Citizenship Test From Outside Canada
- Thread starter aiw
- Start date
Hi~ Sorry to bother u. I still have one question: have ur wife screenshot her first outside canada email to cic to show she’ve already do as request but not hear from cic in time? Is this necessary to do?
This is my experience regarding taking test outside of canada. I received the test invite email on july 16. Im outside of Canada. in the email stated “if you are outside, just reply to this email with subject of OUTSIDE OF CANADA and on the context of email write your full name, PR number and the date of windows of the test”.
i did exactly what they asked. I received again an email stating ” you can use link of test which we sent it in the previous email to take the exam.
i took the exam on Aug 3 and passed it with 20/20. It show on my e case as a COMPLETED on Aug 4th.
hope my experience would help others outside of Canada during the test
i did exactly what they asked. I received again an email stating ” you can use link of test which we sent it in the previous email to take the exam.
i took the exam on Aug 3 and passed it with 20/20. It show on my e case as a COMPLETED on Aug 4th.
hope my experience would help others outside of Canada during the test
Hi Nazafarin
Have you informed the IRCC when you moved abroad that you are outside Canada so they let you to take test from outside or IRCC itself offered/ included in the test invite email for everybody that even if you are outside Canada , you can complete the test from abroad.
Your response is appreciated.
harirajmohan
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- Mar 3, 2015
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They are allowing everyone, irrelevant of whats the text in the invite.
Informing them might be possible to put the application on hold. So no need to inform them.
DID you comple your test ?. If so then How long does IRCC take to response when you request them to take outside canada ?
Yes, I did
23 July: I emailed them with the "Outside Canada – Citizenship Test" subject.
26 July: They emailed me back saying I can use the link in the previous original invitation
26 July: I clarified, my test window has expired, and if they can reschedule me.
3 Aug: Since no reply came, so i waited & emailed them back to acknowledge if I was in the rescheduling queue
3 Aug: They emailed me with a new test window (for Aug 9-Aug 29)
9 Aug: I gave the test
11 Aug: It showed as completed in the tracker
Not so soon, there are obstacles to overcome. So not going to be a chance for this outside Canada for Oath ceremony, they may do it online within Canada or In office after few months.
Possible reasons
A) You will be a Canadian citizen , so can not use the PR card (which was already cut down in to 2 pieces during the online ceremony) to travel back
B)Citizenship certificate will be delived (Mailed) to your local Address (High chances of Transit Loss if shipped by your family or friends from Canada to other country)
C) Finding references and a Guarantator while outside Canada to apply for Canadian emergency passport or temporary passport.
D) there could be many other underlying causes that we may not think of. So AFAIK they will not conduct outside the Canada. If they conduct that would be awesome, but i am sure they will land in to additional issues.
Some Observations and Reason For Caution:
There is little or no prospect that grant citizenship applicants will be allowed to take the Oath except IN Canada, at least not generally. (Explanation below.)
While I cannot say so with much certainty, the general administration of online knowledge-of-Canada tests is likely TEMPORARY, and thus accessibility to taking the test while abroad probably will not be around for long. (My sense: the online test procedure likely to remain in some contexts, but not as the general or routine procedure.)
In the meantime, it warrants remembering that for some applicants the AFTER-TEST phase of processing can be the longer and more difficult phase. For most, the AFTER-TEST process is simply getting scheduled for and taking the oath; in non-pandemic times a high percentage take the oath within a couple or four weeks, if not days following the test event (my oath was less than 48 hours later). But the AFTER-TEST process does not go smoothly let alone quickly for some, especially those who get bogged down in the more expansive forms of RQ (Residence Questionnaire) related non-routine processing, but also those subject to non-routine overseas background/security screening. There is still insufficient information to reliably assess whether those taking the knowledge-of-Canada test while outside Canada face an increased risk of AFTER-TEST non-routine processing.
Longer Observations; Some Explanation:
I. In General.
The impact of measures in response to the global pandemic still shape current procedures, including the availability of online knowledge of Canada tests. Much of the current process is temporary and will not be continued.
So far there has been relatively minimal information about internal IRCC decision-making in regards to the procedural adjustments. We mostly see the outcome, the implementation itself as reflected in anecdotal reporting, and which is only partially explained in the information IRCC shares with the public.
