Some Clarifications . . . the long read
In general terms, the previous two posts by
@sodapop123, and
@Seym respectively, are important observations in regards to resubmitting a returned application, and in regards to a PR living outside Canada when applying or moving outside Canada soon after applying. And I concur in the observation by
@canuck78 regarding risks for an applicant who leaves Canada soon after applying.
Because the OP's situation itself is not clear, however, it is also not clear how these observations should be applied to the OP's particular situation:
With almost 5-7 days of buffer I submitted my citizenship application and after that I left the country.
But during the course of processing my application, CIC demanded additional documents. I submitted the additional documents but due to the delays at CIC end my photos got 6 months older. Now they asked me to submit the photo again.
When I try to submit the application, with the updated photos, their website forces me to recalculate the Physical Presence and is considering last 5 years for calculation rather than the time I originally submitted my application. Has anyone ever been into this kind of situation and also what to do for resolving this issue ?
I applied for my Citizenship application on Jan 15, 2026 with no buffer. After applying I moved to a foreign country for job.
When I applied for my citizenship application while uploading the proof of English , I uploaded a different document. In March 2026, I was asked by CIC to upload the correct document which I eventually uploaded.
Now my question is that when my application is being considered for citizenship How will they calculate my physical presence because i had no buffer, i left canada after applying for citizenship and they asking for more documentation ?
I have a follow up question. Any help is highly appreciated. Due to the delay in the processing at CIC end, my passport photo got more than 6 months old. They asked me to submit the photo again. But when I try to submit the application, their website forces me to recalculate the Physical Presence and is considering last 5 years for calculation rather than the time I originally submitted my application.
As noted, the OP's situation itself is not clear, not without making some assumptions like the OP meant
citizenship photo not "
passport photo" (specifications for citizenship photos are not the same as passport photos), IRCC not "
CIC" (it has been more than a decade since the government changed the name, so the use of the prior name is incongruous if not otherwise odd), and that the application was returned (whether literally or in effect depending on whether it is a paper or online application) with instructions/notice regarding what additional documents are necessary to make the application complete (that is, the requests were not made in the course of processing the application -- as others noted, if there is no AOR, the application is not being processed).
My observations about the discrepancies in the OP's description of their situation are rather picayune (which is not uncommon for me here, but in some aspects of these matters it is important to be precise), particularly since it is easy to make those assumptions here. Indeed, these assumptions may be obvious.
But the incongruities and inconsistencies add up. In conjunction with the failure to follow the instructions in regards to submitting proof of competency in an official language, the OP should be aware that second only to actually meeting the requirements and being truthful, it is imperative the applicant for citizenship carefully and fully follow the instruction. That means they should not be sloppy about it.
Does not help when the OP says, in one thread, that they applied with "
no buffer" and in another that they applied with "
almost 5-7 days of buffer," recognizing that applying with fewer than a full week, at least 7 days more than the minimum, essentially amounts to applying without a buffer, and "
almost" 7, let alone almost 5, is fewer than 7. (My sense is that for most applicants, waiting an extra month plus some is applying with a buffer, and that waiting even longer than that would be prudent for many . . . for reasons particular to me, I waited a full extra year.)
Note: approximation of physical presence in an informal setting such as this is generally of no import; but in terms of the risks, the precise number of days credit is of import when there is little or no buffer.
In the long run, as long as the facts clearly document 1095 days credit, a buffer is not necessary. But make no mistake, applying with little or no buffer is indeed risking processing that will indeed be
a long run, potentially a very long run, and if there are doubts about any of those days, the application might fail (falling one day short means the application must fail). Also note that if IRCC questions physical presence, so the application must go to a Citizenship Judge, it most likely will take well over a year, and often even longer, to get to a hearing and a decision.
Moving outside Canada immediately after applying probably elevates the risk of
long-run-processing for any applicant, let alone one who applied with little or no physical presence buffer. This is not to say that moving outside Canada soon after applying has any direct impact on qualifying for citizenship. But moving out of Canada soon after applying is inconsistent with having an intent to permanently settle in Canada, which intent was a qualifying requirement to become a PR in the first place (unless PR status is obtained as an accompanying family member). No stretch of imagination is necessary to anticipate that the total-stranger-bureaucrats processing the application might have questions or concerns about the applicant's credibility, leading to non-routine inquiries, longer processing, and elevated scrutiny.
That is without making mistakes in the application like failing to properly submit required documents, whether that is in regards to proof of competency in an official language or the citizenship photo.
In any event . . . for @DelhiUSCanada . . . given the extent of discrepancies . . . and mistakes suggesting a failure to follow the instructions . . . it would be a good idea to revisit the instructions (IRCC instructions, not instructions from other sources)
and start the application over, being very careful to follow the instructions.
That will not resolve a physical presence problem if the difference in the eligibility period (current PP calculation versus the PP calculation for the application submitted in January) results in falling short.
