Hello, everyone. I had a good call with my lawyer yesterday and just wanted to update you all.
Context: My biometrics appointment was in September 2022 (family in March 2023). They requested final documentation for me in December 2023, which indicates they are in the final stages of looking at my file. My lawyers recommended filing a lawsuit late last Fall, but I decided to wait. Yesterday we had a call to update each other.
The Conclusion: My lawyers now advise me NOT to file a lawsuit. Since I do not have an urgent need to be in the country, the lawsuit is unlikely to be successful. Further, since the nationality law is changing to allow for our “wait time” to be counted toward our countdown to citizenship, we are actually advantaged to wait (because we may not have to buy another renewal).
Additional Information: The legislation allowing wait time to be counted toward citizenship has been received by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has subsequently sent it to the Supreme Court for constitutional review. If approved by the courts, the Prime Minister will sign. If not, it will go back to the legislature for revision, then back through the process again. While it will still take quite some time, my laywers were confident that this would get passed eventually.
They do not yet know if the timer will start at the date of initial application or at the date your application is fully complete (following your biometrics appointment). This will come once the law is finalized and they provide clarity.
The upcoming election will put a bit of a snag in all of this, but my lawyers did not seem to think it would prevent the law from passing. Only delay it.