Forecasting future procedure is generally a fool's errand but much of what is likely to happen, where things are more likely to go, is limited, if not at least partially dictated, by the existing structure imposed by law, the statutory provisions and the applicable regulations.
II. Difference Between Tests and Oaths In Regards to Location Inside or Outside Canada:
This is where the statutory provisions and applicable regulations likely make the difference in why IRCC eventually adjusted procedures to allow taking the online knowledge-of-Canada test by applicants located abroad. In particular, the regulations provide for when the Oath may be administered to an individual outside Canada, Citizenship Regulations Regulation 20, and those provisions do NOT provide for the taking of the Oath outside Canada for standard grant citizenship applicants. In contrast, there is nothing in the statutory provisions or regulations regulating the location for administration of knowledge-of-Canada tests.
That is, there are regulations governing the manner and location for administering the Oath. In contrast, while what constitutes an "adequate knowledge of Canada" and "the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship," is governed by regulation (albeit in rather general terms), Citizenship Regulations Regulation 15, the manner and location is not governed by statute or regulation, which means the Minister of IRCC has the authority, and the obligation, to properly excise discretion in determining the manner and location for testing.
It warrants emphasizing that IRCC is NOT free to change how things work EXCEPT to the extent allowed by the applicable statutes and regulations. For many of the questions asked, and proffered better-way-to-do-it suggestions, the existing law does not allow let alone facilitate many of the changes that might have worked better. A bureaucracy like IRCC has a minimal, very limited role in regards to implementing changes governed by the legislative process. Many tend to talk about what IRCC could do with little or no regard for how the rule of law limits a government's actions.
In hindsight, it should not have been a surprise that the initial requirement that applicants could only engage in the online knowledge-of-Canada tests if they were physically present in Canada would give way to allowing the test to be taken while applicants are abroad . . . again, unlike the Oath, there is nothing in either the statutory provisions or regulations governing the location of the test.
III. The Long-term Prospects For Online Testing:
As noted, the current procedures for online knowledge-of-Canada tests are quite likely TEMPORARY, a response to the global pandemic, and it would not be a surprise to see the availability of tests for applicants outside Canada wane and then disappear in the coming year, if not in the coming months. Moreover, how things will go AFTER the test for applicants who are outside Canada at the time they take the online knowledge-of-Canada test, is NOT at all clear . . . there is simply no where near enough data to extrapolate conclusions about this, especially since there is a wide range of possibilities in how things go and so little information illuminating what the RISKS are or what particular factors will influence how it goes.
Given the lack of data I can only GUESS, but FWIW my guess is that some might want to hold off celebrating being able to take the test abroad. Except for a brief period (just months) when a controversial provision allowed the government to more or less summarily deny a grant citizenship application if the applicant was determined to be living abroad after applying (a provision promptly repealed when a Trudeau government replaced the Harper government), living abroad after applying has always posed some RISKS for the applicant, risks over and apart from the risks applicants remaining in Canada face, BUT those have never been easily characterized let alone quantified risks since the process has typically gone well, rather easily for some living abroad after applying, while for others things did not go well, not at all.
That is, getting to take the test while abroad may feel like progress and an advantage, for many, BUT in contrast for at least some a downside looms. More quickly getting through the test-step will be of little comfort for those who end up in the rather long queues for RQ-related non-routine processing.
There is little or no prospect that grant citizenship applicants will be allowed to take the Oath except IN Canada, at least not generally. (Explanation below.)
While I cannot say so with much certainty, the general administration of online knowledge-of-Canada tests is likely TEMPORARY, and thus accessibility to taking the test while abroad probably will not be around for long. (My sense: the online test procedure likely to remain in some contexts, but not as the general or routine procedure.)
In the meantime, it warrants remembering that for some applicants the AFTER-TEST phase of processing can be the longer and more difficult phase. For most, the AFTER-TEST process is simply getting scheduled for and taking the oath; in non-pandemic times a high percentage take the oath within a couple or four weeks, if not days following the test event (my oath was less than 48 hours later). But the AFTER-TEST process does not go smoothly let alone quickly for some, especially those who get bogged down in the more expansive forms of RQ (Residence Questionnaire) related non-routine processing, but also those subject to non-routine overseas background/security screening. There is still insufficient information to reliably assess whether those taking the knowledge-of-Canada test while outside Canada face an increased risk of AFTER-TEST non-routine processing.
