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Reschedule Video Oath ceremony-Citizenship

nrat1987

Member
Jan 27, 2016
18
2
Hi all,
I applied for Citizenship and got my Video oath ceremony on April 30,2021. I asked them to reschedule it and they said please send details of flight ticket once i reach canada ,so that they can schedule. They also said that they do not hold a file longer than 6 months. Still i am stuck in India ,as there are no direct flights and tickets are too costly . Can anyone let me know how long can the Oath ceremony be delayed? Is it till October or September? Considering this Pandemic situation ,will not IRCC reconsider their rules. Please advise.

Thanks
nrat1987
 

CaBeaver

Champion Member
Dec 15, 2018
2,941
1,369
Hi all,
I applied for Citizenship and got my Video oath ceremony on April 30,2021. I asked them to reschedule it and they said please send details of flight ticket once i reach canada ,so that they can schedule. They also said that they do not hold a file longer than 6 months. Still i am stuck in India ,as there are no direct flights and tickets are too costly . Can anyone let me know how long can the Oath ceremony be delayed? Is it till October or September? Considering this Pandemic situation ,will not IRCC reconsider their rules. Please advise.

Thanks
nrat1987
Have you tried to ask for taking the oath online from outside Canada because of your situation?
 

rajkamalmohanram

VIP Member
Apr 29, 2015
15,802
5,769
Hi all,
I applied for Citizenship and got my Video oath ceremony on April 30,2021. I asked them to reschedule it and they said please send details of flight ticket once i reach canada ,so that they can schedule. They also said that they do not hold a file longer than 6 months. Still i am stuck in India ,as there are no direct flights and tickets are too costly . Can anyone let me know how long can the Oath ceremony be delayed? Is it till October or September? Considering this Pandemic situation ,will not IRCC reconsider their rules. Please advise.

Thanks
nrat1987
I'm not sure what this "6 month hold" they referred to.

The instructions were recently updated on the IRCC website :

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/citizenship.html#oath

You need to be in Canada to take the Oath of Citizenship. If you get your invitation while you’re outside Canada, reply to the invitation email to explain your situation in detail.

In your email

  • put “Outside Canada – Oath of Citizenship” in the subject line
  • In the body of your message, include
    • your full name
    • your application number
    • a detailed explanation of your situation
We’ll contact you with your next steps after we receive your email.
Contact IRCC as mentioned above and provide a detailed explanation of your situation (tell them that you are still stuck in India and are unable to return at this time). Wait for their response.

Please keep us posted on what IRCC responds.

Wish you all the very best!
 

rajkamalmohanram

VIP Member
Apr 29, 2015
15,802
5,769
Citizenship cannot be taken outside Canada .
Nope. That's incorrect.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/citizenship.html#online-test

If you get your invitation and plan to take the test while you’re outside Canada, send an email to the address in the Eligibility section of your invitation.

In your email

  • put “Outside Canada – Citizenship Test” in the subject line
  • in the body of your message, include
    • your full name
    • your application number
    • the start and end date for your test
We’ll contact you with your next steps after we receive your email.
There are so many applicants who have successfully taken their test abroad.

UPDATE : Realized this post was about "Citizenship Oath" and not the test. Yes, currently, there is no evidence you can take the oath outside Canada.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/citizenship.html#oath

You need to be in Canada to take the Oath of Citizenship. If you get your invitation while you’re outside Canada, reply to the invitation email to explain your situation in detail.

In your email

  • put “Outside Canada – Oath of Citizenship” in the subject line
  • In the body of your message, include
    • your full name
    • your application number
    • a detailed explanation of your situation
We’ll contact you with your next steps after we receive your email.
 
Last edited:

nrat1987

Member
Jan 27, 2016
18
2
I'm not sure what this "6 month hold" they referred to.

The instructions were recently updated on the IRCC website :



Contact IRCC as mentioned above and provide a detailed explanation of your situation (tell them that you are still stuck in India and are unable to return at this time). Wait for their response.

Please keep us posted on what IRCC responds.

Wish you all the very best!
I got below response from IRCC when i informed that my Father expired and due to personal reasons i am not able to travel now.

"
We are sorry about your loss. We generally do not hold a file longer than 6 months. The onus is on you to provide your absence details. Your ceremony notice gives you the details and the steps to follow in case you are unable to attend the event. Lastly, all submissions must be supported by documents and are subject to review and approval.
We have a provision for an abandonment procedure for a file should a client be unavailable for prolonged periods. The submissions made by clients are subject to review by the local office as due procedure is followed.".

Moreover, Flights from india are cancelled now till Sep 21,2021. I am not sure what do they mean by 6 Months. Is it from the date i got oath request(April 30) . Does anyone have idea on how long can the video oath request be postponed ?
 

rajkamalmohanram

VIP Member
Apr 29, 2015
15,802
5,769
I got below response from IRCC when i informed that my Father expired and due to personal reasons i am not able to travel now.

