Question about Citizenship application
Feb 17th 2001, 7:34 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Everyone,
I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received the
status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife, May 23rd, to
apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of visiting our native country
wasn't permanent.
Thank you!
-YH
I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received the
status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife, May 23rd, to
apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of visiting our native country
wasn't permanent.
Thank you!
-YH
Feb 18th 2001, 8:10 pm
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hi:
The rule requires that you are physically present in Canada for 1,095 days in a four year
period. Each day that you reside in Canada prior to obtaining permanent residence status
will be counted as one half-day.
If you have spend two years in Canada prior to landing, you will be credited with one year
of residence. You will then meet the residency requirement after two years of permanent
residence in Canada. Time spend in Canada outside of the four years preceding the date
that the application is not considered.
If you do not have the required days of residence, you may be granted citizenship pursuant
to section 5(3) of the Citizenship Act, where the Minister of Citizenship exercises her
discretion to waive the residency requirement on compassionate grounds.
A citizenship judge will recommend a waiver where there is evidence that the immigrant has
established residence in Canada, and has maintained residence in Canada, notwithstanding a
physical absence, where the person has settled into or maintained or centralized his or
her ordinary mode of living with its accessories in social relations, interests and
conveniences in Canada
For more information on citizenship go to http://www.webimmigration.com/citizen.html
Yours truly, Ingrid Y. Chen, B.A., LL.B.
_________________________
Webimmigration.com, Embrace Opportunity 52 Dumbarton Blvd. Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3P
2C8 Tel: 1-204-943-3303 Fax: 1-204-895-4042 Email: [email protected]
> Everyone,
>
> I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
>
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
> Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
>
> The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received
> the status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
>
> The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife,
May
> 23rd, to apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of
visiting
> our native country wasn't permanent.
>
> Thank you!
>
> -YH
>
The rule requires that you are physically present in Canada for 1,095 days in a four year
period. Each day that you reside in Canada prior to obtaining permanent residence status
will be counted as one half-day.
If you have spend two years in Canada prior to landing, you will be credited with one year
of residence. You will then meet the residency requirement after two years of permanent
residence in Canada. Time spend in Canada outside of the four years preceding the date
that the application is not considered.
If you do not have the required days of residence, you may be granted citizenship pursuant
to section 5(3) of the Citizenship Act, where the Minister of Citizenship exercises her
discretion to waive the residency requirement on compassionate grounds.
A citizenship judge will recommend a waiver where there is evidence that the immigrant has
established residence in Canada, and has maintained residence in Canada, notwithstanding a
physical absence, where the person has settled into or maintained or centralized his or
her ordinary mode of living with its accessories in social relations, interests and
conveniences in Canada
For more information on citizenship go to http://www.webimmigration.com/citizen.html
Yours truly, Ingrid Y. Chen, B.A., LL.B.
_________________________
Webimmigration.com, Embrace Opportunity 52 Dumbarton Blvd. Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3P
2C8 Tel: 1-204-943-3303 Fax: 1-204-895-4042 Email: [email protected]
> Everyone,
>
> I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
>
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
> Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
>
> The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received
> the status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
>
> The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife,
May
> 23rd, to apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of
visiting
> our native country wasn't permanent.
>
> Thank you!
>
> -YH
>
Feb 19th 2001, 1:15 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Yeo-Hoon Bae wrote:
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb,
> 1999. Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also. . . .
To the best of my knowledge, Citizenship and Immigration Canada DOES still permit
applicants for citizenship to count modest amounts of time spent physically outside Canada
(such as for vacations or busi- ness trips) toward the requirement of three years of
"residence".
The current citizenship application asks the applicant to count the number of days he/she
has been physically in Canada -- and warns that if this number is less than 1,095, the
application will be reviewed by a judge, it may or may not be accepted, and the fee won't
be refunded if the application is rejected.
But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know (or
have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
(within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent outside
Canada for brief trips abroad.
On the other hand, it IS theoretically conceivable that Citizenship and Immigration Canada
might decide to "throw a hissy fit" at someone over this issue -- and you might want to
consider waiting a little while after the anniversary of your landing date, until you have
completely fulfilled a strict "physical presence" interpretation of the residence rule,
just to be absolutely safe. If in doubt, go have a consultation with an immigration lawyer
before filing your applica- tion for citizenship.
You should be aware that the government was working on a rewrite of the Citizenship Act
(Bill C-16) before an election was called last fall. Assuming this bill (which died "on
the order paper" when Parliament was dissolved for the election) is reintroduced in the
new Parliament -- and assuming it is eventually enacted more or less as it stood last fall
-- the residence requirement for citizenship will (eventually) be replaced by a strict,
unbending requirement for 1,095 days of literal, physical presence in Canada, with
basically no allowances for time spent outside the country for any reason. But this bill
has NOT yet become law, and its residence rule is NOT currently in force.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb,
> 1999. Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also. . . .
