Question:
I am a Permanent Resident applying
for citizenship in about a week's
time. I became eligible on sept
1, but waiting 2 months to cover
for my external trips. Here is my
question : 1. Applying for a canadian
passport. The application states
that one needs a guarantor to certify
one's identity. I am not sure how
I can get one. I do not know any
judges, policemen, magistrates,..the
list seems rather ludicrous. How
can a new immigrant know these people?
can someone else share their experiences?
2. How long does the application
process take? can anyone share experiences
at the Vancouver office?
Answer:
You are applying for citizenship,
so you still have about a year before
you get one and may apply for Canadian
passport. And a list of acceptable
guarantors is pretty easy for someone
who is living in Canada for period
long enough to be eligible for citizenship.
Among those are dentists and physicians,
school principals, etc. - don't
tell me that you haven't seen a
doctor or dentist all that time.
You are not
a new immigrant. It is not only
judges, magistrates etc. that can
guarantee your application. You
can also ask your doctor, or dentist,
or accountant ,and there are others.
Keep in mind that you can't apply
for a Canadian passport until you
have been sworn in as a Canadian
citizen. If you are just preparing
to send in your citizenship application
now, you still have at least 8-12
months to wait before you can apply
for your passport. As far as the
guarantorsif you haven't acquainted
yourself with someone on that list
in three years, you must lead a
very sheltered life.
Here are the
people in the Vancouver area that
have known me now for at least two
years who can be a guarantor for
my passport application (I have
lived here for three years): the
veterinarian that looks after my
dog, the postmaster that gives me
my parcels shipped to the local
post office, my neighbour who is
a professional engineer, my optometrist,
my dentist, the CPA that prepares
my taxes, the notary that updated
my will when I moved to BC, the
lawyer that completed the papers
for the purchase of my home here.
You've got
almost another year before you need
to worry about finding someone to
sign your application. Use that
time to start integrating into Canadian
life and you will meet these types
of people, too. If all else fails,
an applicant for a Canadian passport
can use a special form called a
"Statutory Declaration in Lieu of
Guarantor" instead of having an
eligible guarantor vouch for them.
Basically, this involves having
you (the applicant) fill out the
form and having it notarized.
You need
to list some references -- people
who have known you for some time
(but they don't need to be on the
list of guarantor-eligible occupations).
And the verbiage that needs to be
written on the back of one of your
two photos is different (ask the
photo shop to please stamp the photos
with ONLY their name, address, and
date, and OMIT the "I certify this
to be a true likeness of", since
that's not needed if you use a Statutory
Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor).
