How long one should wait before applying for citizenship?
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Posted on: 07-07-04 12:39:34
Smiley
We had around 12k in savings when we moved to Canada. We lived with my wife brother for last 3 years, my wife doing the baby sitting and I tried to find some thing while working part time on odd jobs.for 8 months I tutor Indian childern for 6 hours 3 days a week and their parents paid me $290 a month...can you beleive that? I got my MS from IIT Kanpur. We get money from my parents also on once in a while . That’s how we end up paying $345 rental every month and for other expenses. But can’t live like this anymore. I don’t care about citizenship anymore .I only care about job and having a decent life. You probably don’t know what financial stress can do to a human being and to his self-confidence. It’s not a pretty picture.
Why would CIC even ask me how did I support myself? I have been living here for more than 3 years and that’s all they need, At-least that’s what I thought.
Please correct me if I am wrong
Hi Ottawa
Sorry if I my question may have caused any inconvenience , But I only asked as you had not filed your taxes for the last 2 years and CIC may generally go in detail in cases which are off normal or do not have a clear residency proof.
My suggestion
Please file your taxes for the last 2 years and also make sure all your residency proofs are in order . This will avoid extra delay in your citizenship application.
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We will find a way or we will make one
to reiterate what smiley said...
im sorry about the condition you are in... but again you have to understand, its not cic's job to prove you were not in canada for the duration, its your responsibility to prove that you were here...
as for tax returns, its *always* a good idea to file tax returns even if your income is zero, not just from point of view of citizenship requirements but in a general sense... rule of thumb... *always* file tax returns...
as for additional info or passport, you may be asked to provide copies of passport or even show the actual passport itself.. they look through and check exit/reentry stamps to see if you have left the country...
as for not having tax returns for last two years, then as i said before, that by itself will not either prove or disprove having met residency requirement... im sure you will have other proof like bank statements showing regular deposits/withdrawals, utility bills and the sort...
bottom line is, its you who wants citizenship... cic is not desperate to give it to you, so its your resoponsibility to prove to them that you meet the requirement... they dont have to prove you didnt meet it...
most cases go through pretty smoothly, but occasionally cic gets a bug crawling up their rear end and pick a few files to check very very thoroughly... luck of the draw...
hope your plans work out to your advantage and satisfaction...
Thanks for your suggestions and replies guys. It is good of you to help others. The thing I like to stay here and complete the process but I need to get a job and the only offers I seems to get is from Boston.
Anyway my question is:
Can I pay taxes for 2003 and 2002 now? If yes, do I have to pay and penalty? My income would be zero in those years.
I had Ontario Driving license for last 3 years. Would that be good proof of residency?
Would you consider my case off-normal? Although I am still in Canada and have not let the country yet. What would be off-normal case according to your judgment?
Quote:
Orginally posted by Ottawa
Thanks for your suggestions and replies guys. It is good of you to help others. The thing I like to stay here and complete the process but I need to get a job and the only offers I seems to get is from Boston.
Anyway my question is:
Can I pay taxes for 2003 and 2002 now? If yes, do I have to pay and penalty? My income would be zero in those years.
not sure about the penalty because your income would be zero but im pretty sure there wont be any... call the CRA to be sure... if its not zero then generally you pay a penalty for late filing...
Quote:
I had Ontario Driving license for last 3 years. Would that be good proof of residency?
just having a license is not proof of residency.. as i said before, its a combination of things.. what you essentially have to show (if you are asked to prove it that is) is that you were here in canada during the time you say you were here... again, its not cic who has to prove you were not here... most commonly used things to prove residency is rental lease or mortgage, utility bills, bank statements, tax returns, pay stub, passport etc... its a very objective thing...
Quote:
Would you consider my case off-normal? Although I am still in Canada and have not let the country yet. What would be off-normal case according to your judgment?
again, it dosnt have to be abnormal... you could just plain be unlucky and your application could be selected for quality assurance... but essentially any case that would pop out a red flag for being unusual would definately be looked into further... in my personal opinion, not having a job for the last two years dosnt seem abnormal... out of the ordinary, but definately not abnormal...
i say out of the ordinary because its very difficult to comprehend someone who himself or his spouse do not work are able to survive for two years with no income... personally from my experience... savings usually run out in 6 months and even if you claim that your parents/siblings supported you by sending money from overseas then for a family of two you would need atleast $1000 per month which works out to about Rs 35000 or Rs 8,40,000 over two years... and thats with just the basics...
please try to remember that im not saying you did something else besides what you claim... what im saying is what anyone else would say...
Bighead is correct !
The penalty for late filing is generally between 40 -100$ and in your case there will be no interest as you did not have income . You will probably need to show that u were working for a year in canada as you said and if you went for EI after that (you should have ) and lease agreement of your place /(receipts for rent you paid to your relatives ) and they should have shown the rental income in their tax returns etc . Also will be the OHIP insurance , DL , Car insurance (if you have ) , library cards , Bank transactions (number of debits , credits ) etc . The receipts for the tuition charges that you taught children and you should have collected tax on it as "teaching" is a paid service and also a taxable one etc. , Utility bills , cell phone etc.
Hope this helps
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We will find a way or we will make one
Bighead
I understand your point. I will show them my passport and anything else they want.
Its good that CIC check throughly. Its benefit us all as only who are living in Canada should enjoy the benefit of citzenship. We all need to make sure that our citzenship means something in the world rather than a document that can be received by anyone.
Still I am gonna go haed and join my new job in Boston but I call CIC today and let them know that I am moving.
Thanks for your comments.
