Online citizenship test

[his*marty]

Agreed. But in that case virtual Oath ceremony will only held once there is a big pool of Oath ready applicants ( having passed the test and decision has been made). Someone in other thread quoted *27 applicants were present in Virtual Oath ceremony*.

It will just stretch waiting time little more...[@his*Marty....may be you are stuck here.....]

On the contrary, if Oaths process was managed centrally the Oath backlog would have cleared faster than now.

On Oath backlog : Not sure if there is any Oath backlog (Oath invites were sent out but cancelled due to covid) from pre-cvoid times. Any thoughts?

Yes this is what I believe...there is not enough people yet for an oath ceremony in Winnipeg.

 

[his*marty]

Instead .....Feed the Dear bear.. ....More power to you mate !

Meanwhile, check if anyone else from your local office has received a test invite. As I said earlier, my only guess is that your local office is betting on adding more Oath candidates to make ceremony economical from resource management perspective. Also see how soon Oath ceremonies held in pre-cvoid times....

There is just one other person I have seen on these forum from Winnipeg and I believe he wrote his test 3rd week in January...so I'm watching his timeline.

 

[adey786]

There is just one other person I have seen on these forum from Winnipeg and I believe he wrote his test 3rd week in January...so I'm watching his timeline.

That person is your *north star*.... Touch base with that person and perhaps team up to follow up with IRCC at the same time....

 

[his*marty]

That person is your *north star*.... Touch base with that person and perhaps team up to follow up with IRCC at the same time....

Thank you for your kind words and compassion to everyone you have responded too, you have a beautiful gift. <3

 

[hungkubu]

One step closer to the end... Received Oath Invite today for Feb 12th!

Location: Vancouver
Application Sent: July 15, 2019
AOR: Nov 27 | In process ecas: Dec 19, 2019
New Test Letter Invite: Dec. 30, 2020 | New Test Interview Date: Jan. 04, 2021 (passed on Jan 07)
DM: Jan 12th | Oath Letter: Feb 2nd | Citizenship Ceremony: Feb 12th

Congratulations! Did you have to take the interview after the test?

 

[Swift Turtle]

Ofcourse it doesn't make sense to skip the earlier AoRs and start working on later ones.

IMO, there could be two reasons, namely, and I believe both are intertwined:

1- IRCC has delayed whole test thing to the breaking point. Now, they are in damage control mode, and trying to speed up processing wherever they can. To control a damage, easiest way is to process applications that are still within 12 month time frame (from AoR) which makes Nov, Dec 2019 and January 2020 AoRs a priority over predecessors. What IRCC will achieve out of this : by cherry picking approach, they will be able to meet KPI of processing applications within 12 months time frame.
2- One may think what is the reason for picking 12 month old application than 16 or 18 months old applications? To control damage, one would look easy fixes first so to make most in the race against clock. We know that criminal and security checks are valid for 12 months (which I believe starts some weeks after "in process" stage). I believe those security checks expire after 12 months. Therefore, IRCC would have picked files with valid security checks. What message outside world is getting: the processing has resumed albeit a large majority is still waiting for test invites.

My worry is the backlog of applications where security/criminal clearance has expired and IRCC need to initiate those checks again. Having said that, I sense that the sequence of applications will be as follows:

Pandemic files (where IRCC offices were closed until Nov notification):

1-Those with valid checks will be processed to move to the next step. This is happening now.
2- The files with expired checks need re-work. I have not seen 16-18 months aged applicants receiving an invite for test yet. Whenever it start, it will be the begining. However, this has not started at this point in time.

Post Nov notification:

3- These applicants may probably be processed to continue to meet KPI (12 months). Keep in mind there are paper based and online application systems in place now.
4- Online applications will actually be processed faster than the paper based family applications. Online application system is brand new but once it is up and running, families would also be able to submit online applications.

 

[Swift Turtle]

Ofcourse it doesn't make sense to skip the earlier AoRs and start working on later ones.

IMO, there could be two reasons, namely, and I believe both are intertwined:

1- IRCC has delayed whole test thing to the breaking point. Now, they are in damage control mode, and trying to speed up processing wherever they can. To control a damage, easiest way is to process applications that are still within 12 month time frame (from AoR) which makes Nov, Dec 2019 and January 2020 AoRs a priority over predecessors. What IRCC will achieve out of this : by cherry picking approach, they will be able to meet KPI of processing applications within 12 months time frame.
2- One may think what is the reason for picking 12 month old application than 16 or 18 months old applications? To control damage, one would look easy fixes first so to make most in the race against clock. We know that criminal and security checks are valid for 12 months (which I believe starts some weeks after "in process" stage). I believe those security checks expire after 12 months. Therefore, IRCC would have picked files with valid security checks. What message outside world is getting: the processing has resumed albeit a large majority is still waiting for test invites.

