Reasons for Rejection

[Alexios07]

I think there was a rejection back in 2015 or early 2016 [somewhere in this thread/forum], where someone visited a country after getting their PCC [and before submitting eAPR], hence rendering that PCC invalid and their application was rejected.

Shoot, I'm keeping my fingers crossed so hard right now! I hope I can get the new PCC delivered soon and submit a new CSE before a rejection is sent out.

 

[Que Em]

You can have following situations:
a. a certificate that was issued less than 6 months ago. Then it does not matter if you left the country after getting it. are currently living there, or received the police certificate before leaving, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
b. an older certificate. But in that case that certificate had to be issued after you visited that country last time. have lived there in the past, the police certificate must be issued after you last lived in that country or territory.

So technically if all your certificates are less than 6 months old at the day of sending your application, you do not need to worry about your travelling schedules or redoing it.

I think, if an applicant has a PCC [issued within the last six months] for a country other than the country of current residence, and if applicant visits that particular country again and comes back to his/her country of residence before submitting the e-APR, the applicant would need a fresh PCC for that country even the previous one was issued within the last six months. The reason is, IRCC wants to make sure the applicant has nothing adverse for the latest visit period [regardless of its duration, if total cumulative duration including previous travels/stays equals or exceeds six months].

However, after the submission of eAPR, there's no requirement for fresh PCCs for any subsequent travels/visits.

 

[vensak]

I think, if an applicant has a PCC [issued within the last six months] for a country other than the country of current residence, and if applicant visits that particular country again a comes back to his/her country of residence before submitting the e-APR, the applicant would need a fresh PCC for that country even the previous one was issued within the six months. The reason is IRCC wants to make sure the applicant has nothing adverse for the latest visit period [regardless of its duration, if total cumulative duration including previous travels/stays equals or exceeds six months].

However, after the submission of eAPR, there's no requirement for fresh PCCs for any subsequent travels/visits.

Nope. What you say there is covered with the part or received the police certificate before leaving. It is not stated when exactly did he have to leave that country. It only states that the PCC was issued before or on that date.
IRCC will recheck those certificates anyway. As what you say also applies on your country of residence (having registered crime after getting the PCC).

 

[Alexios07]

Other than the country of current residence, for every country where an applicant has lived in the past for a total cumulative period of at least 6 months, the PCC should be issued after the last time applicant lived [visited, traveled or left]

Does "lived" actually also mean "visited, traveled or left"?

 

[Que Em]

Nope. What you say there is covered with the part or received the police certificate before leaving. It is not stated when exactly did he have to leave that country. It only states that the PCC was issued before or on that date.
IRCC will recheck those certificates anyway. As what you say also applies on your country of residence (having registered crime after getting the PCC).

Well, the basic purpose of PCCs is that the applicant has no adverse or criminal records up until the submission of their application and that is what forms the basis of criminality check. Criminality checks just need presence of PCCs on file, for all the required countries and applicable duration. If a PCC doesn't satisfy the prescribed requirement, criminality check is not passed and file is usually rejected.

However, if criminality is passed, the background checks start, where entire history is checked and verified, up to the present time [and this is what applies to the second part of your comment above i.e., crime or adverse information after getting PCCs].

 

[Que Em]

Does "lived" actually also mean "visited, traveled or left"?

"For example: if you visited, worked or lived in a country for two months, left for a few years, then returned for four months, that counts as spending six months there. In this case, you would need a certificate."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

I think, this clearly means as IRCC counts six months as a cumulative time period spent in a country and/or a territory, then by lived they clearly mean the last time you were present in that country [for whatever reason, i.e., travel, visit, work etc]. And they count it up to the exit date, i.e. the time/date you left that country.

 

[vensak]

Well, the basic purpose of PCCs is that the applicant has no adverse or criminal records up until the submission of their application and that is what forms the basis of criminality check. Criminality checks just need presence of PCCs on file, for all the required countries and applicable duration. If a PCC doesn't satisfy the prescribed requirement, criminality check is not passed and file is usually rejected.

