Police Certificate details needed ...

[ahmadka]

I had some questions regarding Police Certificates which I thought I'd ask:

1) Do Police Certificates need to mention since when you've been living in the country for which it is issued (assuming that you're still living there when you request for one) ?

2) If yes to (1) above, do they have you mention since when you've been living there since last coming to that country and stay more than 6 months, or for how long you've lived there in total ? For example, I've lived in my home country all my life, except for 5 years when I lived abroad as a child, and when I was doing my Masters abroad too, between 2009 and 2011. Since 2011 I've been living in my home country again without any breaks.

3) When you send the Police Certificate to CIC as part of your PR application, do you send the original, or do you send a scanned copy or a photocopy and keep the original with yourself ?

4) For how long is a Police Certificate valid as far as CIC is concerned ?

5) Apart from your criminal record (if any) (none for me), is there any other crucial info that a Police Certificate needs to mention which if missing can cause a possible rejection by CIC (e.g. dates, addresses, your National ID number, photo, type of citizen, parents/siblings/spouse info, date of issue/expiry, etc ..) ?

 

[Asivad Anac]

I had some questions regarding Police Certificates which I thought I'd ask:

1) Do Police Certificates need to mention since when you've been living in the country for which it is issued (assuming that you're still living there when you request for one) ?

PCC(s) have standardized formats. You cannot include/exclude any information from them. CIC will accept whatever information is provided in a PCC and not ask you for additional information.

2) If yes to (1) above, do they have you mention since when you've been living there since last coming to that country and stay more than 6 months, or for how long you've lived there in total ? For example, I've lived in my home country all my life, except for 5 years when I lived abroad as a child, and when I was doing my Masters abroad too, between 2009 and 2011. Since 2011 I've been living in my home country again without any breaks.

You will need 2 PCCs. One from your home country (this is valid for 6 months from date of issue so apply for one either close to ITA or after getting an ITA) and one for your 2009-11 period (this is valid till the next time you go back and live in that country for 6 months in a row).

3) When you send the Police Certificate to CIC as part of your PR application, do you send the original, or do you send a scanned copy or a photocopy and keep the original with yourself ?

You upload a scanned copy along with other documents post ITA application submission.

4) For how long is a Police Certificate valid as far as CIC is concerned ?

For your current country of residence, 6 months from date of issue. For any other country where you have lived for more than 6 months in a row after turning 18, it must be issued after the last time you lived in that country for more than 6 months in a row. You don't need PCC for any country where you have not lived for more than 6 months in a row.

5) Apart from your criminal record (if any) (none for me), is there any other crucial info that a Police Certificate needs to mention which if missing can cause a possible rejection by CIC (e.g. dates, addresses, your National ID number, photo, type of citizen, parents/siblings/spouse info, date of issue/expiry, etc ..) ?

As informed earlier, PCCs have standardized formats. You can't include or exclude anything in there. CIC will gladly accept them as they are.

 

[ahmadka]

Understood, however the PCC I've got for my home country does have a field stating the amount of years I've lived in my current City, in my home country.

It looks like this:

On the police record during his stay in Islamabad

The Period _______________________For the last (03) years_________________

The thing is, I came back from the US after completing my Masters in May 2011. So since May 2011, I've been living in my country (Pakistan). So based on this, shouldn't the above say "(04) years" instead ?
The reason why it states 3 years instead is confusing, but here goes: Although I've been living in Pakistan since May 2011, I've only been living in Islamabad (city in Pakistan) since January 2014, which is about 1.5 years now. As Police is separated on a city to city level in Pakistan, they don't link to acknowledge time lived in other Pakistani cities. So because of this, the police officer wasn't agreeing to writing 4 years on the certificate, and originally was going to write 1 year or 2 years in the field above instead. But after pressuring him a little and reasoning that I've been in PAKISTAN (at a country level) for 4+ years, he agreed to write 3 years instead of 1 or 2 years. Hope you understand my issue.

Anyways, long story short, CIC can say that I claim to have come back to Pakistan in May 2011, yet my PCC says 3 years, so where was I for the remaining one year ? If this is a possibility for rejection, I can try to persuade them further to make another PCC which states 4 years.

The correct way to deal with the above scenario would be to get two PCCs from Pakistan, one for Rawalpindi (where I was living from May 2011 till January 2014) and one for Islamabad. But this would create further confusion for CIC, as to why I have two PCCs for the same country. Also, I don't think this would be possible because as I'm not CURRENTLY living in Rawalpindi anymore, Rawalpindi police might outright deny to make a PCC for me. Confusing rules in third world countries :/

Would do you suggest ?

 

[Asivad Anac]

Easiest way out would be to get the PCC to say 4 years instead of 3. CIC will notice this gap and ask you about it eventually.

