Police check for vacation of <5 months

[Lolo851]

I paid my RFRP fee a week ago and I have now been asked to provide police clearance from Guatemala. I travelled in Guatemala for 7 weeks in 2008 and was in Central America for less than 5 months.

Has anyone else had any experience of being asked to produce a police check for a country they vacationed in for less than 6 months? Did you have any success with changing the request?

I have no one in Guatemala I can ask to represent me and I can't afford to fly there to get the police check. Nor is my Spanish good enough!

 

[arowberry]

That's pretty crazy. I would call and email the CIC and ask them whether it was a mistake and point out that you would have to take a trip to Guatemala to get a police check for what was a vacation.

 

[nihon19]

I paid my RFRP fee a week ago and I have now been asked to provide police clearance from Guatemala. I travelled in Guatemala for 7 weeks in 2008 and was in Central America for less than 5 months.

Has anyone else had any experience of being asked to produce a police check for a country they vacationed in for less than 6 months? Did you have any success with changing the request?

I have no one in Guatemala I can ask to represent me and I can't afford to fly there to get the police check. Nor is my Spanish good enough!

You can reply and provide your reasons, i guess sometimes they have really very unexperienced VOs. They asked certified translation for bilingual police certificate.
IT is very clearly mentioned that you need to provide police certificate from a country if you stayed more than 6 motns. just resend this link, also you can explain that procedure to get certifivcate is almost not possible, and why.

 

[owen88]

Hi there, I'm in a really similar situation. Was asked on April 21st to provide a Guatemalan police check but only spent 2 months there in 2012. Have you had any luck trying to sort it out??? I'm the same in that it would be impossible practically and financially to travel there right now and I'm far from fluent in Spanish!

Please let me know if you have found any way around providing the police check or if you've found a way to obtain one without going there in person! I'm starting to panic so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[zardoz]

Hi there, I'm in a really similar situation. Was asked on April 21st to provide a Guatemalan police check but only spent 2 months there in 2012. Have you had any luck trying to sort it out??? I'm the same in that it would be impossible practically and financially to travel there right now and I'm far from fluent in Spanish!

Please let me know if you have found any way around providing the police check or if you've found a way to obtain one without going there in person! I'm starting to panic so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

CIC have always had the option to make reasonable additional document requests, including PCC from countries where you may not have been for the normal 6 months period. You have two choices, ignore the request or comply. CIC may have specific reasons for certain cases in certain countries, related to potential criminality or security concerns.

 

[jes_ON]

The third option is to ask CIC (not us) if there has been an error, and if the PCC is really required.

 

[owen88]

I asked CIC over the phone whether it was a mistake and the call centre operator said it didn't look like a mistake as it is noted on our application that it has been requested but that there's a possibility that they could have thought we were there for more than 6 months (though I think this is unlikely). I have tried emailing to ask for a more definite answer but, unsurprisingly considering this is CIC we're talking about, have had no response.

As to having only those two options, if that is the case then I am between a rock and a hard place as if I ignore the request, my application will surely fail (and would be extremely disappointing and frustrating to fail on this point) , and it is not an option to comply as it will be impossible to travel to Guatemala and get the certificate within the 60 days I've been given. Even if financially and practically it would be possible for me to travel to Guatemala, I would need to go to 2 different offices in Guatemala City, one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and would be very unlikely to be able to communicate sufficiently in Spanish to obtain the certificates.

Has anyone ever successfully been exempt from producing a certificate based on it being impossible to obtain it???

Has anyone been given an extension on the amount of time given to produce a police certificate???

Does anyone know of any way of getting a Guatemalan police certificate without travelling to Guatemala???

Would really appreciate any advice anyone can offer!

 

[arowberry]

I asked CIC over the phone whether it was a mistake and the call centre operator said it didn't look like a mistake as it is noted on our application that it has been requested but that there's a possibility that they could have thought we were there for more than 6 months (though I think this is unlikely). I have tried emailing to ask for a more definite answer but, unsurprisingly considering this is CIC we're talking about, have had no response.

