Good conduct certificate from Syria?

[Jahm]

Hello all,

I recently got an ITA on Express Entry profile.

I'm a holder of Syrian Travel document, born and lived my entire life in Oman.
I spent perhaps a grand total of 50 days in Syria (yep, throughout my life).. Now my immigration agent is insisting that a Good Conduct certificate from Oman alone will not suffice, and that because I am a Syrian citizen, I should also approach the Syrian Consulate and ask them to also issue me a GC certificate...

Thoughts?
According to the IRCC's website, the certificate is only necessary if I resided in a country for more than 6 months, and I have never been in Syria for that long.. but do I still need to get one simply because I'm a citizen of that country?

 

[picklee]

Hello all,

I recently got an ITA on Express Entry profile.

I'm a holder of Syrian Travel document, born and lived my entire life in Oman.
I spent perhaps a grand total of 50 days in Syria (yep, throughout my life).. Now my immigration agent is insisting that a Good Conduct certificate from Oman alone will not suffice, and that because I am a Syrian citizen, I should also approach the Syrian Consulate and ask them to also issue me a GC certificate...

Thoughts?
According to the IRCC's website, the certificate is only necessary if I resided in a country for more than 6 months, and I have never been in Syria for that long.. but do I still need to get one simply because I'm a citizen of that country?

I think your agent is suggesting that because IRCC may ask for it later. In your case though, probably try won't ask for it, as long as your other evidence of personal acitivity and work verifies that you were outside the country for most of the time.

IRCC has this to say about Syrian PCC on their website:

When you apply for permanent residence, you will be asked to upload a police certificate. To submit your online application, write or type "As per IRCC instructions, I do not need to submit a police certificate from Syria with my application at this time" on a blank piece of paper and upload it in the Police Certificate section.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/mid-east/syria.asp

 

[Jahm]

Thanks for the response, Picklee.

I saw that bit on the CIC website too. My personal history reads as follows: Studied from 2007 to 2011, unemployed for 5 months (still in Muscat) and then employed by a company, which I still work for to this very day.

I only took one trip to Syria back in 2010, which lasted for seven days and the reason was to apply for a reprieve from the compulsory military service. As it stands, my current passport's visa pages are empty, since I hardly travel anyway.

The thought of having to go through troublesome Syria-related paperwork is giving me the willies.. and I seriously would rather avoid it if I could. Guess I'll get it just to be safe.

 

[picklee]

Thanks for the response, Picklee.

I saw that bit on the CIC website too. My personal history reads as follows: Studied from 2007 to 2011, unemployed for 5 months (still in Muscat) and then employed by a company, which I still work for to this very day.

I only took one trip to Syria back in 2010, which lasted for seven days and the reason was to apply for a reprieve from the compulsory military service. As it stands, my current passport's visa pages are empty, since I hardly travel anyway.

The thought of having to go through troublesome Syria-related paperwork is giving me the willies.. and I seriously would rather avoid it if I could. Guess I'll get it just to be safe.

I agree it could be a headache. If it's too complicated, and the IRCC website says you don't need it unless they ask for it, then just carry on with the application with the understanding that you might be asked for it. My speculation is that they would only ask this of candidates who have spent a significant amount of time in Syria and/or those who can't prove substantially that they had a good reason to be outside the country (e.g. work or study).

Did you receive enemployment benefits while in Muscat? If so, might be good to include those documents with your application. There's no other way to verify that you didn't go back to Syria while you were unemployed and it could raise some flags.

Basically, you should be able to prove beyond a doubt that you were outside the country for the time you say you were.

 

[Jahm]

Oh, never mind. Just checked out my old passport. My visit to Syria was during my five months of unemployment, so it was AFTER I graduated

The positive here is that I could scan my old passport's visa page that contains the Muscat and Damascus entry and exit stamps, but my agent did say that Canada do not require scans of entry and exit stamps for trips that I have made to my homeland...

Should I scan and upload them anyway, or will they seem useless and unnecessary to the immigration officer reviewing my documents?

Thanks again for the reply, Picklee!

 

[picklee]

Oh, never mind. Just checked out my old passport. My visit to Syria was during my five months of unemployment, so it was AFTER I graduated

The positive here is that I could scan my old passport's visa page that contains the Muscat and Damascus entry and exit stamps, but my agent did say that Canada do not require scans of entry and exit stamps for trips that I have made to my homeland...

Should I scan and upload them anyway, or will they seem useless and unnecessary to the immigration officer reviewing my documents?

Thanks again for the reply, Picklee!

No harm in submitting more information!