Police Criminal Certificates from Libya

[ugur]

I received request for Medicals from the Seattle Consulate  yesterday which looked like good news but I was also asked for a Police Clearance Certificate from Libya which I worked and lived in for 2 years  - 26 years ago ! ! I am a Turkish citizen  who lived and worked at many countries as an engineer and I provided police reports from all of them but Libya .

Everyone I talked to - including the Libyan Consulate in Ottowa - indicated this is a dead end and I would never receive a criminal record from Libyan police . The best advice the consulate could give me was to go to Libya and try there ( I might if I knew it would work )

Has anyone tried/managed to get anything from Libya ?

Does anyone know what happens if I can't get a police clearance certificate . Surely the Canadian Immigration officials must know Libya does not provide this document .

On one official form  of CIC , it indicated that police reports must be obtained from countries LIVED IN IN THE LAST  10 years . ( 3901e - Appendix B ). However I I didn't see mention of 10 years anywhere else .

Any help will be appreciated - I really feel stuck ...

[scylla]

The rule for police certificates is (a) the last ten years OR (b) since the age of 18 - whichever is longer. So in your case this would be (b) and that's why they are requesting the certificate.

We had a similar problem with my husband's application (spousal sponsorship - family class). He lived and worked in Kuwait approximately 25 years ago for about a year and a half. We tried obtaining a police certificate (called and emailed more places than I can name). However we kept hearing the same thing: All pre-1989 records from Kuwait City were destroyed in the war and it's impossible to obtain a police certificate. In the end we gave up and submitted his application without the Kuwait certificate (we did submit all other required police certificates). We did however include a page long letter explaining the lengths we had gone through to try to obtain a certificate (i.e. who we contacted) and explained what everyone was telling us. We also provided a few online references that mentioned this information. My husband was given PR status without providing the certificate. I obviously have no idea if our letter made a difference - or if they already have Kuwait flagged as a place where certificates can't be obtained for certain periods of time.

Did you include a letter or anything else with your application to explain why this police certificate was missing?

I hope this information helps at least somewhat. Good luck...

[ugur]

Thanks for the information .

Here is what says in the Police Clearance Certificate Request ( that CIC has prepared for submitting to foreign police departments ) . It is not really as you state .

" Request for Police Certificates/Clearances and Authorization for Release of Information
To Police or Relevant Authorities:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada requires the person named below to obtain an original police
certificate for any countries where he or she has lived for six months or  longer in the past 10 years. (This
requirement is only applicable for countries where the person was 18 years of age or older when he or she
lived there.) The applicant has provided details in the box below that may assist you in processing the
request and has also signed the form authorizing you to release the information to us.
Please send the police certificate directly to the applicant.

If you are unable to provide a certificate/
clearance, please send the applicant a written explanation. Thank you."


If I were the police to receive this request , I would not prepare a report if the applicant lived there 25 years ago .

Anyway , I guess I will first give a try first and then approach the consulate with the information I gathered/could not gather - just like you did .

Let's see if  someone else with a Libya police experinece  comes up .

Thanks

[scylla]

Interesting. Unless I'm going crazy, the information on the form you quote conflicts with the information in the skilled worker guide: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/EG7.pdf

Not sure what to say... Again, good luck. If all else fails, definitely give the letter a try. I forgot to mention that one consulate (or embassy?) responded to us via email so we included this print out in our package as well.

[PMM]

Hi

Interesting. Unless I'm going crazy, the information on the form you quote conflicts with the information in the skilled worker guide: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/EG7.pdf

Not sure what to say... Again, good luck. If all else fails, definitely give the letter a try. I forgot to mention that one consulate (or embassy?) responded to us via email so we included this print out in our package as well.

Here are the following quotes from: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

Who needs a police certificate?

In general, you and everyone in your family who is 18 years of age or over need to obtain a police certificate. You must obtain a police certificate from each country or territory where you have lived for six consecutive months or longer since reaching the age of 18.

The certificate must have been issued no more than three months before you submit your application.

If the original certificate is neither in English nor in French, submit both the certificate and the original copy of a translation prepared by an accredited translator with your application.

From the application instructions:

All applicants must submit police certificates/clearances as part of the application process.
You and all of your family members who are 18 years of age and older and who are not already permanent residents or Canadian citizens will have to provide:
 a valid police certificate, or
 a police clearance, or
 a record of no information.
These documents are to be provided for each country other than Canada, in which you have lived for six consecutive months or longer since reaching the age of 18.

[jes_ON]

To add to PMM's post, instructions also state:

"If you are unable to obtain a police certificate from a country because you are a refugee from that country or for any other reasons, please provide a written explanation."

So - make a good faith effort to get one, but get EVERYTHING in writing - no phone calls, only emails or letters so that you have evidence to give to CIC.  If you get info by telephone, document the call, phone number date time who you spoke with etc...  Ask those with whom you spoke to put it in writing.