To the best of my knowledge, Citizenship and Immigration Canada DOES still permit
applicants for citizenship to count modest amounts of time spent physically outside Canada
(such as for vacations or busi- ness trips) toward the requirement of three years of
"residence".
The current citizenship application asks the applicant to count the number of days he/she
has been physically in Canada -- and warns that if this number is less than 1,095, the
application will be reviewed by a judge, it may or may not be accepted, and the fee won't
be refunded if the application is rejected.
But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know (or
have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
(within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent outside
Canada for brief trips abroad.
On the other hand, it IS theoretically conceivable that Citizenship and Immigration Canada
might decide to "throw a hissy fit" at someone over this issue -- and you might want to
consider waiting a little while after the anniversary of your landing date, until you have
completely fulfilled a strict "physical presence" interpretation of the residence rule,
just to be absolutely safe. If in doubt, go have a consultation with an immigration lawyer
before filing your applica- tion for citizenship.
You should be aware that the government was working on a rewrite of the Citizenship Act
(Bill C-16) before an election was called last fall. Assuming this bill (which died "on
the order paper" when Parliament was dissolved for the election) is reintroduced in the
new Parliament -- and assuming it is eventually enacted more or less as it stood last fall
-- the residence requirement for citizenship will (eventually) be replaced by a strict,
unbending requirement for 1,095 days of literal, physical presence in Canada, with
basically no allowances for time spent outside the country for any reason. But this bill
has NOT yet become law, and its residence rule is NOT currently in force.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
Feb 19th 2001, 2:36 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Thank you for the feedback!
So if I decide to apply earlier than the "safe date", and the government decide to refuse
the application, do the waiting time count towards the presence days? In other words, do
we just loose the application fee, or do we also loose the time if we are refused?
Thank you again...
-YH
> Yeo-Hoon Bae wrote:
>
> > I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb,
> > 1999. Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also. . . .
>
> To the best of my knowledge, Citizenship and Immigration Canada DOES still permit
> applicants for citizenship to count modest amounts of time spent physically outside
> Canada (such as for vacations or busi- ness trips) toward the requirement of three years
> of "residence".
>
> The current citizenship application asks the applicant to count the number of days
> he/she has been physically in Canada -- and warns that if this number is less than
> 1,095, the application will be reviewed by a judge, it may or may not be accepted, and
> the fee won't be refunded if the application is rejected.
>
> But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
> worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know
> (or have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
> (within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent
> outside Canada for brief trips abroad.
>
> On the other hand, it IS theoretically conceivable that Citizenship and Immigration
> Canada might decide to "throw a hissy fit" at someone over this issue -- and you might
> want to consider waiting a little while after the anniversary of your landing date,
> until you have completely fulfilled a strict "physical presence" interpretation of the
> residence rule, just to be absolutely safe. If in doubt, go have a consultation with an
> immigration lawyer before filing your applica- tion for citizenship.
>
> You should be aware that the government was working on a rewrite of the Citizenship Act
> (Bill C-16) before an election was called last fall. Assuming this bill (which died "on
> the order paper" when Parliament was dissolved for the election) is reintroduced in the
> new Parliament -- and assuming it is eventually enacted more or less as it stood last
> fall -- the residence requirement for citizenship will (eventually) be replaced by a
> strict, unbending requirement for 1,095 days of literal, physical presence in Canada,
> with basically no allowances for time spent outside the country for any reason. But this
> bill has NOT yet become law, and its residence rule is NOT currently in force.
>
> Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
> *NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
> *DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
> or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
> are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
So if I decide to apply earlier than the "safe date", and the government decide to refuse
the application, do the waiting time count towards the presence days? In other words, do
we just loose the application fee, or do we also loose the time if we are refused?
Thank you again...
-YH
> Yeo-Hoon Bae wrote:
>
> > I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb,
> > 1999. Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also. . . .
>
> To the best of my knowledge, Citizenship and Immigration Canada DOES still permit
> applicants for citizenship to count modest amounts of time spent physically outside
> Canada (such as for vacations or busi- ness trips) toward the requirement of three years
> of "residence".
>
> The current citizenship application asks the applicant to count the number of days
> he/she has been physically in Canada -- and warns that if this number is less than
> 1,095, the application will be reviewed by a judge, it may or may not be accepted, and
> the fee won't be refunded if the application is rejected.
>
> But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
> worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know
> (or have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
> (within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent
> outside Canada for brief trips abroad.
