POLICE CERTIFICATE

[eslmichael]

Hello,

My Taiwanese wife is applying for a Canadian Resident's Visa, and we know that it is necessary to include criminal record checks from any county she has resided in for more than six months since she was 18. She will need to submit criminal record checks from Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Korea, and Indonesia. We now live in Taiwan. I have some questions.

1A) Do we need to apply in person, through the mail, or can embassies in Taiwan help us?

1B) The reason I am asking is that many people have applied, for example, in Korea, through the mail, but the application for a criminal record check gets thrown into the trash or "never received". On the other-hand,in Indonesia, the police require a bribe.

1C) The immigration site states that for people not residing in Korea, they should ask a family member or spouse to apply for them. How can we do that if we don't have a family member living there?

2A) To apply for a criminal record check through the RCMP takes many, many months (I know, because I am still waiting for mine, which was sent in December). Can one of our family members act as a proxy to go to a local police station in Canada to get it for her?

3) In the end, are we going to have to fly to all of these countries to get one in person?

4A) Each criminal record check needs to be issued within 3 months before we submit our documents. To apply for one in Taiwan is a piece of cake, but in Canada, via the RCMP, takes a long time, while it takes about two weeks to get one in Australia, and we might never be able to get one from Indonesia and Korea, so how can we possibly get them all within 3 months?

4B) Is it absolutely necessary to have each one within 3 months or can some be slightly older, since a variety of countries are more efficient than others?

Thanks. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Mike

 

[rjessome]

Hello,

My Taiwanese wife is applying for a Canadian Resident's Visa, and we know that it is necessary to include criminal record checks from any county she has resided in for more than six months since she was 18. She will need to submit criminal record checks from Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Korea, and Indonesia. We now live in Taiwan. I have some questions.

1A) Do we need to apply in person, through the mail, or can embassies in Taiwan help us?

1B) The reason I am asking is that many people have applied, for example, in Korea, through the mail, but the application for a criminal record check gets thrown into the trash or "never received". On the other-hand,in Indonesia, the police require a bribe.

1C) The immigration site states that for people not residing in Korea, they should ask a family member or spouse to apply for them. How can we do that if we don't have a family member living there?

2A) To apply for a criminal record check through the RCMP takes many, many months (I know, because I am still waiting for mine, which was sent in December). Can one of our family members act as a proxy to go to a local police station in Canada to get it for her?

3) In the end, are we going to have to fly to all of these countries to get one in person?

4A) Each criminal record check needs to be issued within 3 months before we submit our documents. To apply for one in Taiwan is a piece of cake, but in Canada, via the RCMP, takes a long time, while it takes about two weeks to get one in Australia, and we might never be able to get one from Indonesia and Korea, so how can we possibly get them all within 3 months?

4B) Is it absolutely necessary to have each one within 3 months or can some be slightly older, since a variety of countries are more efficient than others?

Thanks. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Mike

I'm assuming she is applying for a PERMANENT resident visa, not temporary, and you are her sponsor?

1. All spousal sponsorship applications to be processed at an overseas visa post are sent to CPC Mississauga. Start reading here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp

2. Regarding the police certificates, here are CIC's instructions for how to apply for police clearances from South Korea and Indonesia:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/korea-south.asp
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/asia-pacific/indonesia.asp

You must do your best to obtain all of these clearances, EXCEPT the clearance for Canada as CIC will run it's own name check. Document your efforts. If there are any you cannot obtain, submit what you have with proof of your attempts to obtain the others such as letters written to the appropriate authorities, copies of courier receipts, etc. Since you mentioned you don't have family members in SK, call the police authority and ask them what would work. For Indonesia, there may be companies who do this as the website says 3rd parties can be authorized. Try getting in touch with one of them as it would probably be cheaper than a plane ticket.

3. Attempt to get the most difficult ones first. When you get what you can, follow the instructions above. Send your completed application for sponsorship and PR to CPC Mississauga before any of the PCCs expire.