I am a PR who moved to Canada from the States on July 9th 2014. One of the requirements to move to Canada was to submit a FBI background check, It was submitted right before I got my PR card.
This seems very unlikely. More likely you mean the FBI check was submitted right before you were issued the PR visa.
Perhaps you landed soon after the visa was issued and also received your PR card right away, so it was not much later. But my bet is that it was later.
If this matters, what matters would be the date of the FBI check itself and how much after that you arrived in Canada and became a landed PR. (My guess is that the former clearance does not work, does not matter.)
Now that I am eligible for the citizenship, I am trying to figure out if I need to submit another FBI background check . it would make no sense because the longest I have been outside of Canada was no more than 2 weeks and it was once and just 3 or 4 trips for a few days in the states . Do I still need to submit a FBI background check ?
On cic website, they are talking about long trips ..it`s doesn`t apply to me but the fact that I have been here for 3 years and prior to that I was in the states although a background check was submitted...not sure if it applies to me or not .
Item 10.b is a part of the application form which is NOT vague or ambiguous. It poses a very straight-forward question. If, for example, you apply on October 21, 2017, the question is whether between October 21, 2013 and October 20, 2017 you spent a total of 183 or more days in the U.S. If the total number of days since October 21, 2013 add up to 183 or more, the form instructs you to check "yes."
The duration of individual trips does not matter. Whether the days were before or after becoming a PR does not matter. What matters, to answer item 10.b accurately, is whether between October 21, 2013 and October 20, 2017 you spent a total of 183 or more days in the U.S. If yes, the answer is "yes."
You then list the U.S. in the table provided. You can either include a FBI clearance with the application or give an explanation in the space provided in that table. While I think either should pass the completeness check, I am not sure an explanation referring to an old FBI check will pass the completeness check. Could be worth the gamble, as the worst that would happen is that IRCC will return the application as incomplete, and you can then either resubmit with a FBI clearance or get a refund and submit a new application later, including the FBI check (if necessary, based on calculation for the four years preceding that date).
There has been, in another topic, extensive discussion about whether IRCC will indeed waive or otherwise not require PCC clearances from individuals in this situation. One individual has reported that a call centre representative actually advised him to check "no" in a similar situation. That might work for that individual but in general it is NEVER a good idea to check "no" when the correct response, based on actual facts, is "yes." This should be obvious. Better to check yes and explain.
My sense is that the prior FBI check will not suffice. Again, this has been discussed in depth in another topic. If the applicant has a copy of the old clearance, perhaps submitting that together with an explanation (something like "previous FBI clearance enclosed and have not been in U.S. since landing and becoming a PR") might work. I highly doubt merely referencing the old clearance will work. And I also doubt, but way less confidently, that including a copy of the old clearance will work.
I'm pretty sure it says 183 days during the 'eligibility period' or something like that. So. basically the last 5 years. I have around 183 days outside total during that but they are mostly scattered weekends I've went home to see family added all together, and not big long trips. I've gotten mixed messages on whether I still do I too. I'd rather not if possible.
Be sure to read and follow the instructions.
Who needs to submit a PCC is determined by whether the applicant checks "yes" or "no" to item 10.b and, in particular, the applicant who checks "yes" needs to submit the PCC (or explain why one cannot be obtained). As I noted above, an applicant simply needs to count the total number of days spent in another country,
during the FOUR (4) Years preceding the date the application is signed, and if that total is 183 or more, check "yes."
The eligibility period (five years) is NOT relevant. For this calculation the relevant time period is
the preceding FOUR (4) Years.
Duration of individual trips is not relevant. What matters is the total number of days. Thus, for example, someone who travels to the U.S. frequently, but never for a long stay, will need to check "yes" and submit the FBI clearance if the total adds up to 183 or more. Thus, even if the longest stay in the U.S. was no more than a week, if the total number of days adds up to 183 or more, the applicant needs to check "yes" and list the U.S. and provide the FBI clearance.
