Online citizenship test

[andrews.juchem]

No issue just email again and you should get the auto generated email.
my wife has received an email this evening to respond if she wants to do the test outside of canada and she’s replied so just waiting on the next email which is the green light. Issue she has although is her original time given expires on Sunday and it’s unfair for them to say use the original link given as they did with me….difference is I have three weeks still left and not 3 days.

Exactly. I don't know why we need to email them if the URL is the same. Unless they need to add a note to our application or something like that.

 

[prash42]

I am an August 2020 application, and have yet to receive my test invite. I have a couple of general questions, trying to understand who seems to be receiving invites currently. The big picture is that the "IRCC works in mysterious ways", but perhaps there are some threads we can pick up.

1. My sense is that IRCC is working in waves, focusing on specific months. For instance, we saw a flurry of test invites earlier for applicants from Jul / Aug / Sep 2020. Am I right in seeing that is no longer the case? Has IRCC's pace of test invites dropped, or are they focusing on some other months?
2. Based on your observations, how dependent is the test invite timing on the visa office? My office is Scarborough.

 

[andrews.juchem]

I am an August 2020 application, and have yet to receive my test invite. I have a couple of general questions, trying to understand who seems to be receiving invites currently. The big picture is that the "IRCC works in mysterious ways", but perhaps there are some threads we can pick up.

1. My sense is that IRCC is working in waves, focusing on specific months. For instance, we saw a flurry of test invites earlier for applicants from Jul / Aug / Sep 2020. Am I right in seeing that is no longer the case? Has IRCC's pace of test invites dropped, or are they focusing on some other months?
2. Based on your observations, how dependent is the test invite timing on the visa office? My office is Scarborough.

From what I've read from other people, the timing varies from office to office. Some offices are quicker than others.

In my case, I applied in April 2020 and got the first invite to take the test on Jun 9, 2021. On the same day, I asked them to reschedule me because I was not in Canada.

The first time that I emailed the Calgary office, they replied in less than an hour. The second time I emailed them, they didn't even reply (it's been more than a week).

I got the second invitation this morning and replied immediately after, asking them to give me the green light to take the test from outside of Canada. I'm waiting for their response. I hope it won't take that long.

 

[Fae7]

From what I've read from other people, the timing varies from office to office. Some offices are quicker than others.

In my case, I applied in April 2020 and got the first invite to take the test on Jun 9, 2021. On the same day, I asked them to reschedule me because I was not in Canada.

The first time that I emailed the Calgary office, they replied in less than an hour. The second time I emailed them, they didn't even reply (it's been more than a week).

I got the second invitation this morning and replied immediately after, asking them to give me the green light to take the test from outside of Canada. I'm waiting for their response. I hope it won't take that long.

Please let us know if they let you do it from outside Canada! Thank you

 

[novascotia27]

I am an August 2020 application, and have yet to receive my test invite. I have a couple of general questions, trying to understand who seems to be receiving invites currently. The big picture is that the "IRCC works in mysterious ways", but perhaps there are some threads we can pick up.

1. My sense is that IRCC is working in waves, focusing on specific months. For instance, we saw a flurry of test invites earlier for applicants from Jul / Aug / Sep 2020. Am I right in seeing that is no longer the case? Has IRCC's pace of test invites dropped, or are they focusing on some other months?
2. Based on your observations, how dependent is the test invite timing on the visa office? My office is Scarborough.

1) IRCC seems to be expediting applications considered “low-risk” across all months of mid-2020 onwards. Though, we don’t know the exact definition of low-risk but we can infer that it relates to country of birth/nationality, travels outside Canada, and no history of immigration breach etc.

2) The test invite is heavily dependent on your processing office. At the moment, all IRCC offices are operating but some offices are inherently slower than others and only God knows why.

 

[andrews.juchem]

Please let us know if they let you do it from outside Canada! Thank you

The Calgary office has just replied to me. I email them at 9 AM and they replied at 4 PM. They said that I can proceed with the test from outside of Canada. Below is what the email says.

Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. To proceed with the online test from your location outside Canada you can access the link in the test invitation that was previously emailed to you within the specified time period.

Important: System changes underway - When you sign in to the online test, you will need to go through a privacy notice. One of the questions will ask if you are physically present in Canada while taking the citizenship test. Though we acknowledge you may be located outside Canada, please check the box. This is necessary to complete the test until system changes can be implemented.

Good luck on your citizenship test!

 

[Dalboy1980]

The Calgary office has just replied to me. I email them at 9 AM and they replied at 4 PM. They said that I can proceed with the test from outside of Canada. Below is what the email says.

Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. To proceed with the online test from your location outside Canada you can access the link in the test invitation that was previously emailed to you within the specified time period.

Important: System changes underway - When you sign in to the online test, you will need to go through a privacy notice. One of the questions will ask if you are physically present in Canada while taking the citizenship test. Though we acknowledge you may be located outside Canada, please check the box. This is necessary to complete the test until system changes can be implemented.

