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I am within one to two weeks from taking an oath of citizenship in Canada and was applying for work that favours applicants with citizenship. When the application website asks what is my citizenship status, should I click "citizenship"?

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    Yes, you should mark yourself down as having citizenship if you will have it very soon. If you can add a note, you should just mark down what date you will have it on. Nov 7, 2022 at 4:01
  • The number of jobs in Canada that are allowed to selectively hire based on citizenship is very small. Pretty much has to be a sensitive government job. Nov 7, 2022 at 14:31

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Click yes and add a note (if possible) that mentions the date.

Your citizenship status with expected date should be on your resume anyway so you are providing complete information to the potential employer (who may or may not look at it).

If you want to be extra safe: If they contact you BEFORE you get the citizenship, just mention the upcoming festivities to your first contact person.

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There is no black and white when it comes to "lying". I think this is one of those situations where being truthful is actually misleading.

If you would have citizenship when you would potentially be working, I think that's a trivially defensible decision to indicate you are a citizen during the application process, because for all intents and purposes you are a citizen.

If you can, you should add a small note somewhere in the application that indicates the expected date of citizenship.

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There may be Legal implications for ticking the box that you are a Citizen, when you aren't technically yet a Citizen - depending on the finer details of the application.

It's also generally not a good idea to lie or otherwise mislead on a Job Application.

That all said...

My completely non-legal opinion is that if you've done all the Paperwork, Paid the fee, had the checks done, met the requirements and are merely waiting on the formality of the Oath to the King (still feels weird not saying Queen) and getting the certificate and you have a set date to do those, it's probably fine to tick the box.

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    Also note that the field is probably about if the candidate will need a special visa to work. As it's unlikely the candidate will be starting work within two weeks, the most correct answer is probably: citizen. Nov 7, 2022 at 5:26

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