Express Entry: Police Certificates for Immigration

Police certificates are a mandatory requirement, and failure to include them can result in your application being rejected. Make sure you understand what’s required for your file, before it’s too late!

This page should answer all your questions about getting a police certificate for Express Entry immigration to Canada.

A police certificate or a police clearance is a document issued by a government authority detailing a person’s history of criminal offences.

If you have no history of criminal behaviour, you have nothing to worry about as long as you submit the correct documents. If you do have a criminal record with any serious offences, it could jeopardize your application. Serious criminal offences can result in an applicant being refused due to criminal inadmissibility.

Police clearance certificates are called different names depending on the country. They may be referred to as police certificates, criminal record checks, background checks, or other similar documents. Because the requirements vary by country, it’s important to check the specific instructions for each country where you need a certificate.

IRCC may ask for a police certificate at different stages of the immigration process, depending on the program you’re applying through.

For most permanent residence applications, you’ll usually be asked to submit police certificates when you submit your application. However, in some cases, IRCC may request additional or updated certificates later during processing.

• Express Entry applicants: Police certificates are not required when you create your Express Entry profile. You’ll only need to submit them after receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA). Since you have just 60 days to submit a complete application after receiving an ITA, it’s a good idea to apply for your police certificates in advance. Express Entry draws can be unpredictable, and having your certificates ready can help you avoid delays and submit a stronger application.
• Other permanent residence applicants: Usually submit police certificates with the application.
• Temporary residence applicants: May be asked to provide a police certificate after applying.
• All applicants: May be asked for updated or additional police certificates during processing if required.

How to get a Police Clearance Certificate for Immigration?

As part of your application, you may need to provide police clearance certificates from every country where you have lived for six months or longer since turning 18.

In most cases, you’ll need to contact the local police authority, government agency, or another designated organization to request the certificate.

You may be required to:

• Provide personal information or supporting documents, such as:
  • Photographs
  • Fingerprints
  • Addresses where you lived in the country and the dates you lived there
• Pay a processing fee

If your police clearance certificate is issued in a language other than English or French, you must submit the original certificate along with a certified translation.

If fingerprints are required to obtain your police clearance certificate, note that this is different from providing biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) as part of your immigration application.

Use IRCC’s country-specific tool to find out what document is required and how to obtain it:

Check country-specific police certificate requirements

If the certificate is for the country where you currently live, it must have been issued within the six months prior to the date you submit your application.

If the certificate is for any other country, the certificate must have been issued after the last time that you stayed in the country for six consecutive months or longer.

After receiving your ITA, you have 60 days to submit your complete permanent residence application, including your police certificate(s). Some countries will take more than 60 days to issue a police certificate. If you expect you will receive an ITA, you can apply for your police certificate in advance. However, if you are unable to get the police certificate in time, you have two options:

Option 1: You can decline your invitation. Provided your Express Entry profile is less than 12 months old, you will be returned to the pool of candidates and considered in future Express Entry draws. However, there is a risk that you may not be invited to apply in a future draw.

Option 2: You can submit your application, but instead of submitting the outstanding police certificate, you can upload documentation proving the police certificate has been requested (payment receipt, tracking number, etc.) along with a letter of explanation. In this case, IRCC immigration officers may accept these documents as a placeholder until you receive your police certificate. However, this decision is at the discretion of the IRCC officer, who may nonetheless choose to reject your application as incomplete.

If you submit an application without a required police certificate and without any placeholder documentation, then your application will almost certainly be rejected as incomplete.