Validity of Police Clearance Certificate from US

[pradeep.iima]

Hi,
Is it true that the Police Clearance Certificate is valid only if it was issued in the past three months or does it have a longer validity.

I need to get one from FBI and since the process itself takes around three months, I can't wait for ITA. But if I get the certificate and ITA comes later than 3 months, do I need to get another clearance certificate?

Thanks

 

[hp2261]

Hi Pradeep - In the same boat now. This is what I see on the CIC site now -

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

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.

 

[shakashaka]

Hi Pradeep - In the same boat now. This is what I see on the CIC site now -

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

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.

"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."
Say I lived in the USA 5 years ago and left and have not been back there again, Can I use a police certificate I got 4, 3, 2 or 1 years back

But on cic site
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/intake-complete.asp

PCs are typically valid for one year from the date they are issued; however, PCs should be issued no more than three months prior to when they are provided to CIC as part of the e-APR.

I have an FBI certificate which is 4 months old. I have applied for another just to be on the safe side

 

[jes_ON]

Old rules were that PCCs could not be more than 3months old at the time of application. New rules are:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/intro.asp

The date on the completeness check rules is "Date Modified: 2015-02-03"

The date on the NEW instructions for PCCs is: "Date Modified: 2015-04-23"

So the rules for the PCCs changed in April, the other site has not been updated yet.

Follow the new rules...

 

[sd2005]

I have an extra question to add to this, if anyone can help...

The CIC website states that all police checks must be ORIGINALS and not photocopies. It also says that for online residency applications applied for through Express Entry Invitation must be done entirely online. Does this mean we are supposed to scan the police check and submit it electronically, or does that invalidate it by being a photocopy? The contradiction here makes it very confusing, and since we have only 60 days to apply (and the background checks can take up to 3 months to receive) there's no room for error!

 

[Asivad Anac]

I have an extra question to add to this, if anyone can help...

The CIC website states that all police checks must be ORIGINALS and not photocopies. It also says that for online residency applications applied for through Express Entry Invitation must be done entirely online. Does this mean we are supposed to scan the police check and submit it electronically, or does that invalidate it by being a photocopy? The contradiction here makes it very confusing, and since we have only 60 days to apply (and the background checks can take up to 3 months to receive) there's no room for error!

A scanned version of the original is still an original document. No concerns with uploading PCCs, go ahead and scan the original document.