Express Entry is the predominant and fastest route to Canadian immigration. It operates through its three essential economic immigration programs including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, CEC, and the Federal Skilled Trade Program.
If you opt for Canadian immigration through any of these programs, you will require to submit police certificates as the last step of your online application for permanent residence. The online application is referred to as Electronic Application for Permanent Residence (PR).
Submitting the Police Certificates is substantial and their absence can lead to your application rejection. To avoid such refusal, it is essential to understand the requirements for your file.
Explanation of Police Certificates
A Police Certificate is authorized by the government and provides crucial details related to a person’s criminal record. Having no previous criminal record implies that you can submit your accurate documents without hesitation. However, a history of a criminal record with severe crimes could ruin your application. Several criminal activities can make the applicant criminally inadmissible to Canada.
Different countries use varied terms for Police Certificates such as good conduct certificates, police clearance certificates as well as judicial record extracts.
IRCC demands a Police Certificate
The Express Entry procedure involves several steps. However, if you qualify for the Express Entry programs only then Express Entry profile creation will be possible. Also, to get selected for the Express Entry pool, you will have to acquire superior scores under the Comprehensive Ranking System. Only after you score higher points will you receive an ITA for Canadian PR.
The condition of getting a Police Certificate applies in the case you have already received an ITA. Submitting a Police Certificate comes toward the end of the Permanent Residence application.
Around 60 days are there for you to submit your application for PR once an applicant obtains an ITA. Getting an ITA is a matter of uncertainty but it is not sensible to rely on ITA to apply for a Police Certificate. Therefore, you need to apply for the certificate before an ITA gets issued. It would be much better if applicants didn’t have to struggle to meet the deadline. They must not waste their time waiting for an ITA to apply for a Police Certificate. Get ready with it in advance so that when you need to submit it, you can do so without any further delays.
Police Certificate’s requirements
In general, staying in a country for six months consecutively implies the need to submit Police Certificates. If an applicant stayed in a country before he turned 18 years old then also there is no need for a Police Certificate.
So, when is a Police Certificate applicable? The principal applicants and the accompanying family members who are older than 18 years must submit a Police Certificate.
Even after submitting Express Entry Police Certificates, IRCC officers might demand more Police Certificates. They might ask for more certificates, particularly if you stayed in countries for less than six months. Suppose you have a record of frequently living in countries but not more than six months, you could also submit your first application with your Police Certificate to avoid delays. This way you will not have to submit another document.
Other documents for Police Certificate
Scanned and colored copies of original documents are highly significant to obtaining the Police Certificate. It would be much better if the Police Certificate is either in French or English language. However, if that is not the case, an English or French translation certification must be available with the certificate. The officials will not accept true copies or unauthorized documents.
The role of a ‘Request’ letter
In many circumstances, applicants receive Express Entry Police Certificates only when they submit a request letter for the same. Therefore, they need to submit a document to IRCC regarding the “request letter”. Once IRCC verifies the complete application, it will send you the request letter. The department will also provide you with more time to acquire additional crucial documents.
Duration of a certificate’s validity
To get a Police Certificate for the city you currently reside in, it must be provided best before six months before the date of applying. For a certificate from a different country, you will have to apply for the certificate after the completion of your stay in that country. You will have to reside in the country for at least six months consecutively or even more than that.
Not receiving Express Entry Police Certificate before the deadline
A total of 60 days is left to submit your complete Canadian PR application once you receive the invitation to apply. Your complete application will also include a Police Certificate. Few countries might take longer than sixty days to provide the Police Certificate. It is suggested that you apply for the certificate prior to getting your ITA.
If your Express Entry Police Certificate fails to reach you in time, you can avail of two alternatives:
- Option of choosing to withdraw your invitation. Make sure that your Express Entry profile isn’t as old as twelve months. Keeping this in mind, you could go back to the Express Entry pool. There will be an option of getting acknowledged in future draws. However, it isn’t certain that you will receive an invitation in the future.
- The other option is to attach your application with a document proving that you have already requested a Police Certificate. Providing a letter explaining your situation to IRCC would be highly beneficial. IRCC officers might or might not accept the document in place of the Police Certificate until it arrives. Applying without a Police Certificate and also without an explanation will undoubtedly lead to the application’s rejection.
Conclusion
Visiting numerous countries for a continuous period of six months after turning 18 requires you to present an Express Entry Police Certificate for all those countries. The total time spent must be above six months.
