Withdrawal the old application and apply a new one

Hi guys, I have some questions for my mom's citizenship application.

Citizenship

1. We received your application for Canadian citizenship (grant of citizenship) on June 11, 2010.


2. We sent you a letter acknowledging receipt of your application(s), and a study book called Discover Canada on June 11, 2010. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.


3. We started processing your application on February 21, 2011.


4. We sent you a letter on February 21, 2011. If you have not yet provided the information or the requested documents, please do so as soon as possible. Please wait until you receive the letter before sending us additional information, as the letter will outline all information that is required. Please consider delays in mail delivery before contacting us.


5. Your file was transferred to the Scarborough Citizenship Operations office on March 29, 2011. The Scarborough Citizenship Operations office will contact you if additional information is required. The Scarborough Citizenship Operations office will contact you regarding your citizenship test once all the necessary checks on your file are complete.


6. We sent you a notice on August 9, 2011 to appear and write the citizenship test on August 25, 2011 at 1:30 PM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.


7. We sent you a notice on January 8, 2013 to appear for an interview with a citizenship judge on January 18, 2013 at 1:30 PM. The notice you will receive by mail will be your official confirmation of your appointment. If you have not received this notice prior to the date of your scheduled appointment, please contact us.

As Mark1552 suggests, if she still has an active (valid) application in process, and is now 55 years old, she would probably be given a waiver of the test and language requirements. This was the policy until at least recently. It may have changed so yes, it is a good idea to check with CIC (call centre representatives are fairly reliable relative to straight forward queries like this sort of question).

For purposes of waiving the test for those over the age of 54, the policy until recently was based on age at the time of the scheduled test.    

Even if the policy has changed, which there is a significant chance it has (see next paragraph), she can and (if she goes to a hearing with a CJ she should) make an explicit request for a waiver, for a recommendation from the CJ that the Minister allow a discretionary waiver of the language and test requirements and grant citizenship. For an older person I suspect there are good odds of this succeeding.

The reason why I say there is a risk the policy has changed is that until the relevant provisions of Bill C-24 take effect, the policy to categorically waive the language and knowledge of Canada requirements for persons over 54 years of age, and to do so based on the applicant's age at the time the test is scheduled, has been entirely a matter of the Minister's discretion. In the meantime though the law is changing due to Bill C-24, which became law in June this year but which has many provisions that have not yet taken effect, which I think (without actually revisiting which specific provisions have taken effect and which have not) includes the provisions regarding language and knowledge of Canada requirements. When these provisions do take effect, the policy will be a matter of statutory mandate; under the law which will be taking effect in the near future (although perhaps not until May or June 2015):

-- policy is stated explicitly by statute (not a matter of Minister's discretion -- albeit I believe there will still be discretionary waivers allowed in individual cases based on the circumstances of individual applicant)

-- age waivers will be automatic for those over 64 rather than 54

-- applicability of waiver will be based on age at time of application (not age at time of test as was the policy until at least recently, and probably still the policy)

Thus, if she is to apply again, better to do that in the near future before the relevant provisions of Bill C-24 come into force; once the provisions come into force she would have to wait to apply after she turns 65 before she would be given the automatic waiver.




In the meantime: concern regarding status of current application if there was a failure to attend a scheduled interview/hearing.

I cannot discern from your post what the status of the more recent application is. This past year CIC adopted fairly strict policies about deeming applications abandoned, and thus terminating them, if the applicant fails to respond to requests or fails to appear for a scheduled event. The dates your post refer to pre-date the implementation of the more severe policies (and which as of August 1st this year are now implemented statutorily, another part of Bill C-24 the provisions regarding which came into force August 1st). This is something else which can be checked by calling the CIC call centre, a call by her or by an authorized representative (which a family member can be if she completes the applicable paperwork and submits it).


She can submit another application even if one is still pending. Eventually she would have to decide which application is processed first. She could probably proceed with the current application in process, assuming it has not been deemed abandoned (due to failure to appear), so long as the age waiver policy is still based on age at time of test rather than age at time of application. But, while it will be costly to file a new application, it might be better to do so. Sooner rather than later.

Generally it would be better to formally withdraw the current application before re-applying. But I am not certain she should wait . . . I am no expert of course, and I am not qualified to offer personal advice, so . . . well, my sense is that if the cost is not a big concern, better to get a new application in the pipeline sooner rather than risk the change in law will take effect before a new application is made.

Importantly: there are many other factors which should be considered in deciding what course of action to take. High among those factors, of course, is the extent to which the individual has been physically present in Canada, relative to the applicable time periods (the four years immediately preceding the date of the respective application).

In this regard, the failure to appear seems likely to elevate the risk of a Residence Questionnaire (RQ) being issued . . . for either the current application or for a new one. Moreover, the risk of this is even higher for a new one since previously abandoned or withdrawn applications are a specific residency risk-indicator. But the failure to appear at the time scheduled is, in itself, a circumstance which can induce the issuance of RQ.