Canadian Citizenship Application Residence Questionnaire

A residence questionnaire is a document which is sometimes sent out by CIC to permanent residents who have applied for a PR Card or Canadian Citizenship. This page deals with the questionnaire mailed to Canadian Citizenship applicants. It is sent to applicants both randomly and when more information is required to process the application. If you have received the questionnaire it does not necessarily mean your application is in doubt.

You must answer all parts of the questionnaire honestly to the best of your knowledge. You may also sign the consent form to allow Canada Border Services Agency to share your personal information with CIC to verify your entries to Canada in relation to the residence requirement. You must provide proof of your statements by attaching copies of additional documentation that verifies your residence, education, work, and other ties to Canada during the period preceding your application for Canadian citizenship. You must then return the questionnaire and supporting documentation to CIC.

For the questionnaire, you are only required to provide information for the last four years, you do not have to provide information since you landed in Canada, if you landed more than four years ago unless you are specifically advised to do so.

Your questionnaire should have contained a cover letter which indicated the CIC office where you are to return it. If you no longer have this piece of paper, you should contact CIC to determine which office you should send the package to.

Yes, you can contact a representative, such as Immigroup, to help you complete the questionnaire. Immigroup offers both a strict review of your questionnaire and a full service, which includes advice on the supporting documents to be submitted with your questionnaire, organization of your documents, a full review of the package, and composition of a cover letter to go with the questionnaire.

No, once your citizenship application fees are paid in full, you do not need to pay any additional application fees to CIC. However, if you hire someone to assist you with the residence questionnaire such as Immigroup, you will have to pay service fees for their assistance.
If Immigroup has assisted with your Right of Canadian Citizenship application, service regarding a residence questionnaire is not included and you must contact Immigroup for additional assistance with the residence questionnaire.

Yes, you can withdraw any application with CIC at any time. You can do this by contacting CIC or with Immigroup’s assistance. You can reapply immediately once your application has been withrawn.

You can be requested to complete the questionnaire at any time during the application process. It may be

• Mailed to you before your test
• Given to you as you leave your test
• Mailed to you after you have completed your test and before you are invited to attend the ceremony
• Mailed to you because you failed to attend any appointment scheduled with CIC during your application process such as a citizenship test or document verification.

Yes, you can renew your PR Card at any time during the application process for the Right of Canadian citizenship. As long as you fulfil the residence requirement necessary to apply for Canadian citizenship, you will automatically meet the residence requirement to apply for a PR card.

At the very least, your application will be delayed 6 months to one year, even if you return the questionnaire immediately. It is likely it could delay your application up to two years. If you do not return the questionnaire, your application will be abandoned.

If you have any stamps in your passport that are not in English or French, they must be translated, by a certified Canadian translator only. You must submit colour photocopies of these stamps with the questionnaire.

They must be translated by a certified translator and accompanied by a translator’s declaration (the translator will provide the declaration). See your provincial association below for a directory of certified translators. Immigroup deals with certified translators everyday and can arrange this for you at an addition cost.

• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta
• Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia
• Association of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of Manitoba
• Corporation of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of New Brunswick
• Newfoundland does not have a Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council member association
• The Interpreters / Translators Society of Northwest Territories does not have a website
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Nova Scotia
• Nunavut Interpreter / Translator Society (No directory)
• Association of Translators and Interpreters on Ontario
• Ordre des traducers, terminologues et interpretes agrees du Quebec (No directory)
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Saskatchewan
• The Society of Interpreters and Translators of Yukon does not have a website

If you have applied for Canadian citizenship, you have received the citizenship questionnaire.
If you have applied for a new PR Card, you have received the PR Card questionnaire.

If you have applied for a new PR Card while your citizenship application is in process and you are unsure, you can check the cover letter enclosed with the questionnaire. The cover letter for the citizenship questionnaire should contain something like the following statement: “In order to assist the citizenship judge in determining whether you meet the residence requirements under paragraph 5(1)c) of the Citizenship Act, please complete this questionnaire in detail.”

Yes. CIC may still ask for you to provide

• Your fingerprints
• Your original IDs, in person, at a CIC office
• More information regarding your statements or supporting documentation in your application or residence questionnaire

before they continue processing your application.