However, if criminality is passed, the background checks start, where entire history is checked and verified, up to the present time [and this is what applies to the second part of your comment above i.e., crime or adverse information after getting PCCs].

Which you cannot obviously do for your country of residence. getting your PCC as the last piece and submitting your application at the same day is a submission impossible. Hence the requirement for 6 months old PCC.

I went through immigration once already. My husband needed PCC with similar requirements, except they all had to be less than 3 months old. After that his fingerprints were still rechecked against some international registers. In this case PCC are just a statement of the older past rather than the recent one.
So they will definetly check in detail last 1 year of your criminal history. And they will use those PCC to check upon less recent one where they might not have a good access to.

 

[Alexios07]

However, if criminality is passed, the background checks start, where entire history is checked and verified, up to the present time [and this is what applies to the second part of your comment above i.e., crime or adverse information after getting PCCs].

Sorry, but I thought criminality is the same as background checks? Based on your signature, if the Background check changed to In Progress, does it mean your PCC is valid?

"For example: if you visited, worked or lived in a country for two months, left for a few years, then returned for four months, that counts as spending six months there. In this case, you would need a certificate."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

I think, this clearly means as IRCC counts six months as a cumulative time period spent in a country and/or a territory, then by lived they clearly mean the last time you were present in that country [for whatever reason, i.e., travel, visit, work etc]. And they count it up to the exit date, i.e. the time/date you left that country.

To my understanding, IRCC defines "lived" only if you stay at a country continuously for more than 6 months. Also, it doesn't make much sense that after you got your AOR, you can freely travel to any country without the need of submitting a new PCC. I mean I can travel back to my home country and commit a crime within a day (murder, arson, theft, etc.) then travel back to Canada.

 

[Que Em]

Which you cannot obviously do for your country of residence. getting your PCC as the last piece and submitting your application at the same day is a submission impossible. Hence the requirement for 6 months old PCC.

I went through immigration once already. My husband needed PCC with similar requirements, except they all had to be less than 3 months old. After that his fingerprints were still rechecked against some international registers. In this case PCC are just a statement of the older past rather than the recent one.
So they will definetly check in detail last 1 year of your criminal history. And they will use those PCC to check upon less recent one where they might not have a good access to.

Well, that's your opinion and personal experience. I'm just sharing my personal understanding of what IRCC has displayed on it's website and what I've observed here on the forum. IRCC states:


Who needs a police certificate?
In general, you and all the people in your family who are 18 or older need to get a police certificate.

You may need a police certificate from any country or territory that you have spent six months or more since the age of 18.

For example: if you visited, worked or lived in a country for two months, left for a few years, then returned for four months, that counts as spending six months there. In this case, you would need a certificate.

If you need a police certificate from a country or territory and:

- are currently living there, or received the police certificate before leaving, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
- have lived there in the past, the police certificate must be issued after you last lived in that country or territory.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

The second part is especially useful for countries where an applicant has lived years ago and if the last PCC issued from that country covers the latest period of stay, it would still be valid even if it's older than six months. For example, if an applicant lived in a country X for more than six months and the last time s/he was in the country was let's suppose 2012 and if applicant has a PCC issued from that country in 2013, that PCC can still be used for eAPR if applicant did not visit that country after the issuance of the PCC. Six months validity doesn't apply here.

However, for the country of current residence, the PCC must be issued within the six months of eAPR submission.

 

[Que Em]

Sorry, but I thought criminality is the same as background checks? Based on your signature, if the Background check changed to In Progress, does it mean your PCC is valid?

No, criminality is passed once an officer is satisfied that you've submitted the required PCCs. You would find in GCMS notes statements like, "All required PCCs on file or PCC for country X & Y on file, criminality decision x 1 or passed. You can also see the individual activities. Criminality passes if you have submitted required PCCs. Background checks are what IRCC and other agencies do [gathering and analyzing information and everything related to your case].