I imagine you would've seen this link already ---> http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/pakistan.asp

 

[ahmadka]

Okay, so should it say just 4 years, or maybe something like 4 years and 2 months, or something similar (as I arrived in May 2011 and today August 2015 has started) ?

 

[sselim]

I had some questions regarding Police Certificates which I thought I'd ask:

1) Do Police Certificates need to mention since when you've been living in the country for which it is issued (assuming that you're still living there when you request for one) ?
The PC covers the entire duration you’ve lived in a specific country as this country is bound to release your criminal record (if any) regardless of a specific time frame.


2) If yes to (1) above, do they have you mention since when you've been living there since last coming to that country and stay more than 6 months, or for how long you've lived there in total ? For example, I've lived in my home country all my life, except for 5 years when I lived abroad as a child, and when I was doing my Masters abroad too, between 2009 and 2011. Since 2011 I've been living in my home country again without any breaks.
The PC covers the entire duration you’ve lived in a specific country as this country is bound to release your criminal record (if any) regardless of a specific time frame.
Since you have mentioned that during a certain period in your life you’ve been living abroad for more than 6 months, please note that you are requested to obtain a PC from each of the countries were you have lived over 6 months.

3) When you send the Police Certificate to CIC as part of your PR application, do you send the original, or do you send a scanned copy or a photocopy and keep the original with yourself ?
Since most of the PCs require you to state the purpose of the document thus, you can submit the original to CIC as the document purpose would be listed as ‘immigration purpose’ and you won’t be able to submit it anywhere else.

4) For how long is a Police Certificate valid as far as CIC is concerned ?
I am not sure if CIC determines the validity of the PC. Usually, the validity of the PC is set by the country from where the PC was issued and usually it won’t be a long period. For example, Egypt PC’s validity is 3 months and UK PC’s is less than 6 months.

5) Apart from your criminal record (if any) (none for me), is there any other crucial info that a Police Certificate needs to mention which if missing can cause a possible rejection by CIC (e.g. dates, addresses, your National ID number, photo, type of citizen, parents/siblings/spouse info, date of issue/expiry, etc ..) ?
The Police Certificate is a standard document in most countries thus, you won’t get to choose what information you can add/remove. CIC are aware of each country’s Police Certificate format, so they won’t be asking for the presence of specific information on the requested Police Certificate.

Take a look at the below links as it will help with more information about what is requested. One of the below links asks you to choose the country that you want to obtain a PC from, and accordingly it guides you on how and where to get the PC.
ww.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/intake-complete.asp
ww.cic.gc.ca/english/infORmation/security/police-cert/index.asp

 

[ahmadka]

Ok guys, I have another question. The PCC made in my country indicates the amount of years I've lived here, as mentioned above.

Since turning 18, I've continuously lived in Pakistan, except for the two years between 2009 and 2011 when I was in the US for studies. Since 2011, I've again been living in Pakistan.

My question is:

How many years should my Pakistani PCC mention, as those lived in Pakistan ? Should it mention 4 years, since that's how long I've been living *continuously* in Pakistan till now, or should it mention 9 years, as that's how long I've been living in Pakistan *in total* (with breaks) since turning 18 ?

OR

Should I send TWO PCCs instead for Pakistan, one for since coming back from the US, and one for the time spent in Pakistan prior to going to the US ? However in this case, won't two PCCs from the same country confuse CIC ?

 

[ahmadka]

Asivad, waiting for your reply ....

 

[Asivad Anac]

I imagine you should procure the PCC as per guidelines available on the CIC site and upload the same to your profile. CIC wouldn't expect any further on this front.

 

[ahmadka]

Thanks Asivad for all your help, and I agree that I should follow CIC's instructions on the matter and I fully intend to do that. But the thing is I'll be leaving Pakistan in about 2-3 weeks to go abroad for studies (not Canada), so I'm trying to foresee any potential issues that might popup later, which I can possibly address now. So this is why I'm being careful about what should be mentioned on my PCC, so that CIC doesn't ask for any revised documentation later on which will require me to come back to Pakistan for it.

So if my PCC mentions that I've lived in Islamabad (city in Pakistan) for 4 years (as discussed above), it only addresses the time period since I came back from the US in 2011. My time spent in Pakistan PRIOR to this US trip would still not be cleared by the police via this PCC (this time period being since turning 18, till 2009, when I went to the US). Could CIC possibly ask me to also submit a PCC for this time-slot too ?

Hope you get my question. Sorry if I'm being paranoid on this matter.

 

[Asivad Anac]

Thanks Asivad for all your help, and I agree that I should follow CIC's instructions on the matter and I fully intend to do that. But the thing is I'll be leaving Pakistan in about 2-3 weeks to go abroad for studies (not Canada), so I'm trying to foresee any potential issues that might popup later, which I can possibly address now. So this is why I'm being careful about what should be mentioned on my PCC, so that CIC doesn't ask for any revised documentation later on which will require me to come back to Pakistan for it.

