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Experience of applying from Saudi Arabia

wo403

Star Member
Jan 20, 2014
101
6
Hi,

I was wondering if someone would like to share their experience on making it (or still in the process of making it) to Canada from Saudi Arabia.

I'm a Pakistani citizen living and working in Saudi Arabia, I will be beginning my process soon.

From what I can tell, getting a Police Clearance is not an easy process and I can't do much until I get a request letter from Abu Dhabi. Or maybe you know of a way I can get it before that?

Looking forward to what you guys have to say!
 

wo403

Star Member
Jan 20, 2014
101
6
I decided that it's best that I share my experience of getting documents together in Saudi Arabia, in case it helps anyone out there.

Police Check/Clearance Certificate:

For Police Checks in Jeddah, I had to apply for a request letter from Abu Dhabi. The letter is in Arabic and you are supposed to fill the blanks with your information, name, Iqama number, etc. If you don't know Arabic well, get someone who can read and write Arabic to do it for you. You then take this letter to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) who should just attest the letter, ask for the sum (SR 30) and send you your way hassle free. But if it makes you comfortable, bring along someone who speaks Arabic. Also, it's best to bring the exact change, they can be a little troublesome about that.

Once you have the stamp from MFA, you can take this letter, (along with 4 Passport sized pictures of yourself, copy of passport, copy of iqama) to a place whose name I just can't recall at this point, but what I do know is that it's on King Khalid road, next to The Islamic Development Bank. You simply can't miss the bank, one of the biggest buildings on the road. You will also see a fire station next to it, the road that goes between the two is where you need to go. It's also best to be there between 7 am to 12 pm.

You show the letter to the policemen standing guard, they can point you to the right building. But once you're entering the complex, it's the maroon-ish building to the right. You go in, get a token and wait till your number is called. You show the officer all your documents, he will give you papers and as you to wait, I can't remember if there's any payment involved but carry a few hundred riyals just in case. They lead you to another room where another officer will make prints of your finger tips on this paper, tear off your request number and ask you to come back after a certain number of days. I think it took me 10 days? After then days, you can back to the same building, only you had this request number to an officer sitting on a desk outside room you went in before and he should be able to get you your documents. If it says No Record then all is well.

One last step would be to translate and attest the translation of this certificate, since it will be in Arabic.

A link that I found helps a lot is this: saakinlang.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-obtain-saudi-police-clearance-in

Medical Certificate:

This one is relatively simple, there's only one doctor in Jeddah that is certified from the Canadian Visa office to do the required test. In my case, I had not begun the process as yet so I didn't have a request letter from Abu Dhabi for this test, however you can still get your tests done beforehand and simply submit a letter from the doctor once you start your application. There will be two tests hence two appointments, one where you are asked to submit your urine and blood sample for testing, the other is the physical test performed by the doctor. This process is not very inexpensive, I was a little surprised actually, but whatever it takes I guess. Oh and one more important note, for the physical test, make sure you don't forget to wear your undergarments for the appointment, because you will be asked to strip down to your undergarments for the exam. After everything is done, they will give you a letter to submit when you're applying, they don't show you the actual results so don't ask, they will be submitted directly to the visa office.

Translation and Attestation:

As part of the application, I was asked to translate any document not in English to Arabic and have it attested. That meant I had to translate my iqama and police clearance certiciate which was relatively simple. There are some translation shops on Madina Road before the Wali Ul Ahad crossing, opposite to the old Indian Embassy. But you can take it to any translator you know.

Also part of the application, I was supposed to submit an attested copy of my iqama, which became a pain since they require a certain type of attestation. After a lot of research and pulling of hair, I called the Canadian Consulate in Jeddah and asked them where would the best place be for such an attestation, they said they'd be happy to do it themselves. So with a fee of SR 70, that got taken care of too. I've read there are other ways of getting them attested, if you know a lawyer and what not, but a little more money for a little less hassle is all good to me.

So I think that's pretty much it then, my wife has already submitted our application, although it took a while for them to receive it, hopefully I am not asked to undergo all of this again.

Good luck!
 
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tazonline21

Full Member
Jun 3, 2014
21
0
Hi, Thanx alot for sharing the information.. its a great help..


Can you please tell me if you got an affidavit from the translators as required by CIC? Did you do the translation from Jeddah?
 

wo403

Star Member
Jan 20, 2014
101
6
Sorry for not getting back any sooner, work has been crazy.

Yes, I got the translation done in Jeddah. If I am not missing anything, the documents that needed translation from Arabic to English were:

1- Iqama
2- Saudi Police Certificate

Both of these I got translated from translation offices on Madina Road (going towards Balad) before the crossing for Wali-ul-Ahad, opposite to the old Indian Embassy. You should go from office to office and see which of them would give you the best price.

The translation offices do not provide the notarization of any of the actual document (i.e. iqama or the certificate), they just attest that the document was translated and the translated content is correct. I had to go to the Canadian Consulate in Jeddah to actually get a copy of for my iqama notarized, they do it exactly how it is requested in the application. It cost me SR 70 and took a day, but honestly, I felt it was worth it. I couldn't find any place that could notarize the copy of my iqama and do it in English.

I hope this helps.


tazonline21 said:
Hi, Thanx alot for sharing the information.. its a great help..


Can you please tell me if you got an affidavit from the translators as required by CIC? Did you do the translation from Jeddah?