graham1710

Hey all,

Looking for some advice/info here. I did find some past posts, but nothing that will answer exactly what I'm asking and may be out of date information.


(According to our online status) we've been called for our citizenship test on April 13th at 8.16am!!

While that is great news, the problem is our 2 kids. One is 2 years old, and he'll just go to daycare that day no problem.

The other is only 3 months at present, which makes that a lot harder. Our home daycare provider said she will take her, but my wife isn't too keen on that idea just yet as she's quite a needy baby (particularly for her mum!) and is exclusively breastfed.

From what I gather, you aren't allowed anyone else in with you, not even babies. However, I have read of some exceptions and someone even mentioning that there might be a law that considers a breastfed baby in Canada to be the same person as the mother. No idea if that's true or not!


So looking for any advice or info. Is it pretty much a given that we must find some sort of childcare for our 3 month old? Or are there any options that would allow my wife to wear the baby and potentially feed during the test?

If it must be childcare, then I realize we can either send her to daycare as well, or try find someone (no relatives here, unfortunately) to accompany us during that time that can sit in the waiting room and then the time without mother is greatly reduced as she can feed, comfort, etc. in between the test and any other waiting periods.


For anyone that has done the test (I believe we'll be at Scarborough), what is the general flow of the day and when could/couldn't she feed the baby? This is my general understanding:
- The arrival time is actually for registering, checking documents, etc. I would imagine she could have the baby with her during this time.
- Sometime thereafter, we'd be invited into the room to take the test. At this point, baby would have to be with someone else. Any idea how long after the 8.16 time we'd likely be invited in? Just so we could tell our friend when they'd need to be there.
- Either as soon as she finishes the test (or after the full half hour, depending if they allow people to leave the room), she could then go out and feed baby.
- After some time, we may be invited in individually to be given results. I'm unclear if she could keep the baby during this time.
- We'd then have another wait to be called for an interview. She could be with the baby during this time.
- During the interview, I'm unclear if she could be with the baby or if she'd have to go alone. If she couldn't be with the baby, could the baby stay with me or is there a chance I may be called at the same time (to another judge or the same)?
- After the interview, she could then be with the baby.
- Anything else?


If we do go with the option of bringing someone with us (if we can find someone willing!), just trying to find out when they would need to have the baby, when they could arrive, when they could go home, etc.

Thanks again for all your help!

Graham.

Twitcher1958

We ( my husband and 19 yo daughter) went to Scarborough for the test/interview in 2015.

We gathered in the lobby downstairs with about 50 other people and at the appointed time, we were all called upstairs. Everybody who had to do the test was invited into one room - about a dozen of us, who didn’t have to take the test, I think sat in a separate room and then went up individually or in couples, with documentation. After a talk with the officer, who looked through our passports, we went back to sit in the corridor outside to wait for our daughter, who had to take the test.
She came out about ten minutes later - she’d probably been in the test room for 20/25 minutes but said a lot of that time was taken up with explaining the format of the test and what candidates had to do. I think at that point she knew her mark from the test. She then had to have a brief chat with the officer who checked her passport and that was it.
It was a far quicker process than we were expecting - for a lot of people it probably takes longer if English isn’t their first language, and if there’re not used to doing tests.
I dont think you would be able to take the baby into the test room with you, but I wouldn’t think there would be a problem with a friend having the baby outside in the corridor. I’m pretty sure there was a family with a toddler there when we were there.
If you live close to Scarborough, you could pop and check out the lie of the land. You can’t speak to an official but the guards were friendly and may be able to advise you further.

graham1710

Thanks very much for the helpful info.

So it's clear that the baby can't come in to the testing room itself.

Any ideas whether she could have the baby with her at the other points, including the various waiting periods and the interview? Or would they say no to either of them?

Just so I can give whoever we ask a reasonable idea of when they'd be needed, for how long, etc. Unfortunately our 3 month old can be a bit screamy, so I want them to know what the end point would be, haha :-)

Graham.

Twitcher1958

Obviously I can’t guarantee that but for such an official procedure, it was a little more relaxed on the day, and I’m sure there was a little boy playing quietly out in the corridor. There were other people sat waiting to be seen with our documentation, so that part wasn’t particularly private - we sat in a big room and there were a couple of officers at tables in the front and we were called up in turn. My feeling is that your friend could sit with you at that point, or just outside the room - I don’t remember that we had to verify it was us until we were at the table. Presumably it was similar in the test room in that you had to show who you were before being issued with the test paper.

graham1710

Great, thank you!

If anyone else happens to stumble across this thread and has some info from their experiences, I'd appreciate it.

Graham.

scilly

Why not phone the office and ask? To me, that would be the logical step to take

Can your wife not pump milk, and give that to the daycare provider who is willing to look after the baby? She should of course try the baby on using a bottle for 2 or 3 weeks beforehand, if she has not already done this!

Twitcher1958

That would be a great idea, but certainly three years ago, when we had a query, it was impossible to contact them. Perhaps from what you’re saying, that’s possible now 😀

Snowy560

Try this:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/video/what-you-need-know-about-citizenship-test.html

MillieF

When I did it (Feb 2017) there were a couple of people with babies. We were in a general reception and were called individually to speak to an officer (baby looked after in the reception) then waited then were called to the exam room (baby in the reception...the exam isn't long, and you wouldn't want to disturb the other candidates) then we went back to the reception and waited and then were called to speak to the judge and have a chat (baby in the reception again). I was in and out in an hour and a half, so with assistance it's more than doable.

When you get the letter to attend, there was a phone number to ring if you had any queries or problems...I had a problem as my friend received the letter, but I didn't, so I rang, and it took time but I got through.

Very Best of luck

graham1710

Thanks for the replies all! A few comments:

- I didn't see any local IRCC office number on the documents we received to call, so I figured it'd have to be the central hotline and I decided that wasn't necessarily going to produce an accurate answer from what I've heard :-) I will double check the documents when I get home to see if there is a number that I perhaps missed.

- We've managed to find someone to come with us and hold the baby during the times we're not allowed to have baby with us, so we're all good now.

- Baby seems rather confused by a bottle on the odd time we've tried, haha. But she should be good now we have someone with us.


Thanks for the links as well to see what to expect. I did have a general idea of that, but it's good to have some insight from others with regards what they've seen, etc.

Thanks again all.

Graham.

graham1710

Just to confirm, unfortunately there was no phone number for the local office on my letter. So it'd be the central IRCC hotline number if I wanted to call...

In any case, we seem to have a plan lined up now. So all that remains is to continue studying :-)

Thanks again,

Graham.

MillieF

Very best of luck Graham...I'm sure your wife will ace it!