Longer Observations; Some Explanation:
I. In General.
The impact of measures in response to the global pandemic still shape current procedures, including the availability of online knowledge of Canada tests. Much of the current process is temporary and will not be continued.
So far there has been relatively minimal information about internal IRCC decision-making in regards to the procedural adjustments. We mostly see the outcome, the implementation itself as reflected in anecdotal reporting, and which is only partially explained in the information IRCC shares with the public.
Forecasting future procedure is generally a fool's errand but much of what is likely to happen, where things are more likely to go, is limited, if not at least partially dictated, by the existing structure imposed by law, the statutory provisions and the applicable regulations.
II. Difference Between Tests and Oaths In Regards to Location Inside or Outside Canada:
This is where the statutory provisions and applicable regulations likely make the difference in why IRCC eventually adjusted procedures to allow taking the online knowledge-of-Canada test by applicants located abroad. In particular, the regulations provide for when the Oath may be administered to an individual outside Canada, Citizenship Regulations Regulation 20, and those provisions do NOT provide for the taking of the Oath outside Canada for standard grant citizenship applicants. In contrast, there is nothing in the statutory provisions or regulations regulating the location for administration of knowledge-of-Canada tests.
That is, there are regulations governing the manner and location for administering the Oath. In contrast, while what constitutes an "adequate knowledge of Canada" and "the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship," is governed by regulation (albeit in rather general terms), Citizenship Regulations Regulation 15, the manner and location is not governed by statute or regulation, which means the Minister of IRCC has the authority, and the obligation, to properly excise discretion in determining the manner and location for testing.
It warrants emphasizing that IRCC is NOT free to change how things work EXCEPT to the extent allowed by the applicable statutes and regulations. For many of the questions asked, and proffered better-way-to-do-it suggestions, the existing law does not allow let alone facilitate many of the changes that might have worked better. A bureaucracy like IRCC has a minimal, very limited role in regards to implementing changes governed by the legislative process. Many tend to talk about what IRCC could do with little or no regard for how the rule of law limits a government's actions.
In hindsight, it should not have been a surprise that the initial requirement that applicants could only engage in the online knowledge-of-Canada tests if they were physically present in Canada would give way to allowing the test to be taken while applicants are abroad . . . again, unlike the Oath, there is nothing in either the statutory provisions or regulations governing the location of the test.
III. The Long-term Prospects For Online Testing:
As noted, the current procedures for online knowledge-of-Canada tests are quite likely TEMPORARY, a response to the global pandemic, and it would not be a surprise to see the availability of tests for applicants outside Canada wane and then disappear in the coming year, if not in the coming months. Moreover, how things will go AFTER the test for applicants who are outside Canada at the time they take the online knowledge-of-Canada test, is NOT at all clear . . . there is simply no where near enough data to extrapolate conclusions about this, especially since there is a wide range of possibilities in how things go and so little information illuminating what the RISKS are or what particular factors will influence how it goes.
Given the lack of data I can only GUESS, but FWIW my guess is that some might want to hold off celebrating being able to take the test abroad. Except for a brief period (just months) when a controversial provision allowed the government to more or less summarily deny a grant citizenship application if the applicant was determined to be living abroad after applying (a provision promptly repealed when a Trudeau government replaced the Harper government), living abroad after applying has always posed some RISKS for the applicant, risks over and apart from the risks applicants remaining in Canada face, BUT those have never been easily characterized let alone quantified risks since the process has typically gone well, rather easily for some living abroad after applying, while for others things did not go well, not at all.
That is, getting to take the test while abroad may feel like progress and an advantage, for many, BUT in contrast for at least some a downside looms. More quickly getting through the test-step will be of little comfort for those who end up in the rather long queues for RQ-related non-routine processing.
Digitization is here to stay! Not sure if you have read IRCC's digitalization plan yet.
I am not sure if you understand what "digitization" is let alone if you have read (really read) any of the various renditions of IRCC's digital transformation efforts or what you refer to as "digitalization" plans yet.
