The Citizenship Knowledge Test – Guidelines for Re-testing and Communicating Results Under the Canada Citizenship Act

/ / Published in 2014

The Citizenship Knowledge Test – Guidelines for Re-testing and Communicating Results Under the Canada Citizenship Act 

Operational Bulletin 530-B – January 16, 2014

Summary

This Bulletin replaces OB 244-B concerning there-testing policy. It also provides instructions for:

  • Re-testing applicants who:

    • Failed the written knowledge test as of September 3, 2013

    • Are in the hearing inventory queue after failing:

      • Only the knowledge test or,

      • The knowledge test along with any other criteria

  • Advising applicants of:

    • Written test results

    • Notification of file splitting and,

    • The option of withdrawing citizenship applications

Background

The publication of the new study guide Discover Canada, resulted in the implementation of a new citizenship test. To soften the impact of the new test, local offices offered re-testing services to citizenship applicants from March 2010 to February 2011, on an interim basis.

Issue

The hearing inventory mainly comprises applicants who have failed the knowledge test. Introducing the measures of re-testing, result communication and file splitting (OB 529-A) would help in:

  • Reducing the hearing inventory

  • Improving processing times and,

  • Increasing decision-ready cases

Procedure/Re-testing Policy

Segregating first-time testers from those taking a re-test would enhance the accuracy of test performance reports. Therefore, local offices would schedule and hold re-testing sessions as separate events.

Local offices can prescribe tests and re-tests for applicants if the applicants:

  • Are clearly prohibited

  • Have not met the basic residence requirements owing to:

    • Insufficient permanent resident time or,

    • Section 21 (where the applicant is a paroled inmate or has been in jail or under a probation order)

  • Face an enforceable removal order

  • Are permanent residents no longer

  • Have not provided court documents and/or their fingerprints

  • Have been in Canada for 900 days or less

Exceptions to Testing/Re-testing

The local office staff cannot schedule a test/re-test for applicants, if the applicants request a hearing with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This could be because the applicants:

  • Do not read English or French

  • Have a medical condition that prevents them from writing the test e.g. a mental disability or any cognitive, psychiatric or psychological condition

Monitoring and Reporting

The local office staff would monitor and report performances manually. Their reporting template would contain:

  • Test session performance (i.e. pass, fail, no-show etc.) and,

  • Test details (i.e. first test, re-test, re-test inventory etc.)

Communicating Test Results and Further Steps

Successful Applicants

The local office staff would inform applicants who pass the test:

  • That they would proceed to the citizenship ceremony if they meet all the other requirements – pending a final decision by the citizenship judge

  • About the timelines for the ceremony (either on-the-spot or via a mailed notice)

Unsuccessful Applicants (First Test)

The local office staff would:

  • Provide applicants their test scores (without discussing the outcomes per question)

  • Give applicants a copy of the information sheet titled Notice – Results of Your Citizenship Test and Next Steps – Annex 1

  • Inform applicants that they can withdraw their applications (without recommending this explicitly) if the applicants would not be able to meet the knowledge requirements

  • Provide applicants with a copy of Discover Canada

       

       They would also inform the applicants that:

  • The applicants would only have one re-testing opportunity

  • The re-test would take place in approximately four to eight weeks

  • If the applicants do not appear for the re-test and do not inform the staff about their absence within 60 days from the date of the scheduled re-test appointment, then the staff would:

    • Close the applicant’s files and,

    • Refund the Right of Citizenship fee of $100

    • In this situation, the applicants could submit a fresh application with the necessary fees for obtaining citizenship

  • Some files could contain more than one applicant. In this scenario, the CIC would split the file if the unsuccessful applicants in the file, also fail the re-test (OB 529-A). Thus, the successful applicants would proceed to the next stage. Similarly, the unsuccessful applicants would appear for the hearing. However, families could make a request to stay as a unit during the processing stages.

Unsuccessful Applicants (Re-test)

The local office staff would provide applicants with:

  • Their test score

  • A copy of the information sheet titled Notice – Results of Your Citizenship Test and Next Steps – Annex 1

  • An intimation that the applicants would have to meet a citizenship judge for an oral interview

The staff would also return the file to its original place in the hearing queue (if the applicant came from the hearing inventory).

Implementation Plan

Group 1: Applicants taking the test (First-time testers)

  • Effective September 3, 2013, local office staff would:

    • Inform applicants that they would need to take a re-test if they fail – regardless of any other issues with their file
    • Use the new Notice to Appear – To Re-write a Citizenship Test

  • For applicants served through itinerant service, local offices could provide operationally feasible options like:

    • Testing sessions without a judge being present
    • One pass sessions in the presence of a judge

  • Local offices could also split successful family files once the applicant(s) fail the first test. This is an exception to OB 529-A. However, before splitting a file, local offices would need to ensure that there are no:

    • Security concerns  and,
    • Residency issues for any client mentioned in the file

Group 2: Reduction of Hearing Inventory

  • Local office staff would arrange re-tests for applicants in the hearing inventory. They would also:

    • Identify and segregate files marked for:
      • A knowledge hearing only or,
      • A knowledge combined with any other criteria hearing
      • Mark the files for place in the queue
      • Return the file to the hearing queue if the applicant fails the re-test
      • Conduct re-testing sessions separately from first-time test sessions

  • For hearings concerning knowledge combined with any other criteria:

    • The previous instructions of OB 530-Ado not apply any longer except where local offices have already scheduled files for a hearing. In this situation:
      • Judges could offer applicants the choice of proceeding with an oral knowledge evaluation or with a re-test
      • Office staff would complete the Retest Option for Adult Grant – See Annex 4 and attach it to the file

Applicants Approaching the Age of 55 Years

For applicants turning 55 on or before the date of the re-test or during the triage of hearing inventory files, the local office staff can:

  • Remove the applicant from the re-test and,

  • Refer the applicant to the judge for a paper review and decision

    Source: CIC