Just FYI - not that CIC necessarily gives a hoot what the US State Department has to say, but this is what they have to say:

"Police and Prison Records

A “Criminal Status Certificate,” issued by the Criminal Identification Department of the General Administration for Criminal Investigation of the General People's Committee for Public Security, is available to residents of Libya.  The individual must submit an application with two 2 photographs and proof of residency to his/her local neighborhood People's Security Office for a minimal fee (currently LD 3-5).  The certificates are not available to former residents or to non-residents."  

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_4881.html?cid=3607

Just more evidence... but it will be better if you can get it in writing from the Libyan consulate.

[ugur]

Thanks for all the answers . I knew I had to provide the police certificate if I lived somewhere for more than 6 months but with all the other police reports I got  from other countries and the fact that 25 years have passed over my residence in Libya  , I was hoping they would let me proceed without it .

I will try to take everything in writing from now on as suggested ; however , I don't think the Libyan Consulate in Ottawa will ever put it in writing that it is impossible to get the clearance from Libyan police - as they told me on the phone . Can't blame them - the consulate actually does take  the request and send it to Tripoli Police Headquarters who then does nothing about it .

Still waiting to see if anyone that has dealt with Libya will come up in the forum .

[dsubhi]

PMM & jes_ON has given you right answer. Hat's off to these member's knowledge about this issue.

I would also take a written letter from Libyan embassy and send it with a well explained cover letter. Pretty sure that this will be OK.

Can you please share your time lines as I 'm almost in the same boat...

[ugur]

I'm doing everything but naturally Libyan Consulate will not issue anything in writing regarding  what they said about the impossibility of getting a response from Tripoli police .  I sent my application anyway and I am also trying to have another request followed  by someone currently in Libya .

Timeline :

Documents sent to Sydney - 18 Sep 2009
Application forwarded to Buffalo - 20 Nov 2009
Complete set of documents sent to Buffalo - 10 March 2010
Re-submit to Buffalo because of mistake on form -  05 May 2010
File Transferred to Seattle - 16 July 2010
Medicals & police report requested  from Seattle - 20 Nov 2010
Medicals completed - 07 Dec 2010

[Right]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/africa/libya.asp

You will find information required.

I received request for Medicals from the Seattle Consulate  yesterday which looked like good news but I was also asked for a Police Clearance Certificate from Libya which I worked and lived in for 2 years  - 26 years ago ! ! I am a Turkish citizen  who lived and worked at many countries as an engineer and I provided police reports from all of them but Libya .

Everyone I talked to - including the Libyan Consulate in Ottowa - indicated this is a dead end and I would never receive a criminal record from Libyan police . The best advice the consulate could give me was to go to Libya and try there ( I might if I knew it would work )

Has anyone tried/managed to get anything from Libya ?

Does anyone know what happens if I can't get a police clearance certificate . Surely the Canadian Immigration officials must know Libya does not provide this document .

On one official form  of CIC , it indicated that police reports must be obtained from countries LIVED IN IN THE LAST  10 years . ( 3901e - Appendix B ). However I I didn't see mention of 10 years anywhere else .

Any help will be appreciated - I really feel stuck ...

[sofiya]

Hi ugur,
I have the same problem - I am sponsoring my father who has worked in Libya for an year some 27 years ago. Everywhere I try is a dead end - Libyan embassy in Ottawa, Libyan embassy in Bulgaria, CIC, no one has any information - email, address or phone of the Police Headquarters in Tripoli. No one wants to give written proof that Libya does not issue Police certificates to non-Libyan residents. You were saying that you are following up with someone in Libya, did you manage to obtain any information - please share if yes!
thank you very much in advance!

[khebra]

How about the Libyian embassy in Turkey? or the Lybian Embassy for the country you are living now...
You should follow CHC rules .. even if it take time , you can address to CHC that this police report are take this time...etc.. or try to go by your self...

[ugur]

Sofiya , the contacts I had in Tripoli have had several attemps at Tripoli Police ; the police refused to accept my application file every time . All they say is they will not bother since they know they will not find any records from 23 years ago . My friends have been pushing to get this response in writing from them - so far without success .

If I can't get it in a month's time ( my 90 days will be up )  , I have to tell  the Canadian Embassy in Seattle that I can't get it  . I don't know what happens then .

Khebra, I explained a few posts ago about the reaction from Libyan Embassy in Ottawa . They are trying to be helpful ; they have an application procedure which they take seriously ( and I did all they wanted  ) . The problem is the Libyan police Headquarters which is not even answering to /running requests from the Libyan Embassy . The consulate said that it is a dead end and told me to try having it done by someone in Tripoli .

The Libyan embassy in Turkey did not even let me into the consulate building - just gave advice at the door saying it can't be done and :-((