"
We are sorry about your loss. We generally do not hold a file longer than 6 months. The onus is on you to provide your absence details. Your ceremony notice gives you the details and the steps to follow in case you are unable to attend the event. Lastly, all submissions must be supported by documents and are subject to review and approval.
We have a provision for an abandonment procedure for a file should a client be unavailable for prolonged periods. The submissions made by clients are subject to review by the local office as due procedure is followed.".

Moreover, Flights from india are cancelled now till Sep 21,2021. I am not sure what do they mean by 6 Months. Is it from the date i got oath request(April 30) . Does anyone have idea on how long can the video oath request be postponed ?
They are within their right to initiate abandonment procedures, unfortunately.

You can read about abandonment procedures here =>

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/admininistration/general-file-processing/procedure-abandonment.html

Give that page a read and decide how you want to proceed.

Good luck and please keep us posted.
 

rajkamalmohanram

VIP Member
Apr 29, 2015
15,802
5,769
I think there is some misunderstanding here. You quote a link of online test when the person talked about oath ceremony...
My bad. Apologies @nrat1987 . The OP said "Citizenship cannot be taken outside Canada" I somehow saw the word "test" in between "Citizenship" and "cannot".

I've updated the original post.
 

harirajmohan

VIP Member
Mar 3, 2015
6,157
1,663
Category........
Visa Office......
Sydney, NS
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
29-May-2015
Doc's Request.
30-Dec-2015 ReminderEmail(PCCs, NewPassport via cse 31-Dec-2015)
Nomination.....
SK 22-Apr-2015
AOR Received.
11-Aug-2015
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23-Dec-2015
Med's Done....
20-Jan-2016
Passport Req..
26-May-2016 (BGC In Progress 25-May-2016)
VISA ISSUED...
PP Reached Ottawa:27-May-2016, Received:10-Jun-2016
LANDED..........
PR: 09-Jul-2016, PR Card: 17-Aug-2016
I got below response from IRCC when i informed that my Father expired and due to personal reasons i am not able to travel now.

"
We are sorry about your loss. We generally do not hold a file longer than 6 months. The onus is on you to provide your absence details. Your ceremony notice gives you the details and the steps to follow in case you are unable to attend the event. Lastly, all submissions must be supported by documents and are subject to review and approval.
We have a provision for an abandonment procedure for a file should a client be unavailable for prolonged periods. The submissions made by clients are subject to review by the local office as due procedure is followed.".

Moreover, Flights from india are cancelled now till Sep 21,2021. I am not sure what do they mean by 6 Months. Is it from the date i got oath request(April 30) . Does anyone have idea on how long can the video oath request be postponed ?
Get the gcms too parallely. It will have the unavailability dates and file status etc so that you know the exact timeframe to request one more time extension or to plan traveling.

Did you get another oath request with final notice?
 

asterixfanboy

Star Member
Jul 28, 2021
163
109
I really doubt you can take the citizenship oath outside of canada - as you are expected to cut your PR card which is the card you need to enter Canada or apply for a PRTD. Applying for a new Canadian passport outside of canada will be a hassle as you have to find a guarantor or then take the other steps.

Best is to explain the situation to IRCC and see how to take it forward.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,774
I got below response from IRCC when i informed that my Father expired and due to personal reasons i am not able to travel now.

"
We are sorry about your loss. We generally do not hold a file longer than 6 months. The onus is on you to provide your absence details. Your ceremony notice gives you the details and the steps to follow in case you are unable to attend the event. Lastly, all submissions must be supported by documents and are subject to review and approval.
We have a provision for an abandonment procedure for a file should a client be unavailable for prolonged periods. The submissions made by clients are subject to review by the local office as due procedure is followed.".

Moreover, Flights from india are cancelled now till Sep 21,2021. I am not sure what do they mean by 6 Months. Is it from the date i got oath request(April 30) . Does anyone have idea on how long can the video oath request be postponed ?
Travel is possible from India just not direct travel. There have been a large number of people still travelling from India. How long have you been out of Canada and do you still meet your RO in the past 5 years?
 

RamanS100

Member
Apr 12, 2021
11
1
Hi guys, i did my online citizenship test 2 days ago from outside of Canada. i got an email today saying in order to move the file further, they want to know when will i be returning to canada so that they can arrange a phone call. i had previously provided them original return date which was in may but since flights were banned from india i ended my staying here until now and now i am not planning to return until dec as my mother is unwell and had a surgery and i need to stay to take care of her until dec atleast.
i am worried if they will had me reapply after this long wait or what will happen next? m curious on why they want to reach out to me over call to discuss my file further. any advise would help.
Thanks,