Police Certificate for Canada Immigration
You need a police certificate for permanent residence, citizenship and International Experience Canada. For Express Entry, you and each family member 18 or older get one from every country, other than Canada, where you spent 6 months in a row in the last 10 years. For citizenship, the test is 183 days in a row in the past 4 years.
10 years
The Express Entry window: each country where you spent 6 months in a row or longer
183 days
In a row, in the past 4 years: the citizenship test for each country outside Canada
6 months
The most time between issue and submission for the certificate from the country where you live now
60 days
What IRCC says Express Entry candidates have to submit their police certificates
Requirements can vary by visa office and by your situation, so confirm the details on canada.ca and follow the specific instructions in your application guide.
Who needs a police certificate?
A police certificate is an official document that states whether you have a criminal record, and if you do, what is on it. IRCC uses it to help confirm whether there is any reason you might be criminally inadmissible to Canada. These documents go by many names around the world, such as police clearance certificate, good conduct certificate, judicial record extract, or certificate of no criminal record.
A police certificate is generally required when you apply for permanent residence (including through Express Entry), Canadian citizenship, or International Experience Canada. This applies to you and to each family member who is 18 or older. Children under 18 do not provide police certificates.
For most other programs, such as a study permit or a regular visitor visa, you do not provide a police certificate up front unless you are specifically asked for one. If you have a prior criminal record, or if the local visa office instructs it, you may be asked for a certificate for these and some temporary applications too. For work permits in particular, IRCC points you to the program’s document checklist and the local visa office requirements.
Check your program’s document checklist and the requirements of the responsible visa office, because requirements can vary by office and situation.
Which countries do you need a certificate from?
| Application | A certificate from |
|---|---|
| Express Entry (permanent residence) | Each country or territory, other than Canada, where you spent 6 months in a row or longer during the last 10 years |
| Other permanent residence programs | The rule set in the program’s instruction guide |
| International Experience Canada | In most cases, each country where you spent 6 months or more in a row since age 18, with no 10-year window |
| Canadian citizenship | Each country outside Canada where you spent 183 days or more in a row, since age 18, in the past 4 years |
The same test applies to each family member who is 18 or older. So it is not only your home country: if you studied, worked, or lived abroad for a continuous stretch of six months or more in the past decade, that country is usually on the list.
You do not provide police certificates for any period before you turned 18, or for time you spent in Canada. IRCC does not ask for police certificates for time spent in Canada, so you do not arrange a Canadian police certificate yourself for this purpose.
For Express Entry, the system does not ask for a certificate for a stay under 6 months in a row, though an officer may. After you apply, an officer may still ask for additional certificates from any time since you turned 18, not just the last 10 years.
For citizenship, time in your country of origin just before you landed as a permanent resident is exempt when it falls in those 4 years.
The rule
For Express Entry, you need a police certificate from each country or territory (other than Canada) where you spent 6 months in a row or longer during the last 10 years.
How recent must your police certificate be?
For the country where you currently reside, the police certificate must be issued no more than 6 months before the date you submit your application. It must still be within that window when you actually apply, not when you first request it. Because processing times vary, IRCC may ask you for an updated certificate later if your file takes longer than expected.
For any other country, the certificate must be issued after the last time you stayed there for 6 months in a row or longer. Once you have left a country for good, a certificate covering up to your departure stays valid for that country. You do not have to keep renewing it.
If a country prints an expiry date on its certificates, IRCC will still accept an expired one, as long as it was issued after your last qualifying stay and it is not for the country where you currently live. The current-country certificate is the one that must always be fresh. IRCC can request updated documents at any point during processing.
How do you get a police certificate?
Read IRCC’s instructions for each country
The process is different in every country, and there is no single global procedure. IRCC publishes country-by-country instructions on which authority issues the certificate, where and how to apply, what documents, photographs or fingerprints you may need to provide, and any fees.
Upload a note if the country needs an IRCC letter
Some countries will only issue a certificate if you provide an official request letter from IRCC. In the police certificate field of your document checklist, upload a note stating that you are applying from a country that requires an official request letter from IRCC. If your application is otherwise complete, IRCC will then send you the information you need to obtain the certificate.
