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October 11th 2017 - Citizenship Applicants under 3/5 rule

garygnu

Full Member
Mar 13, 2018
41
13
Edmonton
Visa Office......
Edmonton
For sure its easier when you become a citizen no doubt about that, but - the question is, why suddenly it became impossible for you to do your job without being a canadian citizen? I assume you managed to do your work for the past 3+ years during your eligibility period?
Because I have been doing my work with this company since 2011 working not only here in Canada but also overseas. I had been a resident since 2010. It was only in 2017 that I completed the residency. As I have mentioned, i had to giveup my job to complete the residency. Btw, i pay 100% of my taxes in Canada
 

itslulutime

Star Member
Oct 31, 2017
105
54
Montreal
LANDED..........
01-12-2013
So after five months, still no AOR. Gave CIC a call and they confirmed that they have my application. This whole thing is very frustrating, any recommendations?
Wow... i would call again and again... somewhere i read that someone withdrew his application and re-applied, and the second one was faster... but not sure what to do
 

garygnu

Full Member
Mar 13, 2018
41
13
Edmonton
Visa Office......
Edmonton
They don't consider " apply for a job" category for urgent processing, I requested the same and was declined, during interview, VO said we don't consider this.
I also asked the interviewer if it was possible to expdite the application when I mentioned my situation. She said to write CIC. So that is what I did
 

emamabd

Champion Member
Jun 22, 2012
1,815
428
I had been a resident since 2010. It was only in 2017 that I completed the residency. As I have mentioned, i had to giveup my job to complete the residency.
Interesting, that's quite a unique situation. Good luck, hope they accept the urgent request and its good that you backed your request with some evidence.
 

rezafc

Champion Member
Jun 19, 2013
1,065
136
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
LANDED..........
01-08-2014
I don't understand, as a Web nerd, how come all of a sudden Google searching 'ECAS' prompts "Change your address" as the first result? Just curious! It's annoying too. :)
 

krishgoswami

Member
Mar 13, 2018
10
3
Done test today
20/20. Test was very easy compared to even many online tests. No dates in my case !

I used this online tests: http://www.citizenshipsupport.ca/
I have pw if someone is interested to use.

Also, interview went smooth and officer just checked PR, DL, and PP.

and officer mentioned 2 to 5 months for Oath.
Good luck!
Hey,

I would love to use your pw for the sample test.

Thank you very much.
 
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cn2017

Star Member
Oct 27, 2017
108
48
Hi guys/gals,

I do not want to open the debate again, but it is official that CIC/CSIS has targeted Iranians. Here is what former NDP leader Tom Mulcair (and the former leader of the oposition) has said about this.

Tom Mulcair, Member of Parliament for the NDP, said it's been an ongoing issue for years.

"We have hundreds of cases across Canada.… There's no question that the treatment of the Iranians, who have been duly selected, who have the highest level of expertise and who we want in this country, are in a situation that is completely different from everyone else,"


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/maybe-we-re-singled-out-iranians-in-quebec-say-delays-for-permanent-residency-are-excessive-unreasonable-1.4570716

This is absolutely true and not just for PR but for citizenship too based on what I have seen. Very sorry to hear this.
 

Bonvi

Star Member
Jan 17, 2018
52
6
Please anyone from Saskatoon still waiting for DM after test? I have been waiting for DM since 14 feb after my test. What is wrong with the Saskatoon office? Any ideas?
 

lineinthesnow

Newbie
Feb 6, 2018
7
6
I'm on the home stretch! The end is in sight so this should be my final update unless something goes horribly wrong :)

Location: Mississauga
App type: single
Physical presence: 1481
app sent date: Oct 12 2017
app recieved by cic date: October 13, 2017
AOR: Nov 15, 2017
IP: Dec 7, 2017
Test invite letter: Feb 22
Test date: March 8
Oath invite letter: March 13
Oath date: April 3 (inshallah)

As a followup to my previous post asking about getting out of the test early so I could make it to a course I signed up for, here's how it went. I am from the US so I have made many many trips across the border. I was one of about 3 people that they called by name before the test and asked to hold my passport during the test, saying they would be checking out the travel records while the test was in progress. As we were lining up to go into the test room, I waved down the lady in charge, who I had already talked to when she took my passport, and said something like "I hate to ask for special treatment, but I am signed up for a one-day course today that starts at 9:30 downtown, so I was wondering if I could get my interview on the early side." She said that I'd have to wait until the test was over for everyone (30 minute time limit) because she monitors the test and also does the interviews, but yes, she would take me first for the interview. So it pays to ask if you need to! So I showed up in Mississauga for 7:45 am, and I was out the door by 9 am. If it hadn't been rush hour I would have made it to my 9:30 course on time, but with the traffic I was about a half hour late, around 10. Not too bad.

