Do you have to stay in Canada even after applying for Citizenship?

[okbangaram]

I will be completing 3 years plus some buffer time by the end of next month. I am planning to apply for Canadian Citizenship around May 31st.

I am planning to relocate to the US from June 1st 2022 and will only come back to Canada to collect the Citizenship card.

Will this raise any questions? Or is it better to stay in Canada for an extra year till the citizenship process is completed?

What if my PR card expires while the citizenship process is underway? Do I have to renew it again?
2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 till May ==> My Stay in Canada.

If for some reason my application for citizenship is delayed by 2+ years or is returned back due to missing info etc after 1+ years. Will I have to show physical presence from the scratch again?

 

[CDN1234]

You can leave Canada after you mailed your application:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=911&top=5

Your PR status has to remain valid until you take the oath. In other words, you must maintain your residency obligation until you become a citizen.
Although you can take the test and do the interview outside of Canada, you must be in Canada to take the oath. Depending on your circumstances, you might need to do fingerprinting for your background check, and I believe you'll have to do that in Canada.

The expiration of your PR does not mean you cease to be a PR. If you plan to travel to Canada, you should have a valid PR card. Otherwise, you need to apply for a PRTD.

So hypothetically, you plan to leave Canada on June 1st 2022, and assuming you never left Canada before June 1st 2022 for the past 5 years, you should meet your residency obligation for the next 3 years. If your PR card is going to expire in the next 3 years, you should return to Canada and renew it, so you wouldn't have any trouble flying to Canada, unless you hold a US passport.

 

[steaky]

But you need to be physically in Canada for taking the oath.

 

[xuan]

You can leave Canada after you mailed your application:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=911&top=5

Your PR status has to remain valid until you take the oath. In other words, you must maintain your residency obligation until you become a citizen.
Although you can take the test and do the interview outside of Canada, you must be in Canada to take the oath. Depending on your circumstances, you might need to do fingerprinting for your background check, and I believe you'll have to do that in Canada.

The expiration of your PR does not mean you cease to be a PR. If you plan to travel to Canada, you should have a valid PR card. Otherwise, you need to apply for a PRTD.

So hypothetically, you plan to leave Canada on June 1st 2022, and assuming you never left Canada before June 1st 2022 for the past 5 years, you should meet your residency obligation for the next 3 years. If your PR card is going to expire in the next 3 years, you should return to Canada and renew it, so you wouldn't have any trouble flying to Canada, unless you hold a US passport.

how about online application? this link speak about if send by mail.

 

[okbangaram]

@CDN1234
>> So hypothetically, you plan to leave Canada on June 1st 2022, and assuming you never left Canada before June 1st 2022 for the past 5 years, you should meet your residency obligation for the next 3 years. If your PR card is going to expire in the next 3 years, you should return to Canada and renew it, so you wouldn't have any trouble flying to Canada, unless you hold a US passport.

My PR card is valid till the year 2026. So, I am good till the oath ceremony ... flying back to Canada etc.

I was/will be in Canada in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 till May end. So, I will be meeting my residency obligations for Citizenship till the end of next year. i.e 2023 December. If my application is returned within this period then I can resubmit it and reapply it later with new physical presence recalculation. If for any reason my application processing is delayed for 2+ years and is returned. i.e after 2024 Jan, then I will lose both my PR and Citizenship because I will not be returning back to Canada to try for Citizenship or PR again.

My question is this. Will the officer will find it sketchy that I stayed in Canada for precisely 3.5 years and then immediately bailed out and I am now coming only to collect the citizenship.

Would it be safer if I simply stayed in Canada till my citizenship interview date?

 

[steaky]

Would it be safer if I simply stayed in Canada till my citizenship interview date?

There might not be an interview date. Just the oath (online).

 

[harirajmohan]

@CDN1234
>> So hypothetically, you plan to leave Canada on June 1st 2022, and assuming you never left Canada before June 1st 2022 for the past 5 years, you should meet your residency obligation for the next 3 years. If your PR card is going to expire in the next 3 years, you should return to Canada and renew it, so you wouldn't have any trouble flying to Canada, unless you hold a US passport.

My PR card is valid till the year 2026. So, I am good till the oath ceremony ... flying back to Canada etc.

I was/will be in Canada in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 till May end. So, I will be meeting my residency obligations for Citizenship till the end of next year. i.e 2023 December. If my application is returned within this period then I can resubmit it and reapply it later with new physical presence recalculation. If for any reason my application processing is delayed for 2+ years and is returned. i.e after 2024 Jan, then I will lose both my PR and Citizenship because I will not be returning back to Canada to try for Citizenship or PR again.

My question is this. Will the officer will find it sketchy that I stayed in Canada for precisely 3.5 years and then immediately bailed out and I am now coming only to collect the citizenship.

Would it be safer if I simply stayed in Canada till my citizenship interview date?

Some are outside and getting things done as being inside is not part of eligibility. if some officer delays the application then its going to be just few months additional waiting as its anyway taking 2 year average for many, it doesnt matter if we wait for 2-4 months more than 2 years. But its not a problem. Why to worry about what officer think. He/she needs to review and complete the processing as per law.

There is no guarantee that processing will be smooth just because you are inside. Many 2019 are still waiting and many 2021 are already done with oath.

Yes if its delayed too much then you might need to move back to maintain residency to avoid losing PR status before oath.

