Police Certificates for Permanent Residence in Canada: All you need to know

Police Certificate is one of the key documents for applying for permanent residence in Canada. Failure to do so may result in your application being returned without consideration, which will deprive you of the chance to apply for permanent residence, as you will have to re-create your Express Entry profile and await for new draws and new invitation.

 

— Who must provide police certificates?

The following persons are required to provide a certificate:

• Principal Applicant;
• Spouse/partner;
• Children over 18 years of age (even if they are not immigrating with you)

 

— From which countries is Police Certificate required?

·       From all countries (except Canada) where you have lived for more than 6 months in the last 10 years or since reaching age 18.

·       For the country of current residence, the certificate must be issued no later than 6 months before submitting documents.

·       For countries where you no longer reside, the certificate must be issued after your last stay there

 

— Additional Requirements:

·       Only color scans of originals are accepted.

·       Black and white copies and notarized documents are not accepted.

 

— What to do if the certificate is not ready on time?

If the 60-day period for collecting documents is coming to an end and you still do not have a your police certificates, you can provide the following instead:

·       A well-crafted submission letter explaining the delay;

·       Evidence that you have taken all possible steps to obtain the document on time.

 

Not sure how to properly prepare documents for Express Entry? We are always ready to help, Contact us! 

 

"Important: Immigration requirements are constantly changing. The information on this page is current at the time of publication."