Study abroad while registered at a Canadian University: Special consideration?

[ly_ygtq]

Dear all,

Last year I studied abroad as an exchange student for a whole year. I was out of the country for exactly 365 days, being a registered UofT student for about
300 of the 365 days.
I've also made other trips to US and my home country in the past 5 years. The longest being 4 months for a summer internship, others were all short trips. In total those trips are no more than 150 days (including the 4 months).

In other words, aside from my time abroad being an exchange student, I easily meet the citizenship residency requirements.

Can I apply for citizenship with special consideration?

Thank You and Best Regards

 

[scylla]

Can I apply for citizenship with special consideration?

You can certainly try to apply - no one can stop you from doing that. However you will be refused. You need 1095 physical residency days in Canada (in the last four years) to qualify for citizenship. You cannot count any of your days outside of Canada towards this 1095 day total. There is no special consideration available for the situations you have described.

 

[ly_ygtq]

You can certainly try to apply - no one can stop you from doing that. However you will be refused. You need 1095 physical residency days in Canada (in the last four years) to qualify for citizenship. You cannot count any of your days outside of Canada towards this 1095 day total. There is no special consideration available for the situations you have described.

Thank you for the words of encouragement lol

However I found an article which I think applies to my situation
I'm not allowed to post links for some odd reason so here's some quote:

"Where physical presence in Canada comes up short, most judges in recent years have applied the “centralized mode of existence” test. The initial threshold question is whether residence in Canada has been established at all. If it is determined that an applicant does meet the threshold, the court will go on to consider the six questions articulated in the leading case of Koo (Re), [1993] 1 FC 286:

......

(5) Is the physical absence caused by a clearly temporary situation such as employment as a missionary abroad, following a course of study abroad as a student, accepting temporary employment abroad, or accompanying a spouse who has accepted temporary employment abroad?"



Does anyone have personal experience applying on the basis of the so-called "evidence on centralized mode of existence"?
If you do, could you please share your experience?

 

[Dejaavu]

It could take years it goes to citizenship judge. I wouldn't do that. Best is to fullfill 1095 days and apply for citizenship.

 

[ly_ygtq]

It could take years it goes to citizenship judge. I wouldn't do that. Best is to fullfill 1095 days and apply for citizenship.

I don't really care about how long it takes.... I wanna apply now since I might be working abroad in the next few years so its even harder to fulfill the 1095 days.
My only concern: is there a rule about physical presence in Canada AFTER the application has been sent?

 

[scylla]

I don't really care about how long it takes.... I wanna apply now since I might be working abroad in the next few years so its even harder to fulfill the 1095 days.
My only concern: is there a rule about physical presence in Canada AFTER the application has been sent?

There's honestly no point in applying before you have 1095 actual days in Canada. It will take a very long time to see a judge and then it's almost definite you will be refused. Yes - you've found the clause that states that exceptions can be made. However the reality is that it's extremely (extremely) rare that exceptions are actually granted by citizenship judges.

After the citizenship application has been sent, you must continue to meet the PR residency requirement (i.e. 730 days residency in every 5 rolling years). You must continue to meet the PR residency requirement until you take the oath and become a citizen.

 

[nguyentu2001]

I don't really care about how long it takes.... I wanna apply now since I might be working abroad in the next few years so its even harder to fulfill the 1095 days.
My only concern: is there a rule about physical presence in Canada AFTER the application has been sent?

whats the point of applying when there is a big chance it will be refused?
You will need to maintain your PR status anyway so you should plan your work plan accordingly.
Of course, no one has any intention to stop you from doing what you want...so apply or not, your choice. Cheers

 

[Dejaavu]

One of the reasons why processing times have become longer is that CIC now knows that a lot of PRs apply for citizenship and leave Canada. Therefore now they are very strict when it comes to granting citizenship to permanent residents.

I wouldn't leave Canada until I get the citizenship or at least make sure you meet the residency requirement while your citizenship application is in process.
If it goes to the jugde it can take more than 3 years to be processed. I wouldn't even apply with less than 1095 days...