Yes, if you would like us to assist you with the additional information you may need to provide after submitting your questionnaire, you should contact us for a consultation.

You cannot use the normal CIC online status check to do this, so you should submit your residence questionnaire using a shipping method which offers tracking to confirm delivery. If you have submitted your residence questionnaire via regular mail, you will have to call the call centre at 1-888-242 2100 to find out if they received it.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada reviews every case individually by its merits. However, some countries are more associated with misrepresentation than others. It may be the case that nationals of countries associated with frequent incidents of immigration fraud are more often subject to residence questionnaires, fingerprinting, and other additional steps than other nationals. The government of Canada is tacitlyl acknowledging this possibility by introducing a fingerpriting program for visitors from certain countries in 2013.

No, the questionnaire will delay your application by 6 to 24 months.

Any applicant for the Right of Canadian citizenship may be asked to provide fingerprints. However, receipt of the residence questionnaire does not necessarily entail additional background checks.

It is not possible to predict if CIC will request that you appear for a document review interview because you have received a residence questionnaire; any applicant can be asked to appear at a CIC local office in conjunction with their application for Canadian citizenship.

A record of movement is a document issued by the customs / border agency of every country which shows the various entries (and sometimes exits) to and from that country. You may apply for this document with the government of any country, but it is not possible to apply to a central agency to show all of your entries and exits for every country – each Record of Movement must be applied for individually.
In Canada, it is only possible to get a Record of Movement showing your entries into Canada. It is not possible to have a report issued of your exits from Canada, as Canada does not issue exit visas and anyone can freely leave Canada at any time. If you are not sure how to obtain a Record of Movement from Canada, Immigroup can help you with this.

The normal process of checking your application is online on Cic's website. However, you cannot check the receipt of your questionnaire online. This will only allow you to check the status of your citizenship application as a whole.
You must have the following information to check the status of your application online:

• The applicant’s date of birth
• The applicant’s country of birth
• The applicant’s last name
• ONE of the following:
  • Applicant’s client ID number
  • Applicant’s Record of Landing or Confirmation of Permanent Residence number
  • Applicant’s IMM5401 receipt of payment number for the receipt submitted with the application
  • Applicant’s Immigration File number
  • Applicant’s Permanent Resident Card number
  • Applicant’s Citizenship Receipt number
  • Applicant’s Citizenship File number

Without this information you will not be able to check the status of your application. If you are missing the required documentation and / or you would like assistance with this process please contact us at Immigroup at 1-866-760-2623.

Immigroup can help you complete the questionnaire and advise which documents you need to support your answers to the questionnaire.
If you are having trouble answering all the questions, you should make a timeline for yourself over the last four years before the submission of your application.
If you are having trouble finding the appropriate documentation, contact Immigroup to schedule a consultation so that we can help you determine where you can get the supporting documentation you need.

If you did not include all trips outside Canada on your original Canadian citizenship application, you must disclose them on the residence questionnaire. If you were actually outside Canada more than 365 days out of the 4 years before you submitted the application, then you did not meet the residence requirement to apply for Canadian citizenship and your application will be refused. In this case, rather than submitting the residence questionnaire with this information, it is better to withdraw the current application and reapply when you meet the residence requirement – CIC will find out that you were dishonest on the original application which could have very serious consequences including losing permanent resident status.

If you misrepresented yourself in regards to meeting the residence requirement, you can use the questionnaire to correct the earlier mistakes. However, if you misrepresented yourself in some other way, your application may be rejected and you may lose your status in Canada.

If you no longer have your passport which you used to exit and enter Canada over the last four years, you need to contact the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) for a record of movement, which will show your entries into Canada. The absence of this passport could have negative effects on your application for Canadian citizenship because you will be unable to show the times you left Canada. Immigroup can help you with obtaining a Record of Movement from CBSA.

CIC needs to establish that you meet the residence requirement for citizenship applicants. In order to do so, they need to see when, how often, and for how long you left Canada.

You need to provide colour copies so CIC can see the details of your passport more clearly. Additionally, sometimes the colour of certain stamps imply details about the circumstances of the entry / exit indicated.

In order to establish that you have been living in Canada for the past 4 years, you need to prove your residence in Canada. You can do this through copies of lease or mortgage documents, and other documentation that shows you have lived in Canada.

