Questions re: police check requirement and ex-spouse address on form

[xxdieselxx]

Hi all,

I tried some searches on the forum for my questions but came back empty handed. I hope someone can help.

My wife is a Filipina and we are currently residing in the Philippines. She is also a citizen of Costa Rica so she is in need of a Police Check from Costa Rica. The problem is that it says on the CIC site that she needs to apply in person or have someone act as a power of attorney to obtain it. Flights alone for her to go there to deal with it herself are over $3K. Is there any way around it? I saw on the forms that if you cannot get the police check to explain why. Is "difficulty and cost of travel" a legitimate excuse?

My other question is regarding ex-spouse's address on the application forms. I have no clue what my ex-wife's address is or which city or which province she lives in Canada. We were divorced a long time ago and had no children, so we have zero contact. Can you leave this blank on the forms or is it a "no-no"?

Has anyone encountered similar issues, and if so, how did you deal with it?

Thanks in advance,

D.

 

[Sweden]

Difficulty and cost of travel is not an excuse for CIC. You have to prove that you can not get a Police Record ( authorities are unwilling to give you one), or that your safety is at risk if you get one, so both don't apply to you for CR. She should find somebody in CR that she trusts, and give them a power of attorney to get the Police Record.

About the address: put unknown, and add a paper with the explanation of when you divorce, the fact that you have no children in common and didn't keep contact, and that should be fine.

GOod luck,
Sweden

 

[xxdieselxx]

Thank you for your timely response Sweden. Much appreciated.

 

[herewecome]

Has your wife lived in Costa Rica for more than 6 months since turning 18? From what I understand citizenship isn't what drives the police checks and rather the above.

 

[xxdieselxx]

Thanks for clarifying, herewecome. Yes, my wife and I lived in Costa Rica for 5 years before we moved to the Philippines. We contacted the Costa Rica Embassy in Singapore (there is only an honorary Costa Rica Consulate here in the Philippines) today regarding the police check and they have been nothing but helpful so far.

Incidentally, we got married in Costa Rica too. Our marriage certificate was certified by the Philippine consulate in Costa Rica so it was acceptable for my PR here in the Philippines. Does the marriage certificate also need be authenticated by the Canadian embassy in Costa Rica (or here in the Philippines) for it to be an admissable document for her Canadian PR application?

We are just starting the process, so needless to say that we are newbies and will probably have more questions to come. We are so glad we found this forum and have spent hours going through all the informative posts so far!

Thanks again for your help.

D.

D.

 

[Sweden]

Thanks for clarifying, herewecome. Yes, my wife and I lived in Costa Rica for 5 years before we moved to the Philippines. We contacted the Costa Rica Embassy in Singapore (there is only an honorary Costa Rica Consulate here in the Philippines) today regarding the police check and they have been nothing but helpful so far.

Incidentally, we got married in Costa Rica too. Our marriage certificate was certified by the Philippine consulate in Costa Rica so it was acceptable for my PR here in the Philippines. Does the marriage certificate also need be authenticated by the Canadian embassy in Costa Rica (or here in the Philippines) for it to be an admissable document for her Canadian PR application?

We are just starting the process, so needless to say that we are newbies and will probably have more questions to come. We are so glad we found this forum and have spent hours going through all the informative posts so far!

Thanks again for your help.

D.

D.

you don't need to have it authenticated but if it's not in english, you need a certified translation. If it's already in english, you can just have a normal copy, UNLESS your regional guideline states differently.
Sweden