Volunteering for Citizenship.

[silly]

Hi, I heard from my friends that their neighbours got citizenship except the one family member that was the mother.
According to them she was denied (citizenship thought she passed the exame) bcos she has no done volunteer job.
I don't know how much this news is correct, but it has offset us as my family has recently applied for citizenship.
Is volunteering really required for citizenship or it is just a rumour ? kindly comment

 

[eileenf]

It is not true.

Perhaps this started from the mother needing to fill out a residence questionnaire. The RQ lists documentation of volunteer activity as one of the 50 some odd documents that could be used to prove residency. It is an option and not a requirement.

Did the applicant appealed her denial? Did she have a shortfall of the 1095 days?

Unfortunately some stay-at-home mothers are more at risk for denial than their partners, who probably work (work records are also good residency proof) or their children who go to school (schooling records are another good residency proof). I have heard of applicants successfully appealing denials for stay at home parents who lacked a lot of activity or demonstrable ties outside of the home, but that is a question for a good lawyer.

 

[silly]

Thanks for reply.I agree.
My Second Question is about principal applicant. My family applied for citizenship however i didn't bcos I have not completed RO.
WILL it affect my family citizenship application procedure as I was the principal applicant and I could not find job and work outside
canada to financially support my Family in Canada and parents back home.However my wife stayed with school going kids and they completed
RO while I coud not.I think every case is view separatly ....... For your comments please.Regards

 

[eileenf]

Thanks for reply.I agree.
My Second Question is about principal applicant. My family applied for citizenship however i didn't bcos I have not completed RO.
WILL it affect my family citizenship application procedure as I was the principal applicant and I could not find job and work outside
canada to financially support my Family in Canada and parents back home.However my wife stayed with school going kids and they completed
RO while I coud not.I think every case is view separatly ....... For your comments please.Regards

I assume when you call yourself the "principal applicant" you are referring to your immigration process?
One's immigration process is almost completely irrelevant to one's citizenship process. If your wife and children have met the qualifications for citizenship, then they have met the qualifications for citizenship. The lack of qualifications of a family member who is not on the citizenship application has little effect on the family (unless you were saying that you are the principal applicant on the citizenship application? If so, yes, that would be a problem).

Two things to be aware of:
1. Because you are out of the country, the CIC may require proof that your family is in the country (since close families usually live together, it can be a red flag that the applicant may not be honestly reporting all their absences). The CIC may issue a Residence Questionnaire (if you don't know what this is, please check the link in my signature). RQs can slow down the citizenship process significantly.
2. You will need to meet your PR residency obligation (2 out of every 5 years) in order to remain a PR of Canada and have the right to relatively easy entry into the country.