The test was easy. The questions are all "reasonable" compared to some of the practice questions that you see online - there weren't any questions on very specific numbers (e.g. how many people have won the Victoria Cross etc) and the few date questions that there were, had multiple choices that were very far apart from each other - nothing like 1962 vs 1965 etc

The one snag was that they asked me to account for 4 exits from Canada that I had not declared on my application. I was really surprised because I had kept really careful records. I even pulled out my laptop and examined my spreadsheet in front of the interviewer. Ultimately she said she was satisfied because I had plenty of extra days, so even if I had been gone a week for each of those trips, which was totally impossible, I would still have plenty of days to meet the physical presence requirement. It occurred to me after I left that the reason I hadn't logged those trips was that they were all same-day or 1-night trips in which I was physically present in Canada at some point on both days, so that I hadn't lost any days at all towards the requirement. So since my record keeping was intended to count days, I hadn't bothered to log them. Now I realize that they check your exit records, so you really should log every time you cross the border even if you get full credit for the days.

All in all, getting citizenship will have taken less than six months from the time of application, so I'm pretty satisfied. I was quite upset when Harper's C-24 pushed back my eligibility by two years, but soon I will have forgotten about it. And I had a baby boy in the meantime, and it was always my dream to hold my child at my citizenship ceremony, so I'm kind of happy that that worked out. I also was hoping that QE2 would last long enough for me to swear to her instead of Charles, so I've got my fingers crossed that that's going to work out too!

Update for me:
Test invite letter: Feb 22
Test date: March 8
Location: Toronto!

Maybe you all can help me with a question. My test is scheduled for 7:45am in Mississauga. I am signed up to take a one-day course the same day, starting at 9:30am at Bloor and Spadina in Toronto - so I expect a lot of traffic on the drive from Mississauga to central Toronto. I really don't want to miss the course, but of course I don't want to postpone my citizenship either. Does anyone know how long it takes to write the citizenship test? Do you think I can be out of there by, say, 8:30am?
 

rezafc

Champion Member
Jun 19, 2013
1,065
136
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
LANDED..........
01-08-2014
I'm on the home stretch! The end is in sight so this should be my final update unless something goes horribly wrong :)

Location: Mississauga
App type: single
Physical presence: 1481
app sent date: Oct 12 2017
app recieved by cic date: October 13, 2017
AOR: Nov 15, 2017
IP: Dec 7, 2017
Test invite letter: Feb 22
Test date: March 8
Oath invite letter: March 13
Oath date: April 3 (inshallah)

As a followup to my previous post asking about getting out of the test early so I could make it to a course I signed up for, here's how it went. I am from the US so I have made many many trips across the border. I was one of about 3 people that they called by name before the test and asked to hold my passport during the test, saying they would be checking out the travel records while the test was in progress. As we were lining up to go into the test room, I waved down the lady in charge, who I had already talked to when she took my passport, and said something like "I hate to ask for special treatment, but I am signed up for a one-day course today that starts at 9:30 downtown, so I was wondering if I could get my interview on the early side." She said that I'd have to wait until the test was over for everyone (30 minute time limit) because she monitors the test and also does the interviews, but yes, she would take me first for the interview. So it pays to ask if you need to! So I showed up in Mississauga for 7:45 am, and I was out the door by 9 am. If it hadn't been rush hour I would have made it to my 9:30 course on time, but with the traffic I was about a half hour late, around 10. Not too bad.

The test was easy. The questions are all "reasonable" compared to some of the practice questions that you see online - there weren't any questions on very specific numbers (e.g. how many people have won the Victoria Cross etc) and the few date questions that there were, had multiple choices that were very far apart from each other - nothing like 1962 vs 1965 etc

The one snag was that they asked me to account for 4 exits from Canada that I had not declared on my application. I was really surprised because I had kept really careful records. I even pulled out my laptop and examined my spreadsheet in front of the interviewer. Ultimately she said she was satisfied because I had plenty of extra days, so even if I had been gone a week for each of those trips, which was totally impossible, I would still have plenty of days to meet the physical presence requirement. It occurred to me after I left that the reason I hadn't logged those trips was that they were all same-day or 1-night trips in which I was physically present in Canada at some point on both days, so that I hadn't lost any days at all towards the requirement. So since my record keeping was intended to count days, I hadn't bothered to log them. Now I realize that they check your exit records, so you really should log every time you cross the border even if you get full credit for the days.