As to having only those two options, if that is the case then I am between a rock and a hard place as if I ignore the request, my application will surely fail (and would be extremely disappointing and frustrating to fail on this point) , and it is not an option to comply as it will be impossible to travel to Guatemala and get the certificate within the 60 days I've been given. Even if financially and practically it would be possible for me to travel to Guatemala, I would need to go to 2 different offices in Guatemala City, one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and would be very unlikely to be able to communicate sufficiently in Spanish to obtain the certificates.

Has anyone ever successfully been exempt from producing a certificate based on it being impossible to obtain it???

Has anyone been given an extension on the amount of time given to produce a police certificate???

Does anyone know of any way of getting a Guatemalan police certificate without travelling to Guatemala???

Would really appreciate any advice anyone can offer!

I'm going to spitball a few thoughts and possible options...

Realistically, calling the CIC wasn't going to achieve too much. The operators aren't the best at giving generic answers, let alone something that is case specific. I can't imagine they're allowed to suggest that an actual visa officer may have made a mistake.

I'd like to think that they aren't going to decline your application if they have record of you contacting the CIC about your case, but I could easily be wrong.

It's worth emailing the office in Ottawa (again) and perhaps trying to contact them via this link, to maximise your contact attempts. Recording when & what you've sent them is a wise thing to do.
https://dmp-portal.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx

Plenty of people have contacted their local MP with their case to try to get them to push for a response from the CIC. With what is at stake for you, you may consider trying this route.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

It's worth starting a new post with 'Guatemalan Police Certificate' in the title to try to get some responses to your questions.

 

[owen88]

Thanks for the advice! I am just praying that this isn't going to screw up my application!

I saw that it says on the CIC website that says, "If you are not able to get a police certificate from a country because you are a refugee from that country or for any other reason, please explain the reasons in writing." I am going to try this and hope that my reasons are good enough!

Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully managed to get an exemption from providing a police certificate! Or, from anyone who has managed to obtain a police certificate from Guatemala without going there in person!

 

[jes_ON]

I have tried emailing to ask for a more definite answer but, unsurprisingly considering this is CIC we're talking about, have had no response.

Give it a couple of weeks (unfortunately, it can take 2 weeks for them to reply, IF they reply).

All the sources say the same - you can only get it in person, but you can have a representative apply in person. So, if traveling to Guatemala is not possible, your choices are -
1) wait / continue inquiring whether there is an error,
2) determine whether you can have a representative obtain the PCC(s) for you,
3) prepare an explanation (with documentary proof) as to why you cannot get the PCC (search this forum, there are plenty of examples). Provide as much proof as you can about the duration of your stay (e.g. enty/exist stamps in passport, address / reference in Guatemala).

If you don't have friends/family in Guatemala who can help you get these documents, you can try contacting a lawyer. The US Embassy (for example) has a list of lawyers on its Guatemala website.

http://guatemala.usembassy.gov/acs_legal_information.html

Or you can search for "Guatemala expat" forums and ask for info there. I found this firm by doing that - but of course this is not an endorsement, I have no knowledge of or experience with them -

http://abogados.com.gt/business-consulting/?lang=en

 

[Lolo851]

A mini update on my situation: I emailed the Ottawa office with scans of my Guatemalan entry and exit passport stamps, and my flight e-ticket. I questioned whether providing the police check was necessary, given I had not lived in Guatemala for a period of more than 6 months as an adult.

I received this reply a few days later:

"Hello,

Thank you for your email.

Please note that your request is currently pending review by an officer. Please note that our office will contact you if further information is required.

Thank you for your continued interest in Canada.

Regards,"

Let's hope they see reason, as flying to Guatemala would be extremely expensive, I have no confidence that my Spanish is good enough to get the documents, and I also doubt that the Guatemalan officials would give me the documents.

 

[Lolo851]

I just wanted to give a mini update. After submitting my passport stamps and flights e-tickets in an explanatory email to CIC, they let me know that I do not have to provide police clearance from Guatemala.

Thank you for all your advice, everyone, and I hope those in similar sticky situations manage to resolve them.

 

[arowberry]

I just wanted to give a mini update. After submitting my passport stamps and flights e-tickets in an explanatory email to CIC, they let me know that I do not have to provide police clearance from Guatemala.

Thank you for all your advice, everyone, and I hope those in similar sticky situations manage to resolve them.

Excellent! Great to hear and thanks for following up. Hope the rest goes smoothly for ya