ 100% = 912.5 days

That is why they say you can only count back "two years prior" - it's mathematically not possible to meet the 1095 day requirement until you have been a PR of Canada at that point.

I know several refugees who have successfully become Citizens. They do not treat successful refugee PR applicants any differently for citizenship application processing.

 

[canmanottawa]

Thank you very much
i came to Canada on last day of Sept 2008 as a refugee and became a PR in Oct 2011 will complete my 1095 on Jan 3
yay

 

[Msafiri]

Thank you very much
i came to Canada on last day of Sept 2008 as a refugee and became a PR in Oct 2011 will complete my 1095 on Jan 3
yay

Check for threads by poster with handle Kingoftherings - he/she got PR as a dependent minor of a refugee claimant and got citizenship fairly smoothly and with quite a fast timeline...if memory serves me correctly less than 12 months. I think his/her being a minor when arriving in Canada and staying here since then made the background checks easier/ faster to complete. You can count 2 years of your time prior PR acquisition towards the 1095 days at half a days credit for each full day as described above.

When you apply read the guidance carefully in particular the language requirements and the documents to be submitted. If you have kids note too that posters on the forum are having challenges with school records so check the threads for what to submit. Most of all makes sure you use the most recent version of the form.

Good luck