it must be issued within three months of your submission, there is no leeway for people who have not been living in that country for however many years
I can see your logic, but pl remember, not living in that country does not mean that an offence you committed during the time you did live there, but remains undiscovered until later, is not counted
for example, a guy rapes a woman in 1980, then leaves his country for good, starting a new life elsewhere, then DNA tests reveal in year 2008 that this guy is the culprit and he is put on the wanted persons list
that's why they require up to date PCCs