Some observations:
Twitter is NOT "in writing." Especially not twitter that is essentially a FAQ answer.
The IRCC twitter referenced above actually states the following:
"You are required to provide a police certificate for each country, other than Canada, where you were present for a total of 183 days or more during the four (4) years immediately before the date of your citizenship application."
IT DOES
NOT SAY THE INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT NEED TO SUBMIT A POLICE CLEARANCE.
On the contrary, it reiterates the instructions for the citizenship application. If present in another country for 183 days or more during the
FOUR years (not the eligibility period, which is FIVE years) prior to applying, a police certificate needs to be submitted with the application.
@miur: Rumours are one thing. Outright misstatements are quite another. I do not know who the moderator here is, but it makes sense that misstatements about actual requirements would be deleted.
CLARIFICATION:
In the other posts, the IRCC twitter posts also seem, in a less than direct way, to be saying that if the citizenship applicant has a police certificate that was submitted with the PR application AND that was issued after the applicant's last presence in that country, a COPY of that can be submitted rather than obtaining a new certificate. (Again, it does NOT state that the applicant does NOT need to submit a certificate.
@miur is simply wrong.)
This warrants two cautions:
-- This is CONTRARY to the application instructions and checklist which specifically instructs the applicant to submit an ORIGINAL police clearance certificate.
-- The usual (but not always) sequence in the PR visa application and landing process involves submitting a police certificate significantly PRIOR to being issued the PR visa, such that most (but not all) PRs will have been present in their home country for some time AFTER that police certificate was issued. That is, that police certificate will not be one that was issued AFTER the PR's last presence in that country.
That said, for a citizenship applicant who has NOT returned to the home country since landing and becoming a PR, and a PR police clearance was submitted late in the PR visa application process so that the PR was not in the home country for long after the clearance was issued,
submitting a COPY of that clearance will PROBABLY pass the completeness check and probably also have a fair chance of satisfying IRCC the applicant has no prohibitions.
This is NOT doing what the instructions say to do. So there is some risk. The risk the application will be returned as incomplete is probably quite low (what matters for this is that the respective box on the checklist is checked and a document which appears to be a police certificate is in the application package). I cannot guess what the risk is that the applicant will later be required to submit a more current clearance (probably depends on other factors).
What an applicant can do to minimize the risk of a delay or disruption, is apply with the copy of the previous certificate enclosed and in the meantime obtain a new police clearance, an ORIGINAL and up-to-date clearance, to have it in case IRCC asks for it.
Reminder: a clearance should suffice as long as it was issued within the previous six months or it was issued AFTER the last time the individual was present in that country.
My view is that it is always best to follow the instructions. If in doubt, follow the instructions; otherwise, yep, follow the instructions.
For those following the instructions there really is no question. After all, the actual question is that posed in 10.b., and that asks the applicant whether he or she was present in another country a total of 183 days, or more, during the FOUR years prior to applying. This is a simple fact question. Yes the applicant was, or no the applicant was not.
Even if, as some (erroneously) assert, the applicant does not need to submit a clearance despite having been in a country a total of 183 days, or more, during the FOUR years prior to applying, EVEN if that was true, that does NOT change the facts. It does not mean the applicant can honestly check "no" when the truthful answer is "yes."
And once the applicant checks "yes" the specific instructions in the application and application guide and the checklist ALL state that the applicant then needs to submit a police clearance. No ambiguity. Nothing to interpret. The instruction is straight-forward.
In the meantime, the forum has seen a number of reports from applicants who have received a later request to submit a police clearance, when one was not submitted, resulting in some significant DELAY in processing their application. At least a few such reports were from applicants who actually were NOT in a country for a total of 183 days, during the relevant four years, but had spent a total of several months in the country.
That is to say: IRCC can, and sometimes will, request a clearance for a country even if the applicant was in that country less than 183 days during the relevant four years.
One such report, later being required to submit a police clearance, comes from an applicant who had not returned to the home country since becoming a PR and who specifically waited long enough to apply so that the applicant had less than 183 days in the home country.