My worry is the backlog of applications where security/criminal clearance has expired and IRCC need to initiate those checks again. Having said that, I sense that the sequence of applications will be as follows:

Pandemic files (where IRCC offices were closed until Nov notification):

1-Those with valid checks will be processed to move to the next step. This is happening now.
2- The files with expired checks need re-work. I have not seen 16-18 months aged applicants receiving an invite for test yet. Whenever it start, it will be the begining. However, this has not started at this point in time.

Post Nov notification:

3- These applicants may probably be processed to continue to meet KPI (12 months). Keep in mind there are paper based and online application systems in place now.
4- Online applications will actually be processed faster than the paper based family applications. Online application system is brand new but once it is up and running, families would also be able to submit online applications.

Hi,

By security and background checks expiring, aren't you referring to fingerprints? My understanding from the IRCC officer I spoke to is that, as far as applicants who haven't lived for more than 6 months outside of Canada during the eligibility period are concerned, fingerprinting is the only time-sensitive component of a background check. Also, fingerprinting is also the final , and most straightforward component of the background check, can be done in a matter of days, and fortunately precedes the test invite.

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that if it were the background checks that expire, as opposed to fingerprinting, the current backlog would be a lot worse than it already is.

 

[carol90]

Honestly, no one knows. You could apply for GCMS notes to check where your application is at.

If you received an AOR in October, it's possible it's going to be 6 more months until you are invited for the test. Again, no one can tell for sure.

How can we apply for GCMS nots , does it effect our application in any negative way

 

[adey786]

Hi,

By security and background checks expiring, aren't you referring to fingerprints? My understanding from the IRCC officer I spoke to is that, as far as applicants who haven't lived for more than 6 months outside of Canada during the eligibility period are concerned, fingerprinting is the only time-sensitive component of a background check. Also, fingerprinting is also the final , and most straightforward component of the background check, can be done in a matter of days, and fortunately precedes the test invite.

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that if it were the background checks that expire, as opposed to fingerprinting, the current backlog would be a lot worse than it already is.

I was referring to finger prints. I concede that background and security checks probably have longer validity than finger prints. Someone with more knowledge may comment on this.

 

[engray]

How can we apply for GCMS nots , does it effect our application in any negative way

No it doesn't. You can request GCMS notes online, see here https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/access-information-privacy/requests-information-act.html

 

[BA2LAMAZ]

Congratulations! Did you have to take the interview after the test?

Thanks! No, I didn't have any interview after my test.

 

[1+1=11]

Hi,

By security and background checks expiring, aren't you referring to fingerprints? My understanding from the IRCC officer I spoke to is that, as far as applicants who haven't lived for more than 6 months outside of Canada during the eligibility period are concerned, fingerprinting is the only time-sensitive component of a background check. Also, fingerprinting is also the final , and most straightforward component of the background check, can be done in a matter of days, and fortunately precedes the test invite.

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that if it were the background checks that expire, as opposed to fingerprinting, the current backlog would be a lot worse than it already is.

Do you have any idea how long background checks are valid for?

 

[Swift Turtle]

Do you have any idea how long background checks are valid for?

Background checks are an internal IRCC process, so I don't believe there's any validity period for them, unlike fingerprinting, which is an external process the results of which are usually valid for one year.

 

[Flandernss]

You can use other valid ID for finger print request (how about using PR card). You are almost getting ready to get test invite once you submit second Fingerprint request. 《《《 This is the trend I have seen recently from posts on other threads. Good luck.

Ps: request 2 copies of finger print, one sent to IRCC and other to yourself. Once you get your copy of finger print request, scan it and email to IRCC using web form and ask them to confirm once finger print is received. In the same web form, then refer to your copy of finger print which you would attach for a ready reference.《《 that's what I did, and IRCC confirmed the receipt of finger print in about weeks time of the receipt from RCMP.

Do we get confirmations of IRCC receiving finger prints?? Do you have to ask for it?

I sent mine last September and did not receive anything (although the courrier company confirmed delivery).

 

[Swift Turtle]

Then we should all protest.....speed up the citizenship process......

I actually wrote to my MP the other day (I live in Vancouver) because I received my AOR in September 2019, was asked to submit my fingerprints in December 2019, and had been scheduled to take the test on April 1 2020; only to have it cancelled on March 15, 2020. What this means is that I've been waiting for almost a year to receive a rescheduled test invite, and the only information I can ever get regarding my file whether by calling or messaging through a Webform is that it's "in process". I'm still waiting to hear back from my MP.

Honestly speaking, I've decided to just hunker down for the long run and renew my PR Card (since I'll need it to access services in my Province), the latter of which I never thought I need to do. The only respite in all this is that I'm certain that I'm eligible for citizenship, otherwise I wouldn't have been invited to take the test in the first place.