Mimi

Hello,

Regarding the 1095 days rule, I spoke recently with a CIC officer and
he specified that days spent outside Canada for short term vacations
do count .
How true is this .

Thanks,
Mimi

Http://Www.Iamnotamerican.Com

in a recent article, mimi () said:

    > Hello,
    >
    > Regarding the 1095 days rule, I spoke recently with a CIC officer and
    > he specified that days spent outside Canada for short term vacations
    > do count .
    > How true is this .

As has been addressed numerous times before - it's 100% true. If you're
outside Canada, pretty much no matter why, it counts.

That's one of the reasons applying as soon as you 'think' you have 1095
days is not a good thing. Wait for a month or so to be sure.

Rich Wales

"mimi" said:

> > Regarding the 1095 days rule, I spoke recently with a CIC
> > officer and he specified that days spent outside Canada
> > for short term vacations do count.

"http://www.iamnotamerican.com" replied:

> it's 100% true. If you're outside Canada, pretty much no
> matter why, it counts. That's one of the reasons applying
> as soon as you 'think' you have 1095 days is not a good
> thing. Wait for a month or so to be sure.

Whoa.

I have a question for Mimi (the original poster). Do you mean you
were told that days spent outside Canada on short vacations will be
accepted by CIC as counting toward the residence requirement for a
citizenship application?

If you were simply told that such days "do count", that could be
ambiguous. I.e., do they count toward the residence requirement?
Or do they count =against= the residence requirement?

If you really did mean you were told that days spent outside Canada
on short vacations will be accepted by CIC as counting toward the
residence requirement for citizenship, please be aware that a lot
of people in this newsgroup will flatly refuse to believe you -- or
else they will refuse to believe that the CIC person you spoke with
knew what he/she was talking about or had any authority to say what
he/she said -- or else they will refuse to believe that you really
understood what you were told.

The currently accepted wisdom here, right now, is that the only
really safe thing to do is to hold off on your citizenship appli-
cation until you have a full 1,095 days (within the past four
years) of literal, physical presence within the borders of Canada.
If you meet that standard before applying, your claim to having
met the residence requirement will be indisputable.

But if you try to count days spent on trips abroad toward the 1,095
days, your application =might= be accepted, or it might not be . . .

and if it's rejected and you decide to sue the government, you might
win (there are past court rulings in favour of people who have done
this), or you might lose . . .

but if you do have to fight the government over this issue, and even
if you win in the end, it's going to cost you a lot of extra money,
and you'll end up taking a lot more time in the end than if you had
just waited a couple more months until you could make an airtight,
open-and-shut residence claim based on having a full 1,095 days of
physical presence in Canada under your belt . . .

so, people here on the net tend to feel, why bother seeing how far
you can push the definition of "residence"? Just wait a little
longer before turning in your application.

Now, if you do have something very solid to show that CIC really
is accepting time spent on short foreign trips as residence time
nowadays, by all means please let us know.

Rich Wales http://www.richw.org
*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.

Ron Beirnes

The question of residence has been debated over this newsgroup for a long
time and people still do not have it right. You can apply for citizenship
the day you have 1095 days permanent residency, you do not have to be
physically present in Canada, that is not the law. The issue is how long
your were out and the department will, in cases of absences for lengthy
periods of the 1095 day period, ask you to complete the 'detailed
questionnaire' and then you will be requested to appear before a citizenship
judge. Even that is not an absolute in that in 1 case and 1 case only, the
department reviewed the material and then scheduled the party for her
citizenship hearing. In the vast majority of cases with lengthy absences in
the 1095 day period, the party will have to appear before a judge who
determines where in fact your centralized mode of living is. However, do not
get carried away with some of the information that you must/must have 1095
days physically in Canada, we have had numerous cases approved with absences
of 3-6 months, for various reasons and had citizenship approved, as well, we
have had cases where people were out from 4-6 months where citizenship was
refused as the detailed questionnaire did not support the premise that their
centralized mode of living was in Canada. Remaining 1095 days physically in
Canada is a positive way of meeting residency requirements to get your
citizenship however it is not by any means mandatory, it is a risk and each
individual has to determine if they want to apply early or wait the entire
1095 day period.

Andrew Miller

Just to add to Ron's comment - there are substantial delays in the process
as a result of need for request for more info and of course due to interview
with judge. Thus applying too soon usually results in greater loss of time
(citizenship granted later) than it could be if applicant would have waited
and accumulated missing months before applying. There are only few
circumstances when applying without full accumulation of 1,095 days in
Canada may be justified - in most circumstances it is not a good idea.

Http://Www.Iamnotamerican.Com

in a recent article, Ron Beirnes () said:

    > You can apply for citizenship
    > the day you have 1095 days permanent residency, you do not have to be
    > physically present in Canada, that is not the law. The issue is how long
    > your were out and the department will, in cases of absences for lengthy
    > periods of the 1095 day period, ask you to complete the 'detailed
    > questionnaire' and then you will be requested to appear before a citizenship
    > judge.

...and if you apply before 1095 days of PHYSICAL residency, your
application will most likely face delays longer than if you had just waited
until you DID acquire 1095 days of physical residency, as well as additional
stress and possible expenses.

Makes more sense to just wait until you have the right number of days.

Andrew Miller

P.S.

Simply don't apply too soon just because you want to do it. Only if it is
absolutely impossible to accumulate 1,095 days of presence in Canada within
4 years for reasons other than convenience and applicant's life is fully
centralized in Canada (primary residence and family here) and has been as
such for at least past 3 years then application without 1,095 days may be
justified, but not without asking at least for professional assessment, if
not for full assistance. It should not be a DIY case.

piendipagmami

great post man.