Hi there, just going over form and 'tweaking' mistakes.
Couple of queries here:
Page 7. Signature and City...... Why do they ask for 'city'.... am not in Canada where im filling this form in at the moment...!... though i do have a contact address in Canada.....so shall i put that.
Are they asking in order that they know to send applicant to the nearest office for interview to that city perhaps.?!
Do every page in old and new passport need to be included? Obviously have copied the biographical pages with all relevant stamps on.... but my new UK passport issued in 2016 only has 2 stamps in.... therefore, 30 pages blank..... its alot of blank pages to weigh down the package when sending. I dont want to insert any unnessary documents.
Passport photocopies:
Regarding documents to be submitted WITH the APPLICATION, follow the instructions in the checklist, which states in BOLD: "
Photocopies of biographical pages of passports . . . "
The instruction in the Guide, under "Step 3 -- Gather your documents" for the citizenship application PROCESS is broader than this. With the application itself, the applicant only submits copies of the pages containing the individual's
biographical information and photo, which in many (perhaps most) passports consists of two pages facing each other (photo one side, biographical information and passport number and such on the facing page), and (if applicable) any page containing an extension of the passport's validity.
The applicant will be required to present the complete passport(s) (all passports which could have possibly been used at any time during the eligibility period)
LATER in the process, at the Program Integrity Interview (the PI Interview usually takes place concurrent with the test event).
As for information to be included in the Signature box, and the "city" in particular:
Date and place of signature. Not complicated. Standard form.
For an applicant who is concerned about disclosing location abroad at time of signature, the presence calculator travel history information will reveal that anyway. For an applicant who is temporarily abroad, the applicant might consider waiting until back in Canada to make the application.
This is the second query about this I have seen in just days BUT these two queries are the first I recall raising this notwithstanding . . . well, beyond the obvious (again, obviously it calls for declaring location at time of signature), this has been part of the citizenship application form for at least MANY years.
Indeed, date and place are often required when signing formal documents verifying the truthfulness of the information in the document, and for which there are potentially severe penalties (including jail time of course) for making misrepresentations.
Of course the fact of signing the application while abroad may RISK attracting unwanted extra scrutiny. There are a number of topics in the forum where risks associated with either filing while abroad, or otherwise living abroad after applying, are discussed in depth. Many of the risks are very difficult to quantify beyond recognizing the fact there is some risk (like an increased risk of RQ and delays in processing).
In any event, again the presence calculator travel history will clearly reveal the applicant is abroad on the date the application is signed.
And if the applicant is living abroad, the address history will also reveal the applicant is abroad. (Do not misrepresent where you live by giving an address you can use but is not where you actually live. This is not like giving an address in less official contexts, like when applying to a school or opening a bank account.)
And, to be clear, an attempt to conceal the fact of being abroad when the application is signed (or concealing the fact of living abroad) has far more serious risks, so much so that it would be downright stupid.
Sidebar: This query warrants a broader caution, applicable to how to approach all the questions and instructions in the citizenship application process: if there is a simple, relatively direct response to the question or instruction, as it is written, that is almost always the best, right way to respond. "Why?" IRCC asks a particular question, DOES NOT MATTER; "Why?" IRCC wants this or that information, DOES NOT MATTER. The proper answer to a factual question is an accurate statement of fact responsive to the question as asked. NO INTERPRETATION of the question or why it is asked is necessary.
These questions most often arise when someone is looking for a way to justify giving a response other than a direct statement of factual truth. We see this a lot relative to item 10.b) in the application. Scores and scores of forum participants have come at item 10.b) asking whether they need to submit a police clearance (largely because they believe there are reasons why they should not have to submit a police clearance). But that is NOT the question. The question is simply whether or not the applicant was in a particular country for a total of 183 or more days during the preceding FOUR years. YES. Or. NO. A simple, direct fact question. If the answer is "yes," that answers any question about whether or not a police clearance is required. NOT the other way around.
There are many other examples. The forum is rife with examples, and likewise rife with tales of woe told by those whose application has gone a little or a lot awry, encountering non-routine processing and potentially lengthy delays, or worse, when they interpreted the questions in a way that (appeared) to allow them to give their preferred answer rather than a simple, direct factual answer to the question asked. This is a common trap, a pitfall many have stumbled into.
Regarding query posed in other topic about Item 12 and declaring compliance with tax filing obligations:
I'm curious at this question too,. this chart only shows 4 years... shouldn't it be 5 years from 2013 - 2018 ?
Item 12.b) in the current application form CIT 0002 (06-2018) has a chart with FIVE rows, no dates (respective tax year to entered by the applicant). For an application being signed and submitted in October 2018, the applicant should enter the tax years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and respectively check yes or no in the columns for "required to file" and "taxes filed."
If the application form you are using only has FOUR rows for entering the tax years, download the current application form from the IRCC website. Again, it has FIVE rows and the applicant enters the relevant tax years in the form.
This is about meeting the requirement to comply with tax FILING obligations for at least three of the relevant TAX YEARS (which do not correspond directly to the same time period as the eligibility period, even though it is about the same number of years). NOTE, the applicant can comply with the tax filing obligation without filing a tax return, for a given year, if under the CRA rules the individual is NOT required to file a return. That is, this requirement does NOT mean an applicant must have filed a tax return for at least three years, but rather that the applicant has filed IF CRA rules require filing a return.
