IN888658S said:
This post provides some insight to my current situation. My oath ceremony was scheduled and cancelled on June 12th. A CIC officer called me on June 01st and mentioned that my oath ceremony for which I had a written notification is cancelled.
I saw your post where you mentioned that current prohibitions provisions applies to applications in process as well (i.e. Prior to June 11th). I have lived and worked in the US for > 6 months during the preceding 4 years of my date of application, so it is likely that CIC may be doing FBI checks which could have caused them to mention to me that they are looking for "additional information". They couldn't have requested this from me, as I had applied in Sep 2014, and Police Certificate was not a requirement specified in the application form. This Bill must be mandating them to do some further checks to the applications in process, so applicants like me could be impacted?
Foremost, I do not know, and like others I am waiting for reports from applicants like you, regarding what steps CIC is taking relative to applications already in process. I would expect you to see what happens next somewhat soon.
As already noted, though, we do know that the new prohibitions provisions prescribed by the
SCCA (oft called Bill C-24), which came into force June 11, 2015, apply to
ALL applications being processed, regardless of when the application was made.
Thus, for all those who have not yet taken the oath, the time frame for convictions which prohibit the grant of citizenship is
now four years rather than three. Additionally the scope of what criminal convictions, or still pending charges, will constitute a prohibition, now extends to offences abroad which, if committed in Canada, would be an indictable offence.
Since this requirement now applies, obviously CIC will have to do its due diligence to ascertain whether any applicants have such convictions abroad or pending charges abroad. The law is declarative, and mandatory. CIC is charged with the duty to
not grant citizenship to any applicant who has had a conviction abroad for what would be an indictable offence in Canada, going back to four years prior to the date of the application, and of course no charges pending. So CIC
must make sure no one takes the oath who is legally prohibited . . .
So CIC MUST do the screening.
How CIC will go about this, again
I do not know.
What I suggested above was that, at the least, applicants whose residency calculation indicates more than 183 days abroad can anticipate at least some delay while CIC does further background checking.
It would be NO surprise, however, if eventually all such applicants get a request to declare whether they spent 183 days or more in any particular country, and/or a request to submit a police certificate from any country in which the applicant spent 183 days or more.
So hopefully applicants like you will report back here what next step CIC takes in your case. Also, when you are scheduled for the oath, it would be helpful if you report back here, as well as you can, what the prohibitions form specifically requires . . . I recognize that most people barely glance at the form and sign it almost mechanically, but that in large part is because most people have had no law enforcement contacts at all and there is no need to read the form in detail, there being no chance of any prohibition . . . but if you could read and report, that will be helpful for others going forward.
