Embedded Files
A police certificate is a statement document that shows IRCC that an applicant does not have a criminal record or, if has one, a copy of their criminal record. They help IRCC confirm if there are any reasons an applicant may be inadmissible to Canada.
An immigration application should contain a colour scan copy of the original police certificate and a colour scan copy of its translation in English or French from a certified translator if it is not in either of Canadian official languages.
An applicant and any family members in the application who are 18 years old or older may need to get a police certificate, depending on the program they are applying to. They must provide a police certificate if they apply for permanent residence, citizenship (in certain cases) and International Experience Canada.
Some countries will give an applicant a police certificate only if an applicant has a request letter from IRCC. In this case an applicant should upload a document in the police certificate field in the document checklist that says “I am applying from a country that requires an official request letter from IRCC to get a police certificate.” IRCC will then review an application and provide more information on how to get a police certificate. IRCC website contains information on how to get police certificates from different countries here.
Police certificate validity
For the country where an applicant currently resides: must be issued no more than 6 months before the date an applicant submits their application (as processing times may vary, IRCC may ask an applicant for updated certificates).
For any other country: must be issued after the last time an applicant resided there for 6 consecutive months or longer since the age of 18.
There is no need to give IRCC police certificates for any period of time before an applicant was 18 years old or for time spent in Canada.
If an applicant cannot get a police certificate from any country or territory, they must show proof that they requested a police certificate from the correct authorities, and write a letter explaining all they have done to try to get one.
We help our clients to get police certificates from many countries, including Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Portugal, UK, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Belgium, Ireland, France, and many other countries from around the world. But there are countries where we cannot help (for example, China). If you need help with obtaining a police certificate from a certain country, let us know!
Disclaimer: Provided information is not a legal advice. Every case is unique. We recommend you to discuss your case with a specialist first.
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Last updated October 23, 2025
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