Citizenship Application After Bill C6

This document is originally written by Zubaer Kaiser khan, M.A.Sc. and M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering (University of Windsor).

Year of Publication: 2019

©PBSCU Any unauthorized use of these articles, including copying or editing is prohibited. If you want to use the article, you need to take permission from us: pbscuadm@gmail.com or from the author and you must mention the author's name and the group's name in all cases.

Process and Requirements:

The most important factor for citizenship is: The number of days applicant stays inside Canada. That means, physical presence of the applicant in Canada.

(A calculator is available in CIC website to calculate that. How to calculate, we are coming to that point later:

the link for the calculator-> https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/resCalcStartNew.do)

Let’s go to the process first:

1. Applicant should be eligible for applying for the citizenship.

It doesn’t matter whether the applicant is working or not, if he meets the criteria, he can apply.

Only one criteria is there, Physical Presence.

2. What is Physical Presence?

The amount of days the applicant stays in Canada. Applicant might go for visit or vacation to some other countries, and that will be counted as absent for particular those days.

3. How to calculate Physical Presence?

The process is very simple. The applicant must be inside Canada for 1095 days. That’s it. But this 1095 days will be counted from the last 5 years till the application date. If someone decides to apply for his citizenship on 15th of December, 2017; the last 5 years will be counted from 15th of December 2012.

Here are 2 things:

a. Number of Days before getting PR

b. Number of Days after getting PR

For Simplicity, we are going to describe process b. first.

Suppose someone came here as immigrant on 1st of May 2010. His countdown will start from 1st of May, 2010. In the next 5 years of time (approx 5*365=1825 days), which is 1st of May, 2015, he has be present inside Canada for a total number of 1095 days. And has to make sure, he is not there outside Canada for a consecutive 183 days or more. He doesn’t need to wait for 5 years to apply. The day when he crosses 1095 days, he is eligible to apply for citizenship.

He should calculate his number of days with the help of the Physical Presence Calculator given by CIC in their website. He might go to Bangladesh to visit family, or might go to Europe or USA for vacation. Those number of days should be omitted from the calculation. In the lapse of 4-5 years, many of us can’t exactly remember those dates when we go out of Canada and comes back. So, it is recommended to create a profile in CIC website and always update the profile whenever you go out and come back. If the person, who came to Canada on 1st of May 2010, stays everyday until he reaches 1100 days in Canada, he will be eligible to apply for his citizenship on 5th May, 2013.

Now we are going back to the a. part. This is a bit complicated. I am trying to describe it in a simple manner. This is applicable for most of us who came as International student. So just be with me.

First, I am speaking about the process of calculation. Usually the rule is to stay for 1095 days which is exactly 3 years. For international student, our PM has changed the process a bit. He allowed to count those days as well which we spend before immigration but those days will be counted as half of duration. If someone stays for 1 year before immigration, for him, 6 months will be counted. If someone stays for 2 years, for him, 1 year will be counted. And his stay of remaining 2 years will be counted after he gets his PR.

Now the question arises, if someone stays for more than 2 years before become PR, what will happen? The law is to take account for max of 1 cumulative year. Even if someone stays for 3 years, half of that 1.5 years will become 1 year. If we can make a chart:

1 Physical Year -> 6 months of Cumulative year

2 Physical Year -> 1 Year of Cumulative year

2+ Physical Year -> 1 year of Cumulative year

One important point to be noted: the amount of days you are absent before you get PR, those days will be counted as half as well. Suppose, you are out for 30 days, they will count it as 15 days

Now for example: the person who came here in Canada on May 1st, 2010, after completing his degree for 2 years which is May 1st, 2012. Then he can get a job and apply for PR. It might take 1.5 year to get just for example. That means he is getting his PR on November 1st, 2013. Now he has to stay and complete the remaining 2 years mark in the next 5 years. If he stays everyday in Canada after getting PR on 1st of November 2013, exact 2 years will be 1st November 2015 for his eligibility to apply for citizenship.

The date 5 years prior to the application date is called the Eligibility period. If you decide to apply on 15th of May 2018, your eligibility period will start from 15th of May 2013. They will not count those days which is earlier than the eligibility period.

Once this calculation is DONE and you find it out that you have passed 1095 days barrier, you are good to apply for your citizenship.

Requirements:

1. Application Form: CIT0002, It can be downloaded from this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/citizen/CIT0002E-2.pdf

2. Document Checklist Form: CIT 0007 (it is very important to check the boxes and take the print out, without this form they will not be able to figure out what have you sent to them)

3. 2 Citizenship Photos: Specifications have been given in this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/photospecs-cit.asp

4. Print out of the Physical Presence Calculator after you calculated the dates

https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/resCalcStartNew.do

5. Passport photocopy: For last 5 years expired and present. Only biographical pages where the name and picture are given

6. Photocopy of Proof for English or French language: It might be the degree certificate or transcript as well.

7. Photocopy of Personal Identification: It must contain your name, photo and date of birth in it. Can be your Canadian Driving licence

8. Copy of your PR card (They did not ask for it, but its better to attach it).

9. Application Fee: 630 CAD.

To pay online you are required:

· PDF Reader software,

· a printer,