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.
I sent in my citizenship application in April of 2002 (Vancouver area) and
just took my citizenship test in Surrey last week. They told me it would be
at least another 2 months before the swearing-in ceremony takes place.
As far as the guarantors -- if 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).
In any case, though, if the original poster is just getting ready
to apply for Canadian citizenship, it'll be several months to a
year before he'll be eligible to apply for a Canadian passport.
You can NOT apply for a passport at the same time you apply for
citizenship; you MUST wait until AFTER you've been sworn in.
I used a Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor in 1994 to get
a passport for our son, who was born in Canada a few months after
we immigrated (meaning we hadn't been there long enough to have
known any eligible guarantor for two years). When my wife and
I became citizens and applied for our own Canadian passports, a
co-worker of mine who was a P.Eng. was able to be our guarantor.
I needed to get a ballpark timeframe - 8-12
months seems a bit long though. I have a few colleagues at work who
got their citizenship witin 4-6 months of applying
(application-citizenship card) .Maybe they are exceptions?
My problem is that I have been moving around different places - first
for styudying and then mostly for jobs (or rather the lack of it). I
landed in Toronto and lived in Montreal, Winnipeg and now Vancouver.
Sure I have a doctor, but have lived here for less than a year (8
months now). Which is what my concern was.
Maybe he moves around? I had a get a Stat Dec signed by a notary because
I didn't know anyone in the Fraser Valley when I moved here in January.
It happens.
I am a PR landed in October 2000, I just applied for my daughter who was
born in June 2002. As far as the guantor went, since I have not been here
for 2 years, I had it signed by a comissioner of oath. It cost me 15$ at
city hall in Ottawa. They just used my drivers license as ID and had me
sign. Also, I learned in the process that my MPP was also able to sign as a
comissioner of oath as well.
Can you please tell me how many weeks before the test you got the notice to
appear for the test?
I dunno. Mine took a year and a half, while at the same a colleague of
mine applied and got his in 4 months. This was in 2000. More recently,
some friends of mine applied mid 2001 and got it early 2002 (about 8
months).