To my understanding, IRCC defines "lived" only if you stay at a country continuously for more than 6 months. Also, it doesn't make much sense that after you got your AOR, you can freely travel to any country without the need of submitting a new PCC. I mean I can travel back to my home country and commit a crime within a day (murder, arson, theft, etc.) then travel back to Canada.

It makes sense in a way that IRCC wants to make sure an applicant has submitted PCCs covering the duration of the stays. What happens later is for later steps, like background checks and finalization.

You can even get rejected entry at the time of landing if new information appears, even if everything earlier was crystal clear and went fine and you got your file approved and received your PR visa and COPR. That possibility is always there.

For PCCs, it's just a formality to pass the completeness check and the criminality stage.

You can travel after AOR because application processing can take some time and nobody wants to prevent you from travelling because of an ongoing PR application.

 

[Alexios07]

No Criminality is passed once an officer is satisfied that you've submitted the required PCCs. You would find in GCMS notes statements like, "All required PCCs on file or PCC for country X & Y on file, criminality decision x 1 or passed. You can also see the individual activities. Criminality passes if you have submitted required PCCs. Background checks are what IRCC and other agencies do [gathering and analyzing information and everything related to your case].

I am asking this question because my Med Exams was changed to Passed yesterday, and Background check changed to In Progress, so I am wondering if IRCC has considered my current PCC is valid, or there's still a chance that they will reject it.

You can travel after AOR because application processing can take some time and nobody wants to prevent you from travelling because of an ongoing PR application.

Yup, but it's still a loop hole.

 

[Que Em]

And no, the duration of stay doesn't have to be continuous for six months, it can include many short stays of less than six months. If the overall duration is equal or more than six months, a PCC is required. Check my previous post above.

 

[Que Em]

I am asking this question because my Med Exams was changed to Passed yesterday, and Background check changed to In Progress, so I am wondering if IRCC has considered my current PCC is valid, or there's still a chance that they will reject it.

Well, it's actually a very positive sign. It means your file has been promoted in the GCMS and there is very much possibility that your criminality has been passed. At least, that's how my file progressed. My background status changed to 'In Progress' the very same day my criminality was passed. So, I guess that's how they process. If criminality is passed [after completeness check, eligibility and medicals], the background checks start. But we can never be sure about IRCC. Also different visa offices and different officers might have individual ways of processing apps.

Other applicants might have different scenarios. Anyways, this above seems to be the proper or most common way, I guess.

If you've traveled before submitting your eAPR and have also requested new PCC now, you can submit a CSE explaining your situation and providing proof of new PCC request, if you've doubts or concerns.

Or you can just call IRCC call center and find out more. You can even confirm if your criminality is passed and/or if new PCC is required.

 

[Alexios07]

Well, it's actually a very positive sign. It means your file has been promoted in the GCMS and there is very much possibility that your criminality has been passed. At least, that's how my file progressed. My background status changed to 'In Progress' the very same day my criminality was passed. So, I guess that's how they process. If criminality is passed [after completeness check, eligibility and medicals], the background checks start. But we can never be sure about IRCC. Also different visa offices and different officers might have individual ways of processing apps.

Other applicants might have different scenarios. Anyways, this above seems to be the proper or most common way, I guess.

If you've traveled before submitting your eAPR and have also requested new PCC now, you can submit a CSE explaining your situation and providing proof of new PCC request, if you've doubts or concerns.

Or you can just call IRCC call center and find out more. You can even confirm if your criminality is passed and/or if new PCC is required.

We can only know if criminality is passed through the gcms note right? and is IRCC call center that helpful, I doubt that they will answer anything to my case, as it's under one month, but do worth a try though.

I think I will also go ahead and order the gcms note next week since it's free.

 

[Que Em]

There was a rejection for even earlier 2 months not included in the PCC:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t306713.0.html;msg4944099#msg4944099

And one here for not submitting the updated PCC [applicant thought he needed PCC only for previous stays of 6 months/longer]:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/reasons-for-rejection-t306713.0.html;msg5023367#msg5023367

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/reasons-for-rejection-t306713.0.html;msg5023836#msg5023836

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