Proof of family presence includes documents you could submit to further substantiate your presence in Canada, including proof that you got married or divorced in Canada, or proof your children were born in Canada.

Education ties constitute proof you – or your spouse, or your kids – attended school in Canada.

This amounts to proof that you work in Canada. Your notice of assessment from Canada’s Revenue Agency is the best proof of this, but T4s and other proof of employment will also help support your case.

A Notice of Assessment is the document that Canada’s Revenue Agency mails to you after you have submitted your tax return for the year.

If you do not own property or a business in Canada, you do not have to provide information for this part of the questionnaire.

If you cannot establish your residence in Canada for 1095 days out of the 4 years prior to your citizenship application submission through proof of residence, proof of family presence, proof of education, proof of employment or proof of property ownership, then you may be able to establish that you were here through your medical records, which will confirm your presence in Canada. CIC is only interested in seeing when you (or your children) received medical care and not what medical care you received.
If you do not have this proof either, you can contact us to see what else you can use to proof you meet the residence requirement.

Contact us for a consultation.

In order for CIC to verify that you have returned to Canada when you said you did, they must get permission from you to access your personal information in the CBSA system. This is why you have to sign the Consent Declaration. If you do not sign it, CIC will not be able to verify your information and may reject your application. They may also advise you to provide this document by contacting CBSA on your own.

The final notice letter has a specific format:

“Date Applicant name Applicant address

Dear Applicant:

In order to continue processing your application for Canadian citizenship, we require sufficient documentary evidence of your residence in Canada. The requirement to provide sufficient evidence regarding your residence in Canada can be found in paragraph 3(4)(d) of the Citizenship Regulations.

In order for this requirement to be satisfied, we require a completed residence questionnaire and supporting documentation. You were first sent a notice requesting this information on DATE (if requested in person: You were advised in person on DATE to provide this information). To date, we have not received the completed residence questionnaire or supporting documentation.

This is a final notice requesting you to provide a completed residence questionnaire and supporting documents. Please submit this information within 30 days from the date of this letter.

Pursuant to section 11(9) of the Citizenship Regulations, if we do not receive the completed residence questionnaire and supporting documentation by DATE (30 days after date of the letter), your application will be declared abandoned, your file will be closed and no other action will be taken on your file.

Once your file has been closed, if you are still interested in becoming a Canadian citizen, you will need to submit a new application with new documents and fees.

Yours sincerely,”

• We have helped thousands of clients with citizenship matters. This gives us the experience that you can utilize.
• We make sure that we submit the best possible application for every single client.
• We have been in business since 2004.
• Our staff members have years of experience in the immigration field.
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Expect an honest opinion; we will advise you if applying is not in your best interest. Click here to see our firm’s application statistics.
• We go out on a limb to give you the highest level of service.
• We don’t take short cuts - we are perfectionists!

No application has a guaranteed successful outcome whether you submit it yourself, use our company, or hire the most expensive lawyer in Canada. However, the great thing about Immigroup is that you can see statistics of the success rate of our past applications. If your certificate does not come in the time frame, we will refund the difference between urgent and regular service. Click here for detailed statistics

Immigroup has the highest standards in hiring and training. Mistakes that effect the processing time of your application are extremely rare. However, if Immigroup makes a mistake on your application which causes a delay in processing, we will take full responsibility and process a refund appropriate to the situation. Click here to see statistics on these incidents and our terms of reimbursement to you.

Lots of people do not know what they need to submit with the questionnaire and wish to have help with it. When you use Immigroup, you gain these advantages over people who do it themselves:

• You can be completely sure that the best possible questionnaire was submitted. This means that there will be no mistakes, errors, or omissions which could cause additional delays or refusals of an application.
• This also means that Immigroup will offer you the most ethical and sound advice regarding your situation. We will tell you if something in your questionnaire works against you or could cause problems in the future.
• Immigroup has years of experience which can be leveraged in your favour to know what works and what doesn’t in the questionnaire.
• Immigroup offers 20% off our service fee for every additional application.
• Immigroup offers 20% off our service fee for returning clients.

