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Guide To Obtaining The Police Certification For Canada Express Entry Immigration

By December 9, 2022 July 3rd, 2024 No Comments

If you are applying for permanent residence in Canada through one of the Canada Express Entry-aligned programs, you will be required to provide a police certificate as part of your final application.

Immigration Lawyer Toronto, one of the leading Canadian immigration law firms, assists candidates to get the necessary paperwork to reduce mistakes. Additionally, because the application procedure is so challenging, applicants should work with a Canadian immigration law firm to improve their chances of success for rapid entry immigration.

Police certification is one such crucial aspect of the procedure. It is required to get this certification, and failing to do so may result in your application being refused.

What Is Police Certification?

A police certificate verifies that the visa applicant has never been convicted of a crime. They must send a copy of the record to the authorities if they have one. These documents confirm whether they are eligible to enter Canada or are ineligible for any reason. In different nations and locations, police certificates are referred to by different names, such as:

  • Certificates of police clearance
  • Certificates of good behavior
  • Extracts from judicial records, etc.

Unauthorized certification copies may not be accepted. Candidates should submit a scanned copy of the original document, and a valid document. If your certificate is in a language other than French or English, you must deliver the police certificate together with a competent translator’s translation.

How To Obtain A Police Certificate?

To obtain a police certificate, you will most likely need to contact the government or a police station. To get a police certificate, you must first:

  • Provide papers and information such as fingerprints, pictures, dates, and addresses from the countries where you resided.
  • Make a payment for the needed charge.

Rules Of Issuance Of Police Certificate

  • Certificates of character are not accepted.
  • Certain police certificates have limits in terms of jurisdiction and filing timeframe. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind while applying for certification.
  • The police clearance certificate comes in various formats, depending on the granting body, and should not be disregarded.

How to Verify the Police Certificate’s Validity

If the police certificate you’re looking for is for a nation other than the one you reside in, it must have been granted after you’ve been in the country for at least six months.

If the police certificate is for the nation where you presently live, it must be issued within six months of the application’s submission date.

How long does a certificate last?

If the certificate pertains to the nation in which you now reside, it must have been granted within the previous six months of the day you submit your application. If the certificate is for another nation, it must have been awarded after the last time you spent six months or more in that country.

Who Needs To Submit A Police Certificate?

According to the immigration program, an applicant who is 18 years or older must produce a police certificate. When it comes to sending police certifications, different programs have varied deadlines.

The following are some examples of scenarios:

If you’re an Express Entry candidate, you’ll need to do the following:

If you are seeking permanent residency in Canada through express entry, you must present your police certificate within 90 days after submitting your application. By starting your police check as soon as you are in the candidate pool, you may prevent needless fines for tardiness.

If you are an International Experience Canada program, please follow the step below:

If you fall into this group, you must submit your police certificate at the same time as your work permit application.

What Is a Request letter?

In certain circumstances, governments will only give a police certificate if a person presents an official letter requesting one. In such circumstances, you must prepare a document stating that you are applying from a nation that requires an official IRCC request letter and send it to the IRCC to acquire a police certificate. When IRCC determines that your application is complete, they will send you a request letter and provide you more time to collect the credentials you need.

What if I am unable to obtain my police certificate in time for Express Entry?

You have 60 days from the day you get your ITA to submit your entire permanent residency application, which includes your police certificate (s). A police certificate may take more than 60 days to be issued in some countries. You can apply for your police certificate ahead of time if you expect to acquire an ITA. If you are unable to obtain the police certificate promptly, you have two choices:

Option 1

You have the option of declining your invitation. You will be returned to the pool of candidates and evaluated in future Express Entry drawings if your Canada Express Entry profile is less than 12 months old. However, there’s a chance you won’t be invited to apply again in the future.

Option 2

Instead of sending the overdue police certificate, you can attach paperwork indicating the police certificate was sought (payment receipt, tracking number, etc.) together with a letter of explanation. In this instance, IRCC immigration agents may accept these papers as a stand-in for your police certificate until you get it. This decision, however, is made at the discretion of the IRCC officer, who may opt to reject your application as incomplete.

Your application will very probably be denied as incomplete if you submit it without the needed police certificate and any placeholder paperwork.

Express Entry Immigration With Immigration Lawyer Toronto

Contact Immigration Lawyer Toronto, a reputable and experienced Canada Immigration Law firm, to discover all you need to know about police certificates and other paperwork for a smooth immigration procedure.

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