Hi Everyone,
I know that lots of people struggle to get a police certificate from Saudi Arabia. There are no clear instructions on how to do it and the Saudi embassies are of no help. I recently went through the struggle of getting mine and thought to share the process to make it easier for everyone else who is looking for information on how to get one. Note that the process that I followed applies to my particular situation and may not apply to yours. So if your situation is similar to mine then this post may help you, otherwise I would continue searching the web for other help resources. I should also mention that the process may seem overwhelming at first: it sure is a bit of work to get the police certificate, but if you break it down into steps and finish them one by one then you will get there pretty quick. Even though I had to do tons of research and lots of back and forth I was still able to obtain my police certificate in one month! (this is a record time given the complications of dealing with Saudi authorities -
).
My situation: I am a Lebanese citizen who lived in Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2007 then came to Canada for University when I was 20 years old. I never returned to Saudi Arabia since and currently have no legal status in that country. But I do have some relatives that still live there who helped me get the police certificate. The police certificate was specifically requested by CIC as part of the RPRF payment email for the purposes of my Permanent Residence application in Canada.
How to obtain the police certificate. With the help of your contact in Saudi Arabia:
To obtain the request letter from your embassy in Saudi Arabia:
To obtain your fingerprints in Canada:
How I obtained my police certificate in detail:
After CIC requested the police certificate, I sent my uncle, who lives in Riyadh, a scan copy of my (old) Iqama and passport. My uncle took these documents to the Lebanese embassy in Riyadh (my country of origin's embassy) and explained to them that I need to obtain a police certificate for the purposes of my PR application in Canada. Without hesitance, the embassy gave him an official request letter and asked him to take the letter to the Criminal Investigation Unit in Riyadh (Adela Jena2eya) after certifying the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But before he could go to the Criminal Investigation Unit I should send him my fingerprints. To obtain these, I went to the local police department in my city who took my fingerprints and gave me an official fingerprints document. I notarized the document from a notary public then sent them to my friend who lives in Ottawa. My good friend authenticated the fingerprints at the Department of Foreign Affairs then dropped them off to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ottawa. After the embassy mailed me back the authenticated documents I took photos and sent all the documents to my uncle in Riyadh with a good friend who happened to be flying there that week. Once my uncle received the documents he stamped the fingerprints with "No Criminal Record" from the criminal investigation unit then authenticated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and mailed them back to me. The whole process took about one month.
That's it people! I hope this post was helpful. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
I know that lots of people struggle to get a police certificate from Saudi Arabia. There are no clear instructions on how to do it and the Saudi embassies are of no help. I recently went through the struggle of getting mine and thought to share the process to make it easier for everyone else who is looking for information on how to get one. Note that the process that I followed applies to my particular situation and may not apply to yours. So if your situation is similar to mine then this post may help you, otherwise I would continue searching the web for other help resources. I should also mention that the process may seem overwhelming at first: it sure is a bit of work to get the police certificate, but if you break it down into steps and finish them one by one then you will get there pretty quick. Even though I had to do tons of research and lots of back and forth I was still able to obtain my police certificate in one month! (this is a record time given the complications of dealing with Saudi authorities -
).My situation: I am a Lebanese citizen who lived in Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2007 then came to Canada for University when I was 20 years old. I never returned to Saudi Arabia since and currently have no legal status in that country. But I do have some relatives that still live there who helped me get the police certificate. The police certificate was specifically requested by CIC as part of the RPRF payment email for the purposes of my Permanent Residence application in Canada.
How to obtain the police certificate. With the help of your contact in Saudi Arabia:
- Obtain a request letter from your country's embassy in Saudi Arabia. This request letter is required by the police department in Saudi Arabia to provide the police certificate.
- Take your fingerprints in Canada and send them to your contact along with 2 passport size photos.
- Take the request letter, fingerprints, and photos to the local police department in Saudi Arabia (Criminal Investigation Unit/Adela Jena2ya). They will stamp the fingerprints with "No Criminal Record" stamp and return it back. THIS IS the police certificate (or criminal record if you prefer). You will not get (or need) any other document. They only stamp the fingerprints and this is all you need. Note that every country has a different format.
- Optionally authenticate the stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia. I don't know if this is a required step by CIC but no harm in doing it if you can.
To obtain the request letter from your embassy in Saudi Arabia:
- You will need a copy of your (old) iqama and a copy of your passport. The requirements may vary per embassy so call your embassy to get the exact details.
- Ask your contact to take these documents to your embassy and obtain the request letter. The embassy should know what the letter is.
- After obtaining the request letter it must be authenticated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia. Otherwise the local police department will not accept it. So ask your contact there to authenticate the letter from the Ministry of Foreign affairs (tip: it will be a lot easier if they take a Saudi national with them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, otherwise they may not be able to authenticate).
To obtain your fingerprints in Canada:
- Call your local police department in Canada and schedule an appointment to take your fingerprints for the purposes of Permanent Residence. You will need a printed copy of the fingerprints, not digital.
- After taking the fingerprints they must be notarized. Take the fingerprints to a local notary. On the back you have to write and sign "I, <Your Name>, hereby certify that this is an original document issued by the <Name of Local Police Department>". The signature should be done in front of the notary public. They will notarize your signature.
- Authenticate the fingerprints from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. Instructions: www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/authentication-authentification_documents.aspx?lang=eng#Criminal_record_checks
- Authenticate the fingerprints from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ottawa. Instructions: www.embassies.mofa.gov.sa/sites/canada/EN/ConsulateSection/Certifications/Pages/Legalization-of-other-documents.aspx.
- Note that in order for the Saudi Police department to accept your fingerprints taken in Canada the fingerprints must be authenticated by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canada. The embassy requires that you first notarize the fingerprints then authenticate them from the Department of Foreign Affairs (thus the lengthy process). You can find this information on the Embassy of Saudi Arabia website using the link provided above.
How I obtained my police certificate in detail:
After CIC requested the police certificate, I sent my uncle, who lives in Riyadh, a scan copy of my (old) Iqama and passport. My uncle took these documents to the Lebanese embassy in Riyadh (my country of origin's embassy) and explained to them that I need to obtain a police certificate for the purposes of my PR application in Canada. Without hesitance, the embassy gave him an official request letter and asked him to take the letter to the Criminal Investigation Unit in Riyadh (Adela Jena2eya) after certifying the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But before he could go to the Criminal Investigation Unit I should send him my fingerprints. To obtain these, I went to the local police department in my city who took my fingerprints and gave me an official fingerprints document. I notarized the document from a notary public then sent them to my friend who lives in Ottawa. My good friend authenticated the fingerprints at the Department of Foreign Affairs then dropped them off to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ottawa. After the embassy mailed me back the authenticated documents I took photos and sent all the documents to my uncle in Riyadh with a good friend who happened to be flying there that week. Once my uncle received the documents he stamped the fingerprints with "No Criminal Record" from the criminal investigation unit then authenticated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and mailed them back to me. The whole process took about one month.
That's it people! I hope this post was helpful. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
