Contacting CIC: Response time to emails and phone numbers.

[DBHC]

I recently received an email from CIC requesting extra documentation – a Dutch Police Certificate. According to the CIC website, in order to get the Police Certificate I have to submit a letter they send to me:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will send you a letter requesting a police certificate after you send your Application for Permanent Residence. You must provide that letter when you apply for a Police Certificate.

I did not get this letter with the standard form email I received, so I'm trying to get in touch with someone (anyone!) at CIC to rectify this. I replied to the email, but got an automated reply saying it'll take 20 working days to get a response, which is a month. Nevertheless, I only have a month to get the Police Certificate to them and it takes up to 4 weeks to process, not including mailing time. (I also requested an extension in my email to try and remedy this.)

So, my questions. First, how long does it usually take CIC to reply to emails? Is it really 20 working days? Second, is there a phone number that I can call to speak to a human about my case?

 

[vaya]

Hi there,
I had to request a Dutch police certificate as well - you actually don't need the letter! I just sent all my info for payment/passport/etc plus a screenshot of the CIC website's description of how to apply for a Dutch police record check plus a screenshot of a CIC website stating that a record check is needed for countries where you lived for longer than six months.

I got this info from a Dutch city portal phone assistant and it worked out well.

PS: You can easily order your VOG via email, just check here https://www.justis.nl/producten/vog/vog-aanvragen/ (there is an English option somewhere as well).

 

[vaya]

Ah, actually you can even send that CIC email as proof for the Dutch VOG.

 

[DBHC]

Thanks for the reply, vaya. I just emailed my application along with the email from CIC requesting the police certificate. Hopefully, all will go smoothly! By the way, how long did it take for them to issue your VOG?

 

[vaya]

Thanks for the reply, vaya. I just emailed my application along with the email from CIC requesting the police certificate. Hopefully, all will go smoothly! By the way, how long did it take for them to issue your VOG?

No worries! We're all in this together. Well, since you've spent some time in the Netherlands, you might know that their bureaucracy is a bit challenging at times.
I think I applied for my VOG in early December, and hadn't heard back after 5 or 6 weeks (they say it should only take 4 weeks).

I then called them and asked them what was up and they said that I hadn't sent them a proper bank statement (my fault, I had just sent a screenshot of my bank account...), and needed something that stated that the money was sent to the Justis bank account.

Well, I sent them the actual file per email right away and then, a week later, I had not one but TWO police certificates over the course of two days arrive here. The second one though looked like they had ripped it out of the printer, so I was glad I had the other copy.

 

[DBHC]

Well, since you've spent some time in the Netherlands, you might know that their bureaucracy is a bit challenging at times.

Haha! The first time I applied for a VOG for immigration purposes 7 years ago the officer was so baffled that she selected the box for "Monitoring production processes"! (I don't think there was an immigration box at the time.) Thankfully, the VOG that I received didn't state that on it, so it worked out okay in the end...

I then called them and asked them what was up and they said that I hadn't sent them a proper bank statement (my fault, I had just sent a screenshot of my bank account...), and needed something that stated that the money was sent to the Justis bank account.

I did the wire transfer online from a US bank account and printed out the wire transfer confirmation that states who is sending the money, how much is being wired, to whom it's being transferred, etc. Will that be enough, as there wasn't any other receipt to print out?

 

[vaya]

Haha! The first time I applied for a VOG for immigration purposes 7 years ago the officer was so baffled that she selected the box for "Monitoring production processes"! (I don't think there was an immigration box at the time.) Thankfully, the VOG that I received didn't state that on it, so it worked out okay in the end... I did the wire transfer online from a US bank account and printed out the wire transfer confirmation that states who is sending the money, how much is being wired, to whom it's being transferred, etc. Will that be enough, as there wasn't any other receipt to print out?

I think it should be enough! But you can also call the Dutch Justis and ask them once you sent it in. That confirmation sounds about right, I had a European bank account so our transfers there are always a bit more straightforward to me than the North American ones.

 

[Connie828]

Hi, I have a question for VOG form. The section 2 on the form ask for fill the organization/body's address and representative's name. This requirement listed on Justis website. On the website, they said if you can't get a signature or letter from the immigration body, you have to fill by yourself.
I am wondering how you guys finish this part?
Another question is, my husband is going to apply VOG, and he forget his citizen service number(BSN). He went to Netherlands in 2012 and he can not remember anymore. Does anyone know where he can find his BSN?

 

[vdhiman23]

Hi @Connie

Hi, I have a question for VOG form. The section 2 on the form ask for fill the organization/body's address and representative's name. This requirement listed on Justis website. On the website, they said if you can't get a signature or letter from the immigration body, you have to fill by yourself.
I am wondering how you guys finish this part?
Another question is, my husband is going to apply VOG, and he forget his citizen service number(BSN). He went to Netherlands in 2012 and he can not remember anymore. Does anyone know where he can find his BSN?

Hi @Connie

Did you filled up the BSN in form section 1.1 for PCC. I was in the Netherlands in past and had that number, but just wondering do we need to fill that up or not?