Application sent back - Police Certificates?

[reesa]

Hi there,

I recently submitted my Common-Law application (I am the Principal Applicant, with no family or anything) and had it sent back. The agent highlighted two issues:

1. I didn't sign the Schedule A (IMM 5669) next to my typed name, and
2. I did not provide police certificates.

So, I understand my mistake in #1. What I am confused about is #2.

Some background: I am 27 years old, and I am an American citizen by birth. I moved to Canada a little over 7 years ago and have been with my partner (who is a Canadian citizen by birth) since that date as well. I also completed my B.A. and M.A. in Canada and have since been working professionally here on a PGWP.

The reason I did not submit a Police Certificate is because of the description of police certificates in the checklist (leaving out the irrelevant text referring to family members for simplicity's sake):

[ ] 4. Police Certificates and Clearances

[ ] Police Certificates:

You (the principal applicant) must submit police certificates from the following country or countries at this time, unless indicated otherwise on the police certificate webpage:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/how/united-states.html

[ ] The country where you currently live, if you have lived there for six months or more; and
[ ] The country where you have spent most of your life since the age of 18.​

Canadian Police Certificates:

[ ] If you have lived in Canada for the last six months, or Canada is the country where you have lived for most of your life since the age of 18, police certificates for Canada are not required at this time. IRCC will make a request for a Canadian police certificate on your behalf. Check here if this applies to you.​

When I submitted my application, I checked the Police Certificates and Clearances "big" box, Checked the "Police Certificates" box, wrote "N/A" next to the first two boxes, and then checked the box next to the Canadian Police Certificates area. The agent highlighted the "Police Certificates" area (the text I've highlighted in red), indicating that this is what my application was missing.

But...am I crazy or does none of the highlighted text apply to me? My current country is Canada, I have lived in Canada for 7+ years (so greater than 6mo) and I have spent the majority of my time here since I turned 18 (2 years in the States, and 5+ in Canada). With that established, I thought the only police records I needed to submit were Canadian - and thus, I did not need to submit them. So what exactly do I need to submit - my Canadian records, my American records, both, or neither?

(And, if I need to submit my U.S. police certificate, would it need to be from any state I lived in prior to moving to Canada? There are two: one being my home state, and one being a state I moved to for less than two years of university before transferring to Canada.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[KBH]

Since they switched the police certificates back to being an upfront submission, this seems to be a common area of confusion with the officers... this is not the first post I have seen about an app being sent back for this reason. They seem to want a police certificate from your home country even if you have lived in Canada for the majority of your adult life.

You don't need to submit the Canadian one, they will request it later if they want it.

If I were you I would get the FBI check (the American police check) and submit it with your app. You do not need any state police checks.

 

[reesa]

Thanks KBH!

As an update: I finally got through the immigration phone line to an agent, who told me that you need to supply them for anywhere you've lived for longer than 6 months in the last ten years...which I am pretty sure is bullshit (because he also argued that the document checklist says this, despite me having both the version I applied with as well as the newest version directly in front of me, but...whatever). All I got out of the call is that apparently everyone at CIC has their own idea of what is required, so I might as well just go ahead and submit it.

So, follow-up question: can I have my police record sent electronically, then print it out and submit it, or do I have to have it sent to me by mail? The US Police Certificates page says "All police certificates must be originals. Photocopies will not be accepted." which makes me think I need it by mail, but I'm freaking out a bit, because according to both that page as well as the FBI page, it could take more than 60 days (or up to 14-16 weeks according to the FBI) to have this mailed to me. That's an obscene amount of time for something I don't technically need.

 

[mrs_december]

Thanks KBH!

As an update: I finally got through the immigration phone line to an agent, who told me that you need to supply them for anywhere you've lived for longer than 6 months in the last ten years...which I am pretty sure is bullshit (because he also argued that the document checklist says this, despite me having both the version I applied with as well as the newest version directly in front of me, but...whatever). All I got out of the call is that apparently everyone at CIC has their own idea of what is required, so I might as well just go ahead and submit it.

So, follow-up question: can I have my police record sent electronically, then print it out and submit it, or do I have to have it sent to me by mail? The US Police Certificates page says "All police certificates must be originals. Photocopies will not be accepted." which makes me think I need it by mail, but I'm freaking out a bit, because according to both that page as well as the FBI page, it could take more than 60 days (or up to 14-16 weeks according to the FBI) to have this mailed to me. That's an obscene amount of time for something I don't technically need.

Here is the easiest way to get your PCC from the US.

1. Call your local Commissionaires office (https://www.commissionaires.ca/en/national/home?postal_cancel=1) and make an appointment to get your fingerprints done. Tell them it is for immigration purposes and that you need 2 copies of ink prints. The cost is roughly 60 CAD for the prints.
2. Go to the FBI's electronic records site here (https://www.edo.cjis.gov/#/) and fill out a request for the police clearance. The cost is like 18 USD per request. You will receive email verification with a link and PIN number to access your request online. Do NOT delete this. You will need that link and PIN to access your completed PCC once done.
3. Once you submit this, it will put your request into the FBI system. At this point, you need to mail your fingerprints in to the FBI. The address is provided for you when you submit your request.
4. Once the FBI receives your fingerprints, you will receive a PDF of the PCC in your email which you print out and submit with your application. Their turnaround time is about 24 hours from the time they receive your prints in the mail.

The PDF copy is considered an original and will be accepted. I had my copy ready to go within a week's time of initial submission, including expedited mail to the FBI.

 

[jess23]

Same situation as you. just received my returned package and is was returned with exactly same reason with you.
Mine situation is a bit different though. I came to Canada 2 months after I turned to 18 and now I have been living here for 5 years.
Do I have to submit a Canadian police check and one from my home country even though i was a minor when i was there?