if virtual test is not conducted, the whole process just piles up

[Aa. Arv]

According to the IRCC report on Canada day, 1000 people had online oath ceremony from the first April until now which means that if it goes at this speed, 12000 people can become citizen over the course of a year. According to the previous statistics, about 250000 people become citizens each year, therefore it can be concluded that this speed is one twentieth of the past , we all hope they do something soon

 

[Flandernss]

Well I am just worried about the backlog in all visa categories including citizenship...

They get their salaries either way...

 

[dpenabill]

According to the IRCC report on Canada day, 1000 people had online oath ceremony from the first April until now which means that if it goes at this speed, 12000 people can become citizen over the course of a year. According to the previous statistics, about 250000 people become citizens each year, therefore it can be concluded that this speed is one twentieth of the past , we all hope they do something soon

It does not get that high often and the numbers were sliding off a bit. But, generally, yes, Canada was averaging about 4,000 oath ceremonies a week. Week after week.

And so, yes, yes indeed, there is a backlog now and it is building. Even if they accelerate virtual oaths to 1,000 a week, they will still be falling farther and farther behind rather than catching up. No reliable word on what sort of backlog is actually building, but I'd guess its fair to estimate that there is at least a backlog of 50k or more oath ceremonies that would have happened between mid-March and now. And that is not counting the piling up applications waiting to go through the final stages of processing.

But it also appears that IRCC, and the government generally, is trying to sort out how to get most operations going, at least to the extent they can.

Leading to . . .

They get their salaries either way...

Are you suggesting slurs against Canadians? They may not be perfect specimens of a noble human being, like say . . . [fill in the blank] . . . but they are Canadians and generally Canadians do not deserve to be blindsided by gratuitously disparaging imputations. (Moreover, insulting Canadians to their face is one thing, but behind their backs? We can do better than that.)

OVERALL . . . as oft repeated: yeah folks, it is going to be SLOW going for a good while now. You can ask the children in the back to cease the refrain "are we there yet," since no, not going to be there for awhile . . . with exceptions, and congratulations for those few exceptions who get to participate soon in a virtual oath.

 

[smash1984]

I applied October 2017, no test invite yet.

Wow, I hope yours comes quickly.

Have you tried reaching out to your MP to see if they can find out what's holding your application up?

 

[Ladymarie]

Possible proctored tests should be the next stage. I think they are reviewing vendors capabilities to providing such services. Fingers crossed soon

 

[SinghSandeep]

I applied in Feb 2019, 18 months still no test invite. I hope they start taking tests soon, online or in person with social distancing measures in place.

I have applied in Feb 2019 as well ( London,Ontario).
What is your location?

 

[EUK]

https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/award-notice/PW-20-00901659-001

 

[EUK]

The above tender says for eLearning.. Not sure if citizenship test would be part of it..

 

[EUK]

https://secure.cic.gc.ca/feedback-retroaction/feedback-retroaction-eng.aspx can we use feedback tool to share our thoughts?

 

[Taxed]

Why not cancel the whole test thing at this point and just process the applications as it is so it doesn’t pile up and create a huge backlog?

 

[screech339]

Why not cancel the whole test thing at this point and just process the applications as it is so it doesn’t pile up and create a huge backlog?

Cancelling the test is never going to happen. Citizenship applications are not the only applications being backlogged. A virtual online test would not likely to happen either. The applicant can easily cheat the test by having someone else do the test / or look up answers during the test. It defeats the purpose of the test (knowing canada history/process and showing proof of understanding english / french). PR sponsorship (inland / outland) are also being backlogged as well. Should we cancel medical exams / police report requirements to speed up their applications because of covid? Not likely. They are all in the same boat as you and will have to wait and bide their time as well.

Handling the test can easily be done by reducing the number of applicants in the room and maintain 6 ft social distancing. So expect the test scheduling time to be much longer since half or less of the typical amount of applicants allowed can complete the test in same room.

 

[Das67]

Someone in January 2020 thread reported he receives an AOR today. Maybe IRCC is already working on how to safely organize the test.

 

[issteven]

during last weekends, people are gathering in groups in parks, ironically, citizenship tests can't be held

 

[screech339]

during last weekends, people are gathering in groups in parks, ironically, citizenship tests can't be held

Citizenship tests can be held but in much smaller numbers. Besides you really can't enforce the 6ft distancing if group of 10 people is allowed at a time at the beach/parks. Tests can easily be done and maintain the 6ft distancing by removing the desks / rearranging desk spacing. But there is no hurry to push this since the staff are getting paid regardless. Why expose themselves to potential virus for the same pay, working from home.

 

[jc94]

they can arrange limited face-masked tests at least

I don’t see this happening, they have people walking around checking people are speaking, not going to happen with most masks. Virtual ceremonies are different of course, though this thread was entitled virtual tests!