These are almost impossible to get from abroad (I've applied to get one from abroad in the past and it never arrived) and I often need police clearances for employment. Is there any way I would be able to get it back from immigration?
The guide does not say if you need to mail the original or a photocopy. For all other documents, except for the application form and presence calculator, they ask that you only send photocopies... so it seems reasonable they'll accept a photocopy of the PCC.
The last I looked the checklist states (in list of documents for those to be submitted IF . . . "this applies to you"):
Original police certificates or clearances for each country where you were present for a total of 183 days or more in the four (4) years immediately before the date of your application. If you are unable to obtain a police certificate, tell us why in the space provided in question 10 of the application form.
"Original" is in bold.
There are many suggestions that IRCC may be approaching this requirement with some flexibility. While a significant portion of those suggestions are not credible (particularly claims that the applicant does not need to count days prior to becoming a PR), this is something one might expect IRCC to be flexible about. The amount of flexibility, to the extent there is any, may depend on the particular case.
We do not know how strictly this requirement is enforced. It is NOT a qualifying requirement, so IRCC certainly has discretion to be flexible (the related qualifying requirement is no prohibition for a criminal charge in the other country). Reports indicating lax if not virtual non-enforcement in certain circumstances, lack verification and some seem outright suspect.
While
we do NOT know for certain how IRCC looks at item 10.b, and the police certificate submitted, in the course of conducting the completeness check, it is probably safe to assume that a photocopy will pass the completeness check. Thus, an applicant could submit the photocopy and be prepared to bring the original to the interview, and likely-worst case scenario is that the interviewer asserts IRCC needs to retain the original.
Perhaps it would be better to give an explanation, "photocopy submitted because . . . ," in the application (in boxes for item 10), and include the photocopy. But sometimes explanations can cause more problems than they resolve.
To pass the completeness check the applicant who checks "yes" in response to item 10.b should
BOTH include the certificate
AND check the box on the checklist. For those who pay close attention to detail, this could be construed to be a representation that the enclosed certificate is the "original." My guess, but it is indeed just a guess, is that is being a rather bit more technical than necessary, if not anal. But because it is what it is, and it is very difficult to forecast what IRCC will focus on if and when concerns are identified, how to approach this is the applicant's personal decision. (What is alluded to here is more about the difference between the clearly qualified applicant who poses no credibility concerns versus the applicant IRCC might perceive to be suspect and thus go looking for specific details to, in effect, hold against the applicant; vast, vast majority belong to the former, no need to be so concerned about minute details, and nearly all the latter know who they are and why no matter how much they protest otherwise. This should be obvious but this is the internet, so . . . )
By the way, I am quite confident that IRCC is well-acquainted with the practical (not just formal) process of obtaining police certificates from most countries in the world, and particularly so a country like the Philippines. Including how easy or how difficult it is. My guess is that will play into how flexible IRCC might be in the particular situation. I have no idea about the Philippines. But the forum is rife with contradictory claims about various countries, some asserting it is so difficult as to be practically impossible to obtain a certificate from this or that country, while others report obtaining the certificate with little more than some inconvenience. IRCC almost certainly knows, at least for most countries. Including the Philippines. And my guess is that can have some influence in how IRCC handles the individual case.
thanks