If I understand your post correctly, you have a response from IRCC stating that a citizenship applicant who was in his or her home country 6 plus months during the relevant FOUR YEARS but BEFORE landing and becoming a Canadian PR, can submit a copy of the Police Certificate used in the PR visa application process rather than obtaining a new Police Certificate.
This makes sense and it is my understanding this is accurate
BUT CONTINGENT on specific facts and circumstances.
I do not know what you mean by "written and official answer." If by that you think it is equivalent to the IRCC online FAQ answers, that is probably correct.
If by that you think it definitively governs how IRCC will process your application or any other given application, I highly doubt that.
If you think it means this is binding on IRCC in your case or anyone else's case, I am very confident it does NOT mean that.
In particular, EVEN AS TO THE INDIVIDUAL who obtained this response, I am confident its applicability is
CONTINGENT on the actual facts and circumstances. Moreover, AND EVEN IF this suffices to make a complete application, I am confident it does NOT preclude IRCC from later requesting an updated or more current police certificate.
Which is to say, understanding the meaning and import of this response requires some context.
BUT a key element in this response is crucial: it indicates that IRCC expects citizenship applicants to submit a Police Certificate if the applicant was in a particular country 6 or more months during the relevant FOUR YEARS and this applies EVEN IF the time in that country was prior to becoming a PR.
THEN there is the other part of this response, in addition to it confirming such applicants do need to submit a police certificate: It indicates, for this situation (applicant living in home country during relevant FOUR years but only before landing),
a COPY of the Police Certificate submitted with the PR visa application will suffice. Thus, in effect, a new Police Certificate does NOT need to be submitted. BUT nonetheless, a Police Certificate needs to be submitted (copy of one submitted in previous process being OK). This is good to know.
BUT again, this is almost certainly CONTINGENT. That is, dependent on the actual facts.
OVERALL it suggests what I believe the consensus here well-recognizes:
-- applicants who were in a country 183 or more days during the relevant FOUR years need to submit a police certificate
-- a Police Certificate should be included with the application even if all of that time was PRIOR to coming to Canada, landing, and becoming a PR
-- but for such applicants, a COPY of the Police Certificate submitted to finalize the PR visa process may suffice (and at least should suffice to pass completeness screening)
It warrants noting that a police certificate will generally suffice if it was issued since the last time the individual was in that country (for PR visa purposes the certificate is generally good if it was issued since the last time the individual was LIVING in that country, but in the citizenship application process the need for a police certificate is triggered by mere presence). This is probably NOT strictly applied. One or three brief holidays returning to the home country (say for two weeks or so at a time) since being issued the Police Certificate is not likely to trigger a request for an updated Certificate UNLESS IRCC has some reason to be concerned about the applicant's criminal history there.
That said, IRCC can ask any applicant to provide a police certificate from any country which IRCC has reason to believe the applicant has been in during the FOUR years prior to applying or since applying. And can ask for an updated certificate if one has previously been submitted.
It also warrants remembering the difference between what meets the criteria for making a COMPLETE APPLICATION, versus what IRCC can ask for or make inquiries regarding in processing the application.
The six month cumulative presence in another country criteria is about what triggers the instruction to include a police certificate in order to make a COMPLETE APPLICATION. Remember, passing the criteria for making a complete application only makes a difference in whether the application is returned, without further processing, or accepted as a complete application to be processed.
Since the underlying qualification at stake is the prohibition for criminal charges and convictions in other countries, which is a requirement applicable right up to the moment the oath is taken and citizenship actually bestowed, IRCC can ask for a police certificate from any given country any time during the process, so as to provide proof the applicant has no criminal charges or convictions in that country which would constitute a prohibition.
On the other hand, it warrants noting, for example, no matter how many days an applicant was in another country, if the applicant checks "no" in response to item 10.b), the application will pass the complete application screening . . . even if it is fairly clear the applicant was in another country 183+ days in the relevant four years and did not submit a police certificate. To be clear, it is
NOT a good idea to give an untruthful response just to get past the completeness screening.
SUMMARY -- WHO NEEDS TO SUBMIT A POLICE CERTIFICATE:
Remember, there is NO rule let alone regulation or statute which requires citizenship applicants to submit a police certificate in order to QUALIFY for citizenship. There are however, TWO circumstances in which a citizenship applicant is instructed or requested to submit a police certificate:
-- Applicants who respond [yes] in item 10.b) are instructed to submit a police certificate with the application; there is checklist item for this, which specifies an "original" certificate
-- Applicants may be later asked, by IRCC, to submit a police certificate from a particular country
What this reported clarification from IRCC suggests is that rather than an
original Police Certificate, applicants who were living in the home country up to when they came to land in Canada can submit (with the application for citizenship) a copy of the Police Certificate used in the PR visa process. Which, again, makes sense, since IRCC has already received the original and can readily verify the copy, and that police certificate mostly covers the time the applicant had been in that country.
Be aware, however, IRCC can still ask for an updated or new Police Certificate later in the process.
NOTE REGARDING SOME RECENT ANECDOTAL REPORTS:
There have been some sporadic reports in the forum, in various topics, still suggesting that it is OK for applicants to NOT submit police certificates when most or all of the time in the other country was BEFORE landing and becoming a PR. At best these are reports about individuals who, in effect,
got-away-with-it, and should NOT be taken to reflect what the IRCC rule, policy, or practice is. Moreover, in addition to the usual caveats about the extent to which internet reports can be trusted, those posting these reports invariably leave out whether they answered item 10.b) truthfully or not. I was tempted to revisit the nuances in this side of the
who-needs-to-submit-police-clearance equation, since it appears some are still advocating it is OK to respond "no" to this item even though the truthful answer is "yes." But for now it should suffice to affirm that the best approach is to answer all items directly, truthfully, honestly, and completely, and then follow the instructions. Thus, for any prospective applicant who was in their home country (or other country) for 6 months prior to landing, but still within four years, the truthful response to item 10.b) is "yes" and the instructions are then clear: the applicant needs to submit a police certificate or explain why not.
