Aloha everyone,
So Am making this thread for anyone who have got a relation to the UAE and need to get the PCC issued to comply with IRCC regulation 10 regarding proving personal criminality record.
I will be show casing this topic from a personal experience, as being a resident of the UAE for all my life (meaning I been living in this hot spot of the global since birth). To make it easier for everyone , I have decided to make this thread format in FAQ so it would be easier for everyone to follow up.
Q1. DO I NEED A PCC FROM THE UAE ANYWAY ?
simply answer is : it depends! According to section 10 of the Immigration and Refuge protection Act, you need to submit a PCC document for any country you been living in for a period of six months or more in a ROW for the past ten years. If this applies to you ,then yes go get a PCC from any country including but not limited to the UAE.
Examples for people who don't need it. (assuming they all fill their eAPR on 9th March 2019):
Person A , lived in UAE from 1-1-2007 to 28-2-2009 - He/she doesn't need to get it as he missed the 10 years mark and thus he doesn't need to get it.
Person B, lived in UAE from 1-1-2007 to 28-2-2009 and left but came back again from 1-1-2010 till 15-5-2010 - He/she doesn't need to get it as he/she missed the six months in row ruling by only 15 days and thus do not require getting a PCC from the UAE.
Q2. WHO PROVIDE/ISSUE PCC IN THE UAE AND WHICH ONE IS ACCEPTED BY IRCC?
According to the IRCC, they accept any PCC issued by any of the seven emirates local police departments in addition the Ministry of the interior, meaning getting yours from emirate or the federal agency such MOI would be deemed sufficient to prove your case. As long as the details mentioned on the PCC itself is current and valid up to the date of issuance, you are all good for that matter.
Q3. NOW THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS ON THE TABLE , WHICH ONE SHOULD I GET IT FROM?
Now we are getting into the topic! You can opt for any of the acceptable issuers by IRCC but I will be making a comparison of the two of the most popular choices for many. Dubai Police and Ministry of Interior, I will be show casing the process itself.
Dubai Police
To get your PCC , visit this web page to read more about the process itself:
https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/wps/portal/home/services/individualservicescontent/goodconductcertificatecatalog
Few things to note here:
- Dubai police do not require you to sign up for any online account and thus you can get it as guest user.
- If you are currently living in the UAE, you will need only to fill in your EmiratesID number by choosing Inside UAE option
- If you are currently living outside the UAE, you will need to fill in your Emirates ID number by choosing Outside UAE option and only if you had it before leaving the UAE (this greatly affect how fast will they get back to you) . You will also be required to upload a copy of your passport , last residency visa in the UAE and a personal picture.
- Make sure you select purpose as '' Immigration '' , as to stay honest and truthful to both them and IRCC.
- When selecting "Type Of Requested Party", only select private, as it will allow you to type in the desired party name and not have to choose from a predefined list If you had selected Government.
- When typing the Requested party name , AVOID typing IRCC or PR visa or anything beside the correct party name. As per the Dubai Police policy, they can only issue it to business/Government entities currently enlisted in the country. In our case, you can only go as far as the Canadian embassy or else you might run into a risk of rejection. So , you can type ''Embassy of Canada In Abu Dhabi"
Ministry Of Interior Of the UAE
Getting this PCC is kinda awkward, you can get it through their website and pay 150 AED for English certificate but if you used their official app you only need to pay 50 AED. So in this guide, I will only describe their app and not their website. Am not sure if this is something that will be fixed, but that's how I got my PCC earlier this year. When running the app ,select the ''Criminal Status'' button.
Few things to note here:
- In the latest update of their Mobile App, they have started offering PCC service for guest users. But I highly recommend you sign up so you can follow up on your application status.
- Similar to Dubai police, If you were living in the UAE you only need to fill in your Emirates ID and it will prefill all your personal details for you.
- After doing so, you will then need to select the purpose as '' For outside country purpose'', as nothing is mentioned about immigration if the application is selected as English, which is surprisingly not the case if you run the app in Arabic.
- You need to type in the organization name just as mentioned above.
- Now what makes MOI service special to Dubai Police, is that they offer eDelivery but they also offer physical delivery of the PCC which will be manually signed and stamped. Not that it will matter to IRCC as they accept both methods, it's always nice having it this way just to better make your case. BUT Don't worry if you didn't, it won't matter it's just a bonus.
Q4. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
On average, it takes both of them about 1-3 hours to approve your PCC if you are currently living in the UAE and do have an active EmiratesID. However, if you are living outside the UAE, it can range from 5-15 days as per past trends.
Q5. OKEY HOW MUCH DOES IT COST AND WHICH ONE DO YOU RECOMMEND ?
To answer this question , I will list pros and cons of each of these two services so you can make a decision based on what matters to you.
Dubai Police
Pros:
1- Their service is extremely well organized and their website/mobile app are better designed and laid out.
2- They offer better customer service through call center (901) and live chat
3- Their certificates are easily verified online through their online e-Document inquiry tool which will make it easier for IRCC to verify your PCC without needing to call them on the official channels.
Cons:
1- They are extremely expensive. They charge 200 AED for residents of the UAE and 300 AED for those living outside UAE (excluding 20 AED admin charges).
2- They only will send your PCC as in PDF format which again can be worrying to some who might feel more relaxed having an actual original PCC on their hand.
Ministory Of Interior
Pros:
1- They are waay cheaper, only for 50 AED for the actual PCC and another 50 AED if you need attestation and if you opt for delivery option , it will cost you 15 AED for 2-3 days service
2- They offer delivery of the original certificate which is hand signed and stamped and are printed on special form.
Cons:
1- Their service overall unpolished compared to Dubai Police. There is conflict between website and mobile app when it comes to how they offer the service and how instructions are displayed.
2- Their call center isn't as responsive as Dubai Police and chances you will get help isn't as good as with Dubai police.
Am done with this. Let me know if you guys need any help. Thanks for reading.
Regards,,,