>
> On the other hand, it IS theoretically conceivable that Citizenship and Immigration
> Canada might decide to "throw a hissy fit" at someone over this issue -- and you might
> want to consider waiting a little while after the anniversary of your landing date,
> until you have completely fulfilled a strict "physical presence" interpretation of the
> residence rule, just to be absolutely safe. If in doubt, go have a consultation with an
> immigration lawyer before filing your applica- tion for citizenship.
>
> You should be aware that the government was working on a rewrite of the Citizenship Act
> (Bill C-16) before an election was called last fall. Assuming this bill (which died "on
> the order paper" when Parliament was dissolved for the election) is reintroduced in the
> new Parliament -- and assuming it is eventually enacted more or less as it stood last
> fall -- the residence requirement for citizenship will (eventually) be replaced by a
> strict, unbending requirement for 1,095 days of literal, physical presence in Canada,
> with basically no allowances for time spent outside the country for any reason. But this
> bill has NOT yet become law, and its residence rule is NOT currently in force.
>
> Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
> *NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
> *DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
> or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
> are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
Feb 19th 2001, 2:51 am
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Yeo-Hoon Bae wrote:
> So if I decide to apply earlier than the "safe date", and the government decide to
> refuse the application, do the waiting time count towards the presence days?
No. The question is whether the applicant had sufficient "residence" (whatever that means)
as of the date the application was filed.
Time that passes after the filing date, but before CIC decides to accept or reject the
application, is not considered.
If you were to apply a second time, immediately after your first application was rejected,
the extra time =would= count toward the eligibility on your second application.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
> So if I decide to apply earlier than the "safe date", and the government decide to
> refuse the application, do the waiting time count towards the presence days?
No. The question is whether the applicant had sufficient "residence" (whatever that means)
as of the date the application was filed.
Time that passes after the filing date, but before CIC decides to accept or reject the
application, is not considered.
If you were to apply a second time, immediately after your first application was rejected,
the extra time =would= count toward the eligibility on your second application.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.
Feb 19th 2001, 4:58 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
> Everyone,
>
> I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
>
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
> Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
>
> The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received
> the status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
>
> The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife, May 23rd, to
> apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of visiting our native country
> wasn't permanent.
The evaluation of such absences towards a citizenship applications is determined at
the discretion of the presiding official. As such, it is not possible to give an
absolute answer.
Although I would not expect a 2 week absence to be an issue, your spouse's three month
absence could require that she delay her citizenship application. Additional information
on this topic may be found at Campbell, Cohen's web site at the following URL:
http://canadavisa.com/documents/citpol.htm
________
CAMPBELL, COHEN - attorneys at law [email protected] http://canadavisa.com
Online Community: http://canadavisa.com/community
>
> I have a question that I haven't been able to get any consistent answers to.
>
> I (along with my wife) obtained our landed immigrant status on the 23rd of Feb, 1999.
> Both of us lived in Canada well over 2 years prior to that date also.
>
> The problem came when we decided to visit our native country just after we received
> the status - I stayed for 2 weeks, my wife and our daughter, 3 months.
>
> The question here is: do I have to wait until March 9th, and my wife, May 23rd, to
> apply for the citizenship? Obviously, her intention of visiting our native country
> wasn't permanent.
The evaluation of such absences towards a citizenship applications is determined at
the discretion of the presiding official. As such, it is not possible to give an
absolute answer.
Although I would not expect a 2 week absence to be an issue, your spouse's three month
absence could require that she delay her citizenship application. Additional information
on this topic may be found at Campbell, Cohen's web site at the following URL:
http://canadavisa.com/documents/citpol.htm
________
CAMPBELL, COHEN - attorneys at law [email protected] http://canadavisa.com
Online Community: http://canadavisa.com/community
Feb 20th 2001, 1:56 am
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
(snip)
>
> But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
> worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know
> (or have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
> (within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent
> outside Canada for brief trips abroad.
I can add that out of my 1095 days of residency, I had slightly over 100 days out of
Canada for business and vacation. My application was accepted and I wasn't even questioned
when I received my citizenship in January 2000.
Stephen Gallagher
>
> But this is NOT the same as saying that the applicant absolutely MUST have 1,095 days'
> worth of literal, physical presence in Canada before applying for citizenship. I know
> (or have heard of) several people who have successfully applied for citizenship recently
> (within the past year or so), even though some of their "residence" time was spent
> outside Canada for brief trips abroad.
I can add that out of my 1095 days of residency, I had slightly over 100 days out of
Canada for business and vacation. My application was accepted and I wasn't even questioned
when I received my citizenship in January 2000.
Stephen Gallagher