We are committed to helping everyone with their immigration needs. This is why www.immigroup.com offers free tools and information to answer all types of immigration questions. Immigroup does charge a fee for all services, but we are always looking for feedback on how we can further help our community. Our email address is info@immigroup.com

You can easily search our database of FAQs. However, if you still can’t find the answer to your question, email us your question and you will receive a response within 2 business days. Depending on the complexity of your question, you may be advised to schedule a consultation with one of our immigration practitioners to ensure that you receive the best advice. The cost for a consultation is $84.75 (tax included) which is up to 30 minutes; however, if you retain Immigroup for a full service after the consultation, this fee well be deducted from the cost of the service. Consultations are available in person at our Toronto office or by phone. (Other options are available for hearing-impaired persons.) Call us at 1-866-760-2623 or email at info@immigroup.com to schedule your consultation.Click here for more information.

Only general information is available when you call our office. If you are still unsure how you should proceed, contact us to schedule a consultation to discuss the details of your specific case. Click here for more info.

Checking the status of your certificate application is simple. You can check the status using one of two methods:
1. By phone
Contact our office during business hours and state you are a citizenship client that needs a status check on your application. We will confirm your contact information and then contact you within one business day to advise of the status of your application.
2. By email
Email us at info@immigoup.com and advise us that you are a current client and you would like to check the status of your application. Your message should contain following:

• applicant’s first and last name,
• type of service: the subject should be right of citizenship status check

We do our best to keep things affordable, but unfortunately we are unable to offer any discounts in addition to the ones above.

Immigroup is an industry leader in right of citizenship application processing and assistance. In addition to residence questionnaires, we also have years of experience processing much more complicated applications. You can rest assured you are in good hands. If we feel something is out of our understanding the agent will let you know.

No, but we have 8 years of experience dealing with citizenship applications. We are aware of changes in the application procedure as they happen, and we know what CIC will accept and what they won’t, which is sometimes not exactly what is listed on their website. Please see our case knowledge in the citizenship area:

• Name change or date of birth issues More Info
• Lack of sufficient supporting documents to complete the residence questionnaire More Info
• Your application has been returned to you be the processing centre More Info
• You need to check the status of your citizenship application More Info
• CIC has requested that you provide additional information More Info
• You need to search CIC’s citizenship records More Info

Yes, you may pay a minimum deposit of 50% of the amount due to start your case. The balance must be paid in full before the application can be submitted.

Your fees must be paid in full before your application is submitted to CIC.

You may call our office between 8:00am and 6:00pm Eastern Time, or you may come in person between 9:30am and 4:15pm. You may drop your documents at the Toronto office 24 hours a day in our drop box. You may also leave a voicemail at 1-866-760-2623 or send an email 24 hours a day at info@immigroup.com and you will receive a response within one business day. To meet with an immigration practitioner outside of these hours, please contact us during business hours to schedule an appointment at a time convenient to you.

We strive to maintain accurate and up to date information on our website by getting up to the minute news from CIC and other government agencies. However, you should always confirm information before acting on it to ensure its accuracy.

Great, we really would love to hear from you and what happened. By sending us your experience you are helping others in the future. We post all information that will be valued by future visitors.

Send us an email or enter your question in the box below and we will get back to you within one business day.

Canadian Citizenship is a nationality and a right acquired by being born in Canada, by being born to Canadian parents overseas, or being naturalized (taking the oath of citizenship). A Canadian citizen can vote in Canadian elections, run for office in Canada, work and study and Canada, serve in the Canadian military, and receive government benefits, among other rights and privileges. Canadian Citizens are allowed to travel on Canadian Passports. As a Canadian citizen, you will be eligible for jury duty and you are required by law to participate.

