scylla said:
This is incorrect and very bad advice. We have numerous examples from this forum where the PCC was required even thought someone did not spend six months continuously in one country (but spent more than six months total there). The UK PCC is definitely required in this case - there is absolutely no question of that.
CIC clearly states that you need PCC(s) for your country of residence and any country where you have lived for 6 or more months in a row. As the OP hasn't lived in the country for 6 or more months in a row, the advise is in accordance with what CIC state on their site. If we find it convenient to follow CIC's advise on everything except things where it doesn't suit our way of comprehending something, let's take it up with CIC rather than berating someone for providing 'incorrect' advise when all they have done is paraphrase CIC.
As for
dan_and's point, I have no idea why CIC gave that example. If someone lived in another country for 8 months and left on a 2 week vacation, that is still more than 6 months by any calculation. Unless said vacation was taken
before 6 months passed and CIC is insisting that it will still count as 8 months despite the vacation (and they will STILL count it as more than 6 months in a row). Which contradicts their immediately previous statement of needing a PCC if one has lived in a country for 6 months in a row!
Take a hypothetical example. Someone lives in Country X (not their country of residence) from 20th Oct '13 to 20th Dec '13, takes a vacation from 20th Dec '13 to 31st Dec '13, comes back and lives from 1st Jan '14 to 1st Mar '14, takes a vacation till 30th Jun '14, comes back and stays from 1st Jul '14 to 1st Aug '14, takes a vacation till Oct '14, comes back and stays from 1st Nov '14 to 1st Dec '14 and leaves to never come back to that country. It is 6 months of stay spread over 1.3 years! Would you still argue they need a PCC? If so, where does the counting stop being 'in a row' and move to 'add up all your stay divided over time'?
Having said that, I concur that having an additional PCC(s) does no harm except cost you minor change and some time and effort in acquiring it. Go ahead, get those and submit the same.
All the best!
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 must get one from each country or territory where you have lived for six or more months in a row since the age of 18. (For example, if you lived in a country for eight months but left on a two-week vacation, that counts as living there for eight months.)
For the country you currently live in, the police certificate must be issued no more than six months before you apply.
For countries where you have lived for six months or more, the police certificate must be issued after the last time you lived in that country.