Let alone understand the difference between digitization (which mostly involves the way information is captured or converted, and thus stored) and digitalization, which has to do with information-operational technologies, and which for some encompasses modes of interaction as well (such as online video transactions).
But whatever you have read, whatever you understand, if you'd share your sources that information can be discussed in context, and its relevance assessed. I say this because it is difficult to see how it is your comment is at all relevant to the manner in which IRCC will be conducting knowledge-of-Canada verification post-pandemic let alone whether legislative changes (which would not be part of any IRCC plan since legislating is outside its purview) might be made to facilitate online oaths for persons located outside Canada (as I noted, and cited the applicable regulations with a link, location for taking oaths is governed by Regulation, and thus NOT something IRCC can change without the government going through a legislative process).
Noting, for example, part of the Canadian government's general effort to upgrade systems through digital transformation (which is different from both "digitization" and from "digitalization," even though all three involve advancing information technologies relying on digitalized information and related technologies) includes migrating some IRCC operations to digital platforms, including implementing online applications for some programs. Which does not illuminate much, if anything, about how IRCC will be conducting knowledge-of-Canada verification post-pandemic. And similarly, does not even suggest that the law might be changed to facilitate online oaths by persons located abroad.
I acknowledged that forecasting what IRCC will do is generally a fool's errand (not that this discourages the practice, unfortunately). So I make no effort to definitively say what the procedures will be post-pandemic.
No consultation with psychics necessary, however, to recognize the relationship between the purposes for granting citizenship and the direction the government is likely to go in furthering those purposes, regardless the extent to which IRCC pursues digital transformation of its operations. Those who ignore the obvious do so at their peril.
Otherwise it warrants noting that digitization has been here to stay, and to support digitalization of decision-making operations, since people like Alan Turing and his legatees began developing the means to migrate machine operations, computational implements, from mechanical devices to electronic devices in the mid-20th Century, and thus initiated the motive and means to capture information in a digital rather than an analog format. While I was young when Turing was working on advancing machine based computational operations, following WWII, and my first memory of reading about him was not until a couple decades later when I was studying in university, about a half century ago, there is no doubt that the migration to a digitalized information ecosystem has been in full swing my entire professional life, many decades. Incrementally at times. Painfully slow at times. At a pace that was disorienting other times.
None of which, again, illuminates the future of online testing or online oaths. While the former, the future of online testing for knowledge of Canada, may be a relatively open question, the availability of online oaths for applicants outside Canada is most likely to remain N/A for some time to come. And even though the future of online testing for knowledge of Canada may be a relatively open question for now, current and future citizenship applicants would be prudent to heed the caution and not rely on that continuing to be available, at least not for now.
Moreover, and importantly, the nature and scope of digital transformation ( or digitization, or digitalization) does NOT illuminate what impact being abroad might have on how an application is processed AFTER the TEST, to what extent the RISKS for RQ-related or security-related non-routine processing are elevated.
By the way . . . I am familiar with IRCC plans to leverage automation, advanced data analytics, and other technologies involving digitization AND digitalization, toward developing and implementing more efficient processing while also enhancing quality assurance. This is coordinated with other government programs including some incorporating so-called AI in some levels of automated decision-making, although IRCC has made some assurances that are not consistent with actual practice. For example, one of the related web pages, here https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/digital-transparency-advanced-data-analytics.html , asserts that its advanced data analytics system "never refuse or recommend refusing applications," which many visa-exempt PRs know is not true, given the refusal they get if they make an application for eTA. Of course the refusal is the proper outcome, and perhaps someone actually reviews the refusal response before it is delivered, but it is generated by the system and in that regard is definitively more than recommending the application be refused.
On the other hand, I do not confuse the migration toward online applications and related functions involving the digitalization and digital transformation of some operations, with formal procedures prescribed by statutes and regulations. For example, I do not conflate the efforts underway, and those planned, to modernize, stabilize, and adapt the current global case management system, and to in particular reduce or eliminate the extent to which the various operations and processes involved are dependent on paper-based procedures. (see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/committees/cimm-nov-25-2020/cimm-digital-platform-modernization-nov-25-2020.html for related information), with the administrative decision-making underlying policy and practice. The latter will determine if online knowledge-of-Canada will continue.