Police certificate for citizenship application

[zorroo]

Based on CIC website, there are 2 different scenario regarding the police certificate requirement:

1. based on citizenship application guide page (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/CIT0002ETOC.asp), "Police certificate(s) (as required)

For any country, other than Canada, where you were present for six (6) months or longer (cumulative) during the four (4) years immediately before the date of your application, you are required to provide a police certificate for that country."

2. based on police certificate guide page of cic (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp), "In general, you and all the people in your family who are 18 or older need to get a police certificate. You must get one from each country or territory where you have spent six or more months since the age of 18. For example:

if you visited, worked or lived in a country for two months, left for a few years, then returned for four months, that counts as spending six months there. In this case, you would need a certificate.

For the country you currently live in, the police certificate must be issued no more than six months before you apply.

For countries where you have lived for six months or more, the police certificate must be issued after the last time you lived in that country."

Can somebody clarify this for us that for citizenship application, which timeline is correct for police certificate requirement (any country, other than Canada, where you were present for six (6) months or longer (cumulative) during the four (4) years immediately before the date of your application or each country or territory where you have spent six or more months since the age of 18)?

 

[dpenabill]

Based on CIC website, there are 2 different scenario regarding the police certificate requirement:

1. based on citizenship application guide page (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/CIT0002ETOC.asp), "Police certificate(s) (as required)

For any country, other than Canada, where you were present for six (6) months or longer (cumulative) during the four (4) years immediately before the date of your application, you are required to provide a police certificate for that country."

2. based on police certificate guide page of cic (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp), "In general, you and all the people in your family who are 18 or older need to get a police certificate. You must get one from each country or territory where you have spent six or more months since the age of 18. For example:

if you visited, worked or lived in a country for two months, left for a few years, then returned for four months, that counts as spending six months there. In this case, you would need a certificate.

For the country you currently live in, the police certificate must be issued no more than six months before you apply.

For countries where you have lived for six months or more, the police certificate must be issued after the last time you lived in that country."

Can somebody clarify this for us that for citizenship application, which timeline is correct for police certificate requirement (any country, other than Canada, where you were present for six (6) months or longer (cumulative) during the four (4) years immediately before the date of your application or each country or territory where you have spent six or more months since the age of 18)?

Overall: note differences between (1) who must submit a police certificate, (2) which countries a police certificate must be provided for, and (3) how to obtain a police certificate from a particular country. Requirements for visa applicants are different than for citizenship applicants.


For citizenship applicants:

The guide instructions for citizenship applicants, consistent with what is prescribed in the document checklist, describe who must submit a police certificate, and for which countries a certificate must be submitted:

-- who: applicants who spent a total of six months or more in any one country over the course of the four years prior to applying for citizenship

-- for which countries: an applicant who is required to submit a police certificate needs to provide one for any country in which the applicant spent a total of six months or more in that country over the course of the four years prior to applying for citizenship

The general instructions for police certificates at the IRCC website are largely about requirements for visa applicants. They can be useful, however, for determining how to obtain the police certificate (that said, some of the specific country information is so generic as to be of little use, and for those countries anyone needing a certificate may have to do more research).

 

[zorroo]

Overall: note differences between (1) who must submit a police certificate, (2) which countries a police certificate must be provided for, and (3) how to obtain a police certificate from a particular country. Requirements for visa applicants are different than for citizenship applicants.


For citizenship applicants:

The guide instructions for citizenship applicants, consistent with what is prescribed in the document checklist, describe who must submit a police certificate, and for which countries a certificate must be submitted:

-- who: applicants who spent a total of six months or more in any one country over the course of the four years prior to applying for citizenship

-- for which countries: an applicant who is required to submit a police certificate needs to provide one for any country in which the applicant spent a total of six months or more in that country over the course of the four years prior to applying for citizenship

The general instructions for police certificates at the IRCC website are largely about requirements for visa applicants. They can be useful, however, for determining how to obtain the police certificate (that said, some of the specific country information is so generic as to be of little use, and for those countries anyone needing a certificate may have to do more research).

Thank you very much for answering my question and +1 for you.