Submit a scanned colour copy of the original
Scan the genuine document in colour. Certified true copies or unauthorized copies are not accepted and will result in your application being rejected.
Add a certified translation if needed
If your certificate is not in English or French, send the original together with a translation from a certified translator, following IRCC’s translation instructions. Keep the original certificate.
Which free tool checks your own case?
- Document ChecklistTypical documents by application type
- Presence CalculatorDays in Canada toward citizenship
- Admissibility ExplorerThe IRPA admissibility grounds, one question at a time
Free, with no account. What you enter in a tool stays in your browser.
What do people ask?
Do I need a police certificate for Canada PR?
Yes. For Express Entry, you and each family member 18 or older need a police certificate from every country, other than Canada, where you spent 6 months in a row or longer in the last 10 years since age 18; other permanent residence programs set the rule in their instruction guide. For a stay under 6 months in a row the system does not ask for one, though an officer may.
Do I need a police certificate for Canadian citizenship?
Yes, if you are 18 or older. IRCC asks for a police certificate from each country outside Canada where you spent 183 days or more in a row, since age 18, in the past 4 years. Time in your country of origin just before you landed as a permanent resident is exempt when it falls in those 4 years. The Physical Presence Calculator flags long trips, and the How to Become a Canadian Citizen guide covers the rest.
Is a police certificate required for a Canada visitor visa or study permit?
Usually not up front. IRCC requires police certificates for permanent residence, citizenship and International Experience Canada. For a visitor visa, a study permit or most work permits, you may need one if you have a prior criminal record or if the document checklist or local visa office asks for it, so check your program's document checklist. If you do have a record, the Criminal Inadmissibility (IRPA s.36) guide explains how an officer reads it.
When do I need my police certificate for Express Entry?
IRCC says Express Entry candidates have 60 days to submit their police certificates, and it advises starting the police check as soon as you are in the pool. IRCC says it can take a long time to get police certificates, so waiting for an invitation can cost you time. The Express Entry hub on this site explains the pool, the draws and the application that follows an invitation.
How recent must my police certificate be?
For the country where you live now, it must be issued no more than 6 months before you submit your application. For any other country, it must be issued after the last time you lived there for 6 months in a row or longer since age 18. IRCC accepts an expired certificate from a past country and can ask for updated ones at any time. The IRCC police certificate page, listed under Official sources below, sets these rules.
What if my country needs a request letter from IRCC first?
Upload a note in place of the certificate. Some countries only issue a certificate with an official IRCC request letter. In the police certificate field of your checklist, upload a note stating that you are applying from a country that requires an official request letter from IRCC. If your application is otherwise complete, IRCC sends instructions. The guide to tracking your application with GCKey shows where those messages arrive.
What if I cannot get a police certificate from a country?
Explain why in writing and keep the explanation with your application. IRCC asks you to show proof that you requested a certificate from the correct authorities and to write a letter explaining all you have done to get one, and it can't guarantee it will accept the application even with both. On a citizenship application, IRCC asks you to give the reason in the textbox of question 10b of the form. Follow the instructions on canada.ca, and use the Document Checklist tool to track what you sent.
Can I submit a photocopy or a certified true copy of my police certificate?
No. IRCC requires a scanned colour copy of the original certificate. Certified true copies and unauthorized copies are not accepted and will result in your application being rejected. Keep the original certificate. If the certificate is not in English or French, include a translation from a certified translator. The Document Checklist tool lists the other papers your program needs.
Part of:Immigrating permanently
- Canada Medical Inadmissibility: Can a Health Condition Bar Entry?
- Canada Foreign Credential Recognition: Getting Your Degree Accepted
- Canada Immigration 2026: What's New This Year
The textbook on this subject
Volume 2: Immigrating to Canada $79
The economic and family pathways to permanent residence, explained from the published criteria.
Follow on Facebook to hear when the library opens (opens in a new tab)Official sources
This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.