All in all, getting citizenship will have taken less than six months from the time of application, so I'm pretty satisfied. I was quite upset when Harper's C-24 pushed back my eligibility by two years, but soon I will have forgotten about it. And I had a baby boy in the meantime, and it was always my dream to hold my child at my citizenship ceremony, so I'm kind of happy that that worked out. I also was hoping that QE2 would last long enough for me to swear to her instead of Charles, so I've got my fingers crossed that that's going to work out too!
Congrats! Thanks for sharing.
 

garygnu

Full Member
Mar 13, 2018
41
13
Edmonton
Visa Office......
Edmonton
I'm on the home stretch! The end is in sight so this should be my final update unless something goes horribly wrong :)

Location: Mississauga
App type: single
Physical presence: 1481
app sent date: Oct 12 2017
app recieved by cic date: October 13, 2017
AOR: Nov 15, 2017
IP: Dec 7, 2017
Test invite letter: Feb 22
Test date: March 8
Oath invite letter: March 13
Oath date: April 3 (inshallah)

As a followup to my previous post asking about getting out of the test early so I could make it to a course I signed up for, here's how it went. I am from the US so I have made many many trips across the border. I was one of about 3 people that they called by name before the test and asked to hold my passport during the test, saying they would be checking out the travel records while the test was in progress. As we were lining up to go into the test room, I waved down the lady in charge, who I had already talked to when she took my passport, and said something like "I hate to ask for special treatment, but I am signed up for a one-day course today that starts at 9:30 downtown, so I was wondering if I could get my interview on the early side." She said that I'd have to wait until the test was over for everyone (30 minute time limit) because she monitors the test and also does the interviews, but yes, she would take me first for the interview. So it pays to ask if you need to! So I showed up in Mississauga for 7:45 am, and I was out the door by 9 am. If it hadn't been rush hour I would have made it to my 9:30 course on time, but with the traffic I was about a half hour late, around 10. Not too bad.

The test was easy. The questions are all "reasonable" compared to some of the practice questions that you see online - there weren't any questions on very specific numbers (e.g. how many people have won the Victoria Cross etc) and the few date questions that there were, had multiple choices that were very far apart from each other - nothing like 1962 vs 1965 etc

The one snag was that they asked me to account for 4 exits from Canada that I had not declared on my application. I was really surprised because I had kept really careful records. I even pulled out my laptop and examined my spreadsheet in front of the interviewer. Ultimately she said she was satisfied because I had plenty of extra days, so even if I had been gone a week for each of those trips, which was totally impossible, I would still have plenty of days to meet the physical presence requirement. It occurred to me after I left that the reason I hadn't logged those trips was that they were all same-day or 1-night trips in which I was physically present in Canada at some point on both days, so that I hadn't lost any days at all towards the requirement. So since my record keeping was intended to count days, I hadn't bothered to log them. Now I realize that they check your exit records, so you really should log every time you cross the border even if you get full credit for the days.

All in all, getting citizenship will have taken less than six months from the time of application, so I'm pretty satisfied. I was quite upset when Harper's C-24 pushed back my eligibility by two years, but soon I will have forgotten about it. And I had a baby boy in the meantime, and it was always my dream to hold my child at my citizenship ceremony, so I'm kind of happy that that worked out. I also was hoping that QE2 would last long enough for me to swear to her instead of Charles, so I've got my fingers crossed that that's going to work out too!
Congratulations! I also had the same experience, there was 1 trip back in 2013 that i completely forgot; it was a day trip to Belingham, WA from Surrey,BC. All other trips including day trips were on my declared list of trips. I was asked a lot of questions on this 1 single day trip. By the end of the interview, the officer told me that she has to verify all the answers that I gave her. I have over 100 extra days from the minimum residency days. I had my exam and interview on Feb 16, until now my application is still in process.
 

emamabd

Champion Member
Jun 22, 2012
1,815
428
I also was hoping that QE2 would last long enough for me to swear to her instead of Charles, so I've got my fingers crossed that that's going to work out too!
Congrats

Lol, Charles although not named is probably included in the Oath statement too. (her Heirs and Successors)
 
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