Good luck on your citizenship test!

How do you know which office is processing your application?
I received the same reply, but my wife is still waiting on hers.

 

[andrews.juchem]

How do you know which office is processing your application?
I received the same reply, but my wife is still waiting on hers.

I believe your application will be processed by the closest office where you live. But, when you receive the invitation, you can check the contact email address in the PDF. In my case, the contact information was CIC-Calgary-Citizenship <CIC-Calgary-Citizenship@cic.gc.ca>.

 

[maniacworld]

Hi so I received a request in April, I’m outside of Canada so I wrote back and they said contact us when you return or within six months.
Two and a half weeks ago my wife received a test invitation but with the option to take it outside but she had to email back for next steps.
Having send that I thought I’d try and I received an invitation for another test last week, in my PDF it had the option about if you’re outside of canada send an email for next steps….I’ve done that and I’m now waiting for a reply.
I nor my wife have heard anything and I sent an email last night asking what was going on but I plan on calling them to see where the delay is for providing the next steps.

Thanks for that. So when your wife received a test invite two and a half weeks ago, when did you guys reach out to IRCC for that?

 

[maniacworld]

Email to the email given in rescheduling section of pdf, asking permission to take test from outside canada. Dont ask for rescheduling as they are allowing the test to be taken outside.

I didn't know at that time and I have realized now that they allowed it. I told them I am not in Canada so they responded with , let us know when you are back.
I have updated that I am back now and they said we will let you know asap. Not sure what is asap in IRCC's terms.
Is it the same old advice to wait and hold tight ? I know it's anyone's guess but was hoping to understand the timeline when would they get back to me now

 

[maniacworld]

Anyone who asked for their test to be rescheduled to a different date? How long they took to provide new dates/ test invite link?

 

[Fae7]

The Calgary office has just replied to me. I email them at 9 AM and they replied at 4 PM. They said that I can proceed with the test from outside of Canada. Below is what the email says.

Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. To proceed with the online test from your location outside Canada you can access the link in the test invitation that was previously emailed to you within the specified time period.

Important: System changes underway - When you sign in to the online test, you will need to go through a privacy notice. One of the questions will ask if you are physically present in Canada while taking the citizenship test. Though we acknowledge you may be located outside Canada, please check the box. This is necessary to complete the test until system changes can be implemented.

Good luck on your citizenship test!

Thank you what did you say in your email ?

 

[andrews.juchem]

Thank you what did you say in your email ?

Below is what I wrote:

Dear Immigration Officer,

I am not in Canada right now and I would like to take the Citizenship Test from outside of Canada.

NAME: ******
APPLICATION ID: ******
UCI: ******
TEST START DATE: 2021-07-26 (yyyy/mm/dd) at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
TEST END DATE: 2021-08-15 (yyyy/mm/dd) at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time

Sincerely,
******

 

[andrews.juchem]

Anyone who asked for their test to be rescheduled to a different date? How long they took to provide new dates/ test invite link?

How long you will have to wait to get a response seems to vary from office to office, but below is what happened to me. Note that my application is being processed by the Calgary office.

1. Application Delivered: Apr 17, 2020

2. Acknowledge of Receipt: Oct 26, 2020

3. In progress: Nov 27, 2020
- It actually started on Oct 26, 2020, but I only got an email with details to create an account on Nov 27, 2020.

4. First Citizenship Test Invite: Jun 4, 2021
- The test window was between June 14, 2021, and July 5, 2021.
- On Jun 4, 2021 (same day), I replied to them, asking them to reschedule me to after mid-August because I was planning on being back to Canada by then.
- On Jun 4, 2021 (same day), they replied saying that I'd be rescheduled to someday after mid-August. Nothing changed on the system.

5. Second Citizenship Test Invite: Jul 22, 2021
- The test window was between July 26, 2021, and August 16, 2021.
- Notice that the test window is not what I initially requested (I asked for someday after mid-August). However, this time, the instructions pointed out that I can take it from outside of Canada, which is perfect.
- On Jul 22, 2021 (same day), I sent them an email asking for permission to take it from outside of Canada (as specified in the PDF document).
- On Jul 22, 2021 (same day), they replied saying that I can go ahead and take the test from outside of Canada. Check the following link to see exactly what they responded: https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/online-citizenship-test.711775/post-9568904

I hope this information helps.

 

[prash42]

@andrews.juchem , @novascotia27 , thanks for your replies. Given IRCC is coming under fire for moving slowly through COVID, makes sense that they would want to move quickly on "low risk" applications, so they can grab some low-hanging fruit and show progress on overall numbers. Guessing my application isn't the obvious one to be prioritized... low risk country of birth / nationality (I think?) India, but lived and worked on 3 continents including Middle East, travel history is loooong. Regarding the office, mine is Scarborough... how do you track the relative speed of different offices, and where does Scarborough rank?