 

[Yolka]

One of the reasons why processing times have become longer is that CIC now knows that a lot of PRs apply for citizenship and leave Canada. Therefore now they are very strict when it comes to granting citizenship to permanent residents.

I wouldn't leave Canada until I get the citizenship or at least make sure you meet the residency requirement while your citizenship application is in process.
If it goes to the jugde it can take more than 3 years to be processed. I wouldn't even apply with less than 1095 days...

From my own experience, the only reason some applicants leave after applying is because they believe they are allowed to move after fulfilling the residency days. I personally did not find any information (before moving) on 'Applicants not allowed to leave Canada after applying' not even a warning of what could happen if you left, except for informing CIC about your move. I wish they make a section on the Immigration page about not leaving after applying, it should be part of the law, I think it would be only fair to all applicants.

Unfortunately, I found this forum too later (only after moving abroad). I agree Dejavuu, I would not advise anyone to move abroad until you get your citizenship.

Applying with less then 1095 days is just waste of your precious time! plus not fair to waste CIC time for submitting incomplete application which could be one of the reasons for causing backlogs!

 

[suenim]

http://ww2.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2013/10/22/canadian-values-can-only-be-learned-by-living-here-judge-says-in-rejecting-citizenship-application

Read the part about the student.

 

[Msafiri]

Dear all,

Last year I studied abroad as an exchange student for a whole year. I was out of the country for exactly 365 days, being a registered UofT student for about
300 of the 365 days.
I've also made other trips to US and my home country in the past 5 years. The longest being 4 months for a summer internship, others were all short trips. In total those trips are no more than 150 days (including the 4 months).

In other words, aside from my time abroad being an exchange student, I easily meet the citizenship residency requirements.

Can I apply for citizenship with special consideration?

Thank You and Best Regards

You will get special consideration alright this being an in person hearing with the Citizenship Judge. But to give you a 'best' answer a couple of questions if I may:

1. What was your landing date -mmm/yyyy
2. How many physical presence days do you have since this landing date?
3. What date do you intend to apply for citizenship?
4. How many physical presence days will you have at this application date?
5. When do you intend to depart Canada post 3.
6. When do you intend to return to Canada post 5.
7. What is your Local CIC Office - if you don't know what city do you live in Canada?
8. Have you always been only a student in Canada or have you worked in a type of job that requires you to show up daily for say a 40 hr work week that is paid by direct deposit and for which you have filed taxes?

 

[ly_ygtq]

You will get special consideration alright this being an in person hearing with the Citizenship Judge. But to give you a 'best' answer a couple of questions if I may:

1. What was your landing date -mmm/yyyy
2. How many physical presence days do you have since this landing date?
3. What date do you intend to apply for citizenship?
4. How many physical presence days will you have at this application date?
5. When do you intend to depart Canada post 3.
6. When do you intend to return to Canada post 5.
7. What is your Local CIC Office - if you don't know what city do you live in Canada?
8. Have you always been only a student in Canada or have you worked in a type of job that requires you to show up daily for say a 40 hr work week that is paid by direct deposit and for which you have filed taxes?

Thanks for your reply

1. I landed Oct 2001, so more than 12 years ago, when I was in elementary school
2. Can't count that many years, but I've only left for summar vacations twice before the 4 months summer internship mentioned above
3. I intend to apply early next month
4. About 950 days in the past 4 years
5. I guess it depends on when my PR card gets renewed since I can't get my visa without it
6. Depends on whether I get a job - I'm going abroad for a job interview. So maybe 3 months maybe a year or two
7. I don't know, never had to deal with them before. I live in Sauga
8. I've only been a student - elementary school, middle school, high school and university. I've had part-time jobs

 

[Msafiri]

The Citizenship Act (CA) doesn't define residence as physical presence. Case law before the Federal Court has resulted in 3 versions of the residence test that can be applied although 2 are effectively a hybrid i.e. its actually 2 versions one being 1095 days of actual physical presence (APP) and the other being the centralized mode (less than 1095 physical days espoused in the Justice Koo decision). The FC has ruled that a Citizenship Judge (CJ) may use any of the residence tests in approving/ denying your application so long as the CJ clearly states which test he/she is applying and the reasons for his/her decision.

