Actually, asawa ko ang talagang atat na mag-apply ako (siguro kasi mae-expire na rin ang Permanent Resident Card ko ng January 2019). In fact, siya lahat ang gumawa ng paperworks. Kaya wala akong alam kung may tanong kayo about sa filling up ng application form kasi talagang pinaubaya ko na kay hubby. Ewan ko ba, tamad na tamad talaga ako. All I did was sign.
At syempre, ipasa ang language requirement.
College graduate naman ako Pinas at kung tutuusin, pwede namang isubmit ang diploma at transcript of record (TOR) as language proof pero naisip namin na hassle pa at magtatagal. First, kailangang kumuha pa ng TOR at certification sa Pinas at is-ship so talagang it will take time. Pwede rin iyong i-reject ng Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) kung hindi sila satisfied.
Second, medyo worried nga kasi ako sa documents ko. You see, graduate ako ng University of the Philippines Diliman. Modesty aside, alam naman natin na number 1 university yan sa Pinas. Ang problema lang, yung mismong diploma namin ay nakasulat sa Filipino. O di ba, kailangan pa ng translation? Parang alanganin na. Kaya naisip namin things will be easier if I will take CELPIP-General LS Test na lang. CELPIP stands for The Canadian Language Proficiency Index Program. For the purpose of applying for citizenship, you just need to take and pass the Listening and Speaking Tests.
Here's how much we paid for the test and the online reviewer. Medyo pricey noh?
I had 8 days to review at sobrang na-stress ako haha. There was a part of me that's rebelling, sabi ko I've been speaking English since I was a child at nakapagsulat na ako ng sangkatutak na term papers in English tapos ngayon kailangaan kong patunayan sa kanila sa nakakaintindi at nakakasalita ako ng Ingles. Based sa mga nabasa ko, sobrang nakaka-pressure daw talaga ang Speaking part kasi nga you'll be talking to the computer. Parang napaka-unnatural. Oh well, wala naman nga akong choice but to comply.
I took the test on December 9, 2017 and I was confident naman na papasa ako. Sixteen yata kaming takers noon and I was the first one to finish. Ang awkward lang kasi tabi-tabi kaming nag-test kaya nagkakarinigan talaga.
I was able to view the results online after just a few days. And as expected, I did well on the listening part and not-so-well on the speaking haha! Kaya panay kantyaw ang asawa ko, parang di raw ako UP graduate. Kahit ako natawa sa sarili ko, pero kasi naman nga napaka-unnatural nung set-up (ang hirap ipaliwanag). Basta wala na akong paki, ang importante eh pumasa ako at masa-submit na namin yung application.
A few more days and I received na rin this letter that contains the CELPIP Official Score Report. Ito ang iaattach sa canadian citizenship application form.
And so we thought ok na. Ime-mail na sana namin ang application when my husband realized na may namiss-out siya. Kailangan ko pala ng NBI clearance from the Philppines kasi nga twice na umuwi ako doon for several months. Sakto naman na pauwi uli ako ng Pinas on January 9, 2018 kaya makakakuha ako at maime-mail back ko kay Ford. Basta I signed na my application na dated kung kailan nasa Canada pa ako.
Buti na lang may NBI Office sa amin sa Marilao so I was able to apply agad for a clearance on January 11, 2018. After a week (January 18), lumabas na at naipadala ko na kay Ford via registered mail.
My husband got hysterical when he learned na via registered mail ko lang pinadala at hindi EMS. Eh kasi naman sobrang mahal nun, Php1,500 (3-10 days daw) as compared to postal na Php125 lang (15 days). Nanghinayang talaga ako. I truly prayed na dumating sana kako or else yari talaga ako sa asawa ko.
Whew, dumating naman nga! At wala pang 15 days ha. Ford received it on January 30 (Canadian time), went online to pay the $630-application fee, and mailed it the following day.
So eto na nga ang timeline:
January 31, 2018 -- mailed the application
March 6, 2018 -- got an acknowledgment receipt of application
July 5, 2018 -- received a notice of invitation to Canadian Citizenship test
July 18, 2018 -- took the Canadian Citizenship test
December 27, 2018 -- received an invitation for Canadian Citizenship ceremony
January 16, 2019 -- attended the Canadian Citizenship oath-taking
All in all, it took almost a year for the whole citizenship application process to commence and finish. I honestly thought it'll be less than a year because I was told in July, when I passed the citizenship test (which I perfected, by the way), that I just had to wait for 2 to 3 months to receive the invitation for oath-taking. But in my case, December ko na na-receive (more than 4 months).
I wondered why and I read somewhere na minsan daw maaga lang nila pinapa-take ng exam ang applicants kasi may open na slots for the test. Tapos syempre medyo magtatagal ang invitation kasi marami pang pending syempre. It actually makes sense kasi nga ang aga nila akong pinag-exam eh.
Hay, I can't believe until now that this is over and that I am finally a Canadian citizen. I am just happily waiting for my passport now. Sana dumating na bukas. =)
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