Overall short answer:
Living abroad while the application is pending will not necessarily cause a problem, but it will increase the risks of encountering problems.
Beyond that:
Caution: Beware what the IRCC information does not disclose.
The IRCC or CIC information online is formal information. It does not alert prospective applicants about potential snags, pitfalls, or for that matter what details IRCC might scrutinize in assessing an applicant's case. It falls way short when it comes to providing practical information.
There is nothing at the IRCC site, for example, that warns prospective applicants that if they had a child born abroad during the relevant period of time, that might lead to RQ and long delays in processing. Or that warns about the elevated scrutiny and potential delays which may happen if the applicant's spouse was living and working abroad during the relevant time period.
Indeed, whatever
risk indicators IRCC is using these days, whatever criteria is being used to decide who gets RQ'd, is considered confidential and is explicitly not disclosed to the public.
canadian_engg said:
I've not read anywhere that I need to keep the IRCC informed of my residence after application. The identity of the representative will be in C/O section of the mailing address, other than that is there more I should know of?
Source: If you Google "Can I leave Canada after I mail my citizenship application?", the first link says that there is no restrictions on travel after applying.
It is correct that there is no restriction on travel after applying. I went abroad several times while my citizenship application was pending, with no concern at all.
Your query was not about traveling abroad, it was about taking employment abroad for an extended period of time. And even in regard to this, there is no direct
restriction.
Nonetheless, an extended absence while the application is pending, let alone actually working and living abroad, can have a significant impact on the application process. There is a somewhat derisive phrase describing those who leave after applying: "
applying-on-the-way-to-the-airport," a phrase used by more than one Federal Court justice to characterize applicants perceived to be seeking a passport-of-convenience, seeking the benefits of Canadian citizenship more than seeking to become Canadian citizens. Note, the problems tend to come from being
perceived to be someone the phrase
applying-on-the-way-to-the-airport describes; whether or not the applicant is in fact seeking a passport-of-convenience is not really relevant, for here too there is no overt restriction or prohibition against seeking Canadian citizenship so as to obtain a passport-of-convenience.
It is not likely that IRCC, under Liberal leadership, will approach applicants perceived as
applying-on-the-way-to-the-airport with nearly the same degree of scrutiny and skepticism as historically occurred during Harper's reign (during which applicants perceived to have
applied-on-the-way-to-the-airport appear to have often faced years of delay in processing times, with some indications CIC was deliberately stalling long enough so that applicants would fail to comply with the PR Residency Obligation in the meantime and then could be summarily denied citizenship once a Removal Order was issued). But it is not as if one can expect the current administration to not have some elevated concerns about this, remembering that actually it was under the previous Liberal government that CIC adopted
risk indicators (in a 2005 Operational Bulletin) based on signs the applicant was returning to Canada to take the test or attend an interview after a long absence. And it only makes sense that when IRCC perceives an applicant to be residing abroad while the application is pending, that IRCC should elevate the amount of scrutiny to be sure the applicant meets all the requirements.
And, in particular, as noted by
links18, the applicant must continue to meet the PR Residency Obligation while the application is in process.
There are extensive discussions in older topics here and in other similar forums about the ramifications of leaving Canada while the application is pending, most of which is about elevated scrutiny, RQ, some skepticism as to declared dates of presence, and not about the intent to reside requirement. This is not about a formal restriction but about the actual practical impact . . . separate from the problems related to getting one's mail on time.
And, again, currently there is the requirement that the PR applicant intend to continue residing in Canada upon being granted citizenship. The applicant must meet the requirements as of the date the application is made, and
continue to be qualified right up to taking the oath. Again, if you are not residing in Canada, you cannot intend to continue to reside in Canada. IRCC may not enforce the requirement beyond requiring the affirmation of intent in the application. I do not know. And again, Bill C-6 proposes to remove this requirement altogether. But for now this is the law.
"I've not read anywhere that I need to keep the IRCC informed of my residence after application. The identity of the representative will be in C/O section of the mailing address, other than that is there more I should know of?"
It is always a good idea to focus on following the instructions.
That includes what it says in the application form itself. The very first line of the affirmation the applicant must sign states:
"I agree to advise Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) if any information on this form changes before I take the Oath of Citizenship."
Item 5.A in the application is for the applicant's home address.
If this information changes, the applicant is obligated to notify IRCC. Not that complicated.
Note, there really is minimal information in the application form which can change, most of it is historical or otherwise does not change (from date of birth to address and work history). Home address is one of the few things that can change.
Sure, it would be easy to slip by on this one. No doubt many do. But it would also be easy to get tripped up by it as well. For example, I had as routine an application as might be processed, but nonetheless I still got a telephone call at my home address from CIC. What else they check along the way, to confirm home address or telephone number, is anyone's guess. We know
sometimes (not in every case) they look at open source information, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Canada411, employer websites, and so on. More than a few PRs have encountered problems (in citizenship applications or PR RO enforcement) because CIC found information about employment, for example, not entirely consistent with the information provided by the PR.
In looking at the current application form, it probably suffices to specifically name the person as "C/O" in the mailing address.
In particular, I just noticed that the application has changed again, and there is a new form as of last month. I do not recall how the form in use between June 2015 and last month dealt with representatives or those otherwise assisting the applicant. Prior to that, applicants were required to disclose the name of anyone who in any way assisted the applicant (and one of the risk indicators for issuing RQ was the appearance of different handwriting anywhere in the application or even in the address on the package the application was sent in, if the application did not disclose the identity of who assisted the applicant). I do not see that in the current form. Only refers to appointment of a formal representative (who would be authorized to deal directly with IRCC on the applicant's behalf). So maybe this is a change IRCC has made, or one that was made as of last June.
This of course illustrates a key reminder: always follow the instructions and use the form applicable at the time of making the application. These things are not only subject to change, but they indeed do change fairly often.