CIC get round this CA residence flexibility by making applications with less than 1095 APP 'non routine' for which the quoted times are 80% of applications processed in 35 months. You will be issued an RQ and will be referred to an in person hearing with the CJ. 950 days is barely over the threshold for an automatic hearing with a CJ. The RQ will require you to submit extensive documentation of your presence in Canada for the 4 years to your application. Such can be transcripts, pay stubs, bank statements, doctor/ dentist letters, notices of assessment, records of movements i.e. border exits/entries for any travel etc. Expect to submit a hefty/ heavy package - the cost to obtain, copy, ship to CIC etc could run into several hundred dollars.

CIC will at some point in time along the 35 month timeline review your RQ documents. They will then refer you to the CJ who has to fit you in to their schedule. Mississauga has between 12 - 15 months to see the Judge. Your lengthy presence in Canada pre citizenship application makes the centralized mode test an option but the Judge may decide to apply the strict 1095 APP test and deny your application i.e you don't know which CJ you will get. I expect the CJ to ask you for fresh proof of residence documentation because by the time you see him/her it may easily be 4 years post application. You can appeal to the courts if you get denied but CIC will appeal too if you get approved and the FC is effectively now siding with the 1095 APP approach.

During this long processing time you must retain your PR so you need to keep a count of your 730 days for each 5 year rolling period. If you miss any CIC interviews, tests or CJ hearing your file will be closed. CIC don't record overseas addresses. Your background checks will keep expiring and will need renewal along major stages of the process e.g pre-test and any oath so this will likely add further delays. If you don't appeal/ loose any appeal then you will have to re-apply if and when you qualify for citizenship. Given your proposed absences when will you get to 1095 days again? Note the residency requirements are due a change sooner rather than later - general sentiment in the political arena is that 1095 days/ 3 years is too short...expect at least 1 year to this likely before the next Federal Election since the current party in power has the numbers to get this amendment through now they have a majority.

Apply with 1095 days APP - it guarantees you citizenship approval relatively faster subject to meeting the other statutory requirements. Of course if your prefer special consideration apply sooner..in fact there is nothing to stop you doing this now.

 

[ly_ygtq]

The Citizenship Act (CA) doesn't define residence as physical presence. Case law before the Federal Court has resulted in 3 versions of the residence test that can be applied although 2 are effectively a hybrid i.e. its actually 2 versions one being 1095 days of actual physical presence (APP) and the other being the centralized mode (less than 1095 physical days espoused in the Justice Koo decision). The FC has ruled that a Citizenship Judge (CJ) may use any of the residence tests in approving/ denying your application so long as the CJ clearly states which test he/she is applying and the reasons for his/her decision.

...........

Apply with 1095 days APP - it guarantees you citizenship approval relatively faster subject to meeting the other statutory requirements. Of course if your prefer special consideration apply sooner..in fact there is nothing to stop you doing this now.

Thank you for your detailed reply!
I'm planning to hire a lawyer to represent me, so hopefully the lawyer will know what kind of documents to prepare for.
As you can see, I don't know how long it'll be till I get another 1095 days in Canada, so my best option is to apply now and wait. I regret not applying for citizenship sooner, but I thought PR was enough cauz I didn't think I'd want to live outside of Canada until I went on exchange =(

 

[lyd018]

Hi,

I am in a similar situation and found this thread interesting to stumble upon. Just wondering, what happened? Did you apply for citizenship or what? I am studying abroad through a Canadian University too, and I planned to just start counting my 1095 days once I get back in 2015. My PR card expires in September of 2018. I will be able to stay 1095 days before Sept. 2018, but will I have to reapply for a new PR card anyway even if I want to apply for citizenship (it says the processing time is 24 months!)? Can I not just apply for citizenship instead of renewing my PR card? Even if I don't leave Canada? Also, any updates on whether or not one must be in Canada during the processing time?

Thank you!