Originally, Canadian citizenship was similar to British citizenship since all Canadians were subjects of the British Crown. At Confederation, the Canadian Parliament was given control over citizenship and immigration. In 1910, the first mention of “Canadian Citizen” appears in law. Canadian Citizens were born in Canada, naturalized in Canada, or even British who moved to Canada. But this only meant that these people didn’t have to undergo immigration controls. In 1914, it became slightly harder to naturalize in Canada: the residency requirement changing from three to five years. In 1921, the notion of Canadian Nationality (and hence citizenship) was finally put into law as a separate thing from British nationality.
In 1931 Canada finally gained full legislative independence from Britain but retained various rules about citizenship inherited from Britain. This continued until the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1946. If you were a British subject living in Canada at this time, you most likely became a Canadian citizen. This also applies to British Subjects living in Newfoundland when Newfoundland joined Canada three years later in 1949.
The biggest change in Canadian citizenship regulations occurred in 1977. These new rules legalized dual citizenship in Canada and also made it official that anyone born in Canada after 1947 was automatically a Canadian citizen (unless they were the child of a foreign diplomat). This is proved through the issuance of a birth certificate. The other thing the new rules did was make Canadians out of children born to Canadian citizens overseas, for the firs time. Additionally, if you were the son or daughter of the son or daughter of a Canadian born overseas (i.e. second generation) you could still claim your citizenship if you applied to do so before your 28th birthday.
In 2009 this last rule changed. Citizenship by descent (outside of Canada) now only applies to the first generation but there is no need to apply or register your status. For those second generation children born after April 17, 2009, who are now not Canadian citizens (even if they have siblings born before April 17, who are Canadian citizens), these children can become Canadian Citizens if they first become Permanent Residents. They do not need to wait the usual three years to apply for citizenship.
These new changes also affected adoption. Foreigners adopted by Canadian Citizens in Canada now become Canadian Citizens at the time of the adoption.

When a person is naturalized, this means that they have become a citizen of a country other than the country of their birth through an application process. A person who is naturalized does not acquire citizenship through birth or through descent from a parent.

You can become a citizen of Canada through naturalization if you are over 18 and you are a permanent resident

• you have lived in Canada for a total of 1095 days during the four years preceding your application for citizenship, including two years as a permanent resident
• have knowledge of Canada (as demonstrated by taking a test, which is required as part of the application process, but only if the applicant is between 18 and 54 years of age)
• are not a subject to any criminal prohibitions
• you are not a war criminal
• you are able to demonstrate adequate knowledge of English or French

If you are a child, there are fewer requirements:

• you should be a permanent resident
• your parent should be a Canadian citizen or in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship

If you are 14 or over you must attend a citizenship ceremony as the final stage of the application.

In 1977, the new rules made it impossible to give up your citizenship without officially renouncing it. However, new laws mean you could lose your citizenship if you are convicted for fraud regarding your immigration admission or your citizenship application.
You could have lost your citizenship before 1977 if you

• were naturalized in another (dual citizenship wasn’t legal in Canada)
• lived outside of Canada for a prolonged period of time
• if your parent lost their citizenship while you were a child

In 2007 efforts were made to help those who had lost their citizenship prior to 1977. Under the new citizenship rules of 2009, it was possible to regain your Canadian citizenship if you could claim it by descent and if you had not already.

A person is stateless if they do not hold citizenship in any country.

Proof of Citizenship in Canada can be in the form of a birth certificate showing you were born in Canada or a Citizenship Certificate showing that you are a Canadian Citizen. A passport is not always viewed as proof of Canadian Citizenship within Canada.

This paper document is literally the record of your landing in Canada as an immigrant. Any person who ever became a permanent resident of Canada has been given this document when they first arrived in Canada as an immigrant.

1. Records of your absences from Canada
   • Colour copies of your Passport’s ID page and visa, entry and exit stamps (with certified translations of the stamps if applicable). Black and white copies are not acceptable.
   • Records of movement or travel records from any country where you hold a passport
2. Proof of residence
   • Rental / lease agreements and / or title / mortgage documents
   • Property tax assessments (if applicable)
   • Municipal school tax documents (if applicable)
   • Residential / Auto / Tenant insurance policies
   • Marriage / Divorce certificate (if applicable)
   • Birth Certificates of your children (if applicable)
3. Proof of Education (if applicable)
   • Your transcript(s) and / or
   • Your spouse’s transcript(s) and / or
   • Your childrens’ report cards, transcripts, progress reports, diplomas, and / or degrees
4. Proof of employment
   • Notice of Assessment
   • T4
   • T5
   • Bank / Credit Card statements
5. Proof of property / business (if applicable)
   • Corporate income tax documents
   • Incorporation / registration documents
   • Contracts, invoices and business bank account statements
   • Letters from suppliers and clients
   • Logbooks
   • Advertising contracts
6. Other proof of ties to Canada
   • Health records with date of services received
   • Immunization records