So if my PCC mentions that I've lived in Islamabad (city in Pakistan) for 4 years (as discussed above), it only addresses the time period since I came back from the US in 2011. My time spent in Pakistan PRIOR to this US trip would still not be cleared by the police via this PCC (this time period being since turning 18, till 2009, when I went to the US). Could CIC possibly ask me to also submit a PCC for this time-slot too ?

Hope you get my question. Sorry if I'm being paranoid on this matter.

You can't do anything about that now. And getting 2 PCCs for 1 country isn't any solution.

I'm fairly certain they won't ask you this but you should probably deal with it if and when CIC asks you about that period. Which, by the way, has to be explained by the authority issuing PCCs in Pakistan and certainly not you. For the time being, you've done all you could on this front. Relax!

 

[ahmadka]

Ok cool, I'll put this issue to rest

Another related question. Please recall the above discussion where I said that since coming back to Pakistan in 2011, I initially lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad (in January 2014). My current PCC issued from Islamabad Police states that I've "lived in Islamabad for 3 years", but it's actually been a little over 4 years since I came back from the US in 2011. So to correct this 3/4 year confusion, you suggested that I get a PCC issued from the same Islamabad police that states that I've lived in Islamabad for 4 years, to account for my whole time since coming back to Pakistan in 2011. I've pursued this thing and it seems it would be possible for me to do, however the PCC will then state that I've lived is ISLAMABAD for 4 years, but this obviously won't be fully accurate (as I initially lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad).

Keeping the above in mind, after receiving an ITA, will CIC require some kind of proof to show that I actually lived in Islamabad for 4 years since 2011 ? Like will they ask for any house ownership or lease documents or something ? Providing those will cause issues as they'll show that I lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad, and this would be contrary to what the PCC would be stating (that "I've lived in Islamabad for 4 years").

Hope you understand my issue

 

[Asivad Anac]

Ok cool, I'll put this issue to rest

Another related question. Please recall the above discussion where I said that since coming back to Pakistan in 2011, I initially lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad (in January 2014). My current PCC issued from Islamabad Police states that I've "lived in Islamabad for 3 years", but it's actually been a little over 4 years since I came back from the US in 2011. So to correct this 3/4 year confusion, you suggested that I get a PCC issued from the same Islamabad police that states that I've lived in Islamabad for 4 years, to account for my whole time since coming back to Pakistan in 2011. I've pursued this thing and it seems it would be possible for me to do, however the PCC will then state that I've lived is ISLAMABAD for 4 years, but this obviously won't be fully accurate (as I initially lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad).

Keeping the above in mind, after receiving an ITA, will CIC require some kind of proof to show that I actually lived in Islamabad for 4 years since 2011 ? Like will they ask for any house ownership or lease documents or something ? Providing those will cause issues as they'll show that I lived in Rawalpindi, and then moved to Islamabad, and this would be contrary to what the PCC would be stating (that "I've lived in Islamabad for 4 years").

Hope you understand my issue

That's not how it works. Your personal history will dictate what PCC(s) you need based on how it appears. Any PCC obtained for Pakistan today is expected to (in theory) cover ALL the period spent in that country regardless of the number of cities/localities/addresses that you might have lived in since turning 18. So if your PCC explicitly says Islamabad, it is a fault with the issuing authority and nothing you/CIC can do on this front.

As I said earlier, you've done your best on this front. For the record, in most countries PCCs are sacrosanct documents which cannot be customized and CIC is aware of that.

 

[Naqvee]

Hi Experts,

As per the CIC requirement, the police record is required for last 10 years. my situation is:

1. I was living in my country since birth except last three years when i am in Canada.
2. I got a Police certificate from my country that confirms my stay since 2008 till 2016 jan (last time i visited home) and i am gonna get a certificate from canada for last three years.

Q. overall the two certificate sums to 9 years. Is it fine? or should i get a certificate from country beginning from 2006 to make it 10 years total?

 

[Stanlee]

Hi Experts,

As per the CIC requirement, the police record is required for last 10 years. my situation is:

1. I was living in my country since birth except last three years when i am in Canada.
2. I got a Police certificate from my country that confirms my stay since 2008 till 2016 jan (last time i visited home) and i am gonna get a certificate from canada for last three years.

Q. overall the two certificate sums to 9 years. Is it fine? or should i get a certificate from country beginning from 2006 to make it 10 years total?

You would need PC from all the countries that you have stayed for 6 months at a stretch or cumulatively over a period of time since you turned 18.

You can check the requirement here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/invitations.asp