 

[okbangaram]

@harirajmohan
>> Many 2019 are still waiting and many 2021 are already done with oath.

That is super scary
If my application takes 2+ years to process and then if there is any kind of an issue and it gets rejected then all my stay in Canada would be wasted.

I have 0 intention of trying to stay in Canada again for 3 more years to get another shot at citizenship.

I have enough physical presence to last the end of next year. I am going to apply next month and then I am going to put in a second application after a year.

2 applications. Hopefully, if one has a problem the other can get through.

 

[harirajmohan]

@harirajmohan
>> Many 2019 are still waiting and many 2021 are already done with oath.

That is super scary
If my application takes 2+ years to process and then if there is any kind of an issue and it gets rejected then all my stay in Canada would be wasted.

I have 0 intention of trying to stay in Canada again for 3 more years to get another shot at citizenship.

I have enough physical presence to last the end of next year. I am going to apply next month and then I am going to put in a second application after a year.

2 applications. Hopefully, if one has a problem the other can get through.

Later applications are getting done quickly. Only 2019 and 2020 paper applications got caught up in pandemic slowness.
Thinking cic has decided to slow these applications and proceed faster with online app that filed after these to avoid slowness in all years.

You will be applying online and its faster hence you wont be required to spend again 3 years. Also it wont 3 years because you need to maintain physical presence of 2 years out of 5 years to maintain PR status(not the 3 years to be restarted) till oath day. So you can take 3 full years break after exiting Canada. So your application will have it adjudicated 99% within 3 years.

Have 1 month buffer period and you should have no issue.

2 applications: I dont know. I wouldnt do it. This doesnt surely guarantee. This will cause more confusion and scrutiny for the second application(or whichever the application moves ahead and one gets dropped).

I havent seen anyone getting rejected unless you misrepresent yourself in your application. If your physical presence and other things are in right order then you should be fine.

 

[xuan]

anyone can answer please if apply online is it ok or no? to leave canada after online.

because in there guide they speak only about mail.

 

[A_S]

anyone can answer please if apply online is it ok or no? to leave canada after online.

because in there guide they speak only about mail.

@harirajmohan
>> Many 2019 are still waiting and many 2021 are already done with oath.

That is super scary
If my application takes 2+ years to process and then if there is any kind of an issue and it gets rejected then all my stay in Canada would be wasted.

I have 0 intention of trying to stay in Canada again for 3 more years to get another shot at citizenship.

I have enough physical presence to last the end of next year. I am going to apply next month and then I am going to put in a second application after a year.

2 applications. Hopefully, if one has a problem the other can get through.

Believe @harirajmohan was kind enough to answer all your question. In a real world scenario everything usually works in LIFO method with out any fault of others.
I would suggest please move on and carry with your life goals, just use some basic common sense when your time comes for Citizenship test/Interview/Oath. Just be in Canada when you write your test or any of the process and keep low while tracking this Citizenship blog. There are polarizing opinions on travel , but do what you need to do now, keep your 2/5 residency days and stay calm. Spend some time on this blog, do a quick research on all related matters and you will find your answers which suits your condition best.
Applicants in August 2021 are getting their Oath scheduled but that doesnot mean that your application will be considered the same speed, it all depends on how strong your profile is and how quickly they are able to validate your records from different data bases. Think of it as manufacturing process, there is a queue at each step and if there is problem it goes to the end of the of the line at each step.
Don't just blindly judge everyone's situation and compare it to yours as this is an open forum and everyone doesnot disclose ever single piece of their life story or case.
Good Luck !!

 

[Lucky2016]

I will be completing 3 years plus some buffer time by the end of next month. I am planning to apply for Canadian Citizenship around May 31st.

I am planning to relocate to the US from June 1st 2022 and will only come back to Canada to collect the Citizenship card.

Will this raise any questions? Or is it better to stay in Canada for an extra year till the citizenship process is completed?

What if my PR card expires while the citizenship process is underway? Do I have to renew it again?
2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 till May ==> My Stay in Canada.

If for some reason my application for citizenship is delayed by 2+ years or is returned back due to missing info etc after 1+ years. Will I have to show physical presence from the scratch again?

Others here has given you very good comments on your query. I feel like you are thinking too much on the delays and rejections.
Worst case wait till Sep 2023 and then comeback to Canada for few months untill you have confidence on your citizenship application if that is not done by then. If there is nothing wrong in your application and you didnot involved in any criminal activities I wish you will have your citizenship well before this.
I hope you are planning to inform IRCC about your change of address.

Going with 2 applications is really a crazy idea and I will not be doing that at any situation.

 

[Lucky2016]

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=911&top=5
As per above link, it states you can leave after IRCC receives your application.
I am not sure how you want to interpret this as you are leaving 1 day after you send your application.

I would say IRCC wants you to stay untill you get AOR but I am not confident on what I am saying though. Sorry to leave you with an open question.

 

[Lucky2016]

anyone can answer please if apply online is it ok or no? to leave canada after online.

because in there guide they speak only about mail.

I dont think the rule is different for Online and Mail applicants.

 

[DonDraper]

anyone can answer please if apply online is it ok or no? to leave canada after online.

because in there guide they speak only about mail.

You can travel outside of canada after filing for citizenship online or paper doesn't matter. However, you will still need to have a Canadian address for correspondence. It is strongly advised to take Citizenship test/ Oath in canada when your application reaches these milestones.