Canadian Police Certificate - From Outside Canada or from Inside?

[Bh_sarah 942]

Hello!

To give more context to the topic title, me and my fiancé filed for the K1 visa this year and I am from Brazil currently residing in Brazil. However, until last year I was residing in Canada, so that means that I will need to get a police certificate/criminal check from RCMP for the NVC/Consular part of the process seeing I resided in Canada for almost 3 years. I still have ties to Canada and I still work for a Canadian company. I am planning to visit Canada this summer because of work and I was wondering if it's possible to request the police certificate from inside Canada while I'm there. I'm planning on spending about a month.

 

I know I can also request it from outside of Canada, but that would require me to take my fingerprints here and it will be costly in terms of travelling (need to go to the federal police in another city on a work day), then mailing everything back and forward, and also of course paying the service fees to an accredited agency. You can argue that travelling to Canada would be even more costly, but since I am already planning this trip due to work and friends, I feel it's easier to get it from there.

My main questions are:
- I can request this police certificate while on a trip, knowing I am not residing there and might get the certificate before I leave Canda? (I still have a valid temporary resident permit if it makes a difference).

- I hear that the certificate valid for 2 years. Is this correct? With the way things are going now, it's possible that the process would take longer than 2 years and I would need to request another certificate this time from Brazil?

- Anyone that had to request this from outside Canada, specially from Latin America, how long did it take to get it?

Any advice is welcome, even if you think my concerns here are a no-brainer.

[S9471 60]

you might have trouible getting the certificate without residing in Canada - they ask for proof of residence with a canadian address on it. (https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/steps-getting-a-certified-criminal-record-check)

 

certificate is generally valid for 1 year since the date of issue, but US consulates extended that for 2 years, or, if obtained from outside the country, it's valid indefinitely as long as you are not back in the country (then you need a new certificate)

 

if validity is a concern, then requesting from outside the country gives you more time to use the certificate in the future (since obviously you haven't re-entered the country).

[Bh_sarah 942]

11 minutes ago, S9471 said:

you might have trouible getting the certificate without residing in Canada - they ask for proof of residence with a canadian address on it. (https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/steps-getting-a-certified-criminal-record-check)

 

certificate is generally valid for 1 year since the date of issue, but US consulates extended that for 2 years, or, if obtained from outside the country, it's valid indefinitely as long as you are not back in the country (then you need a new certificate)

 

if validity is a concern, then requesting from outside the country gives you more time to use the certificate in the future (since obviously you haven't re-entered the country).

Thank you so much for your reply. Super helpful. I wasn't aware that proof of residence was needed, and I'm guessing it needs to be a recent one.

[S9471 60]

1 minute ago, Bh_sarah said:

Thank you so much for your reply. Super helpful. I wasn't aware that proof of residence was needed, and I'm guessing it needs to be a recent one.

i have several colleagues who needed to get it at rcmp, and every time they went they were asked for proof of residence within the precinct city/area. it's possible that you can tell them you are visiting and don't have residence in canada - it could work, but you wouldn't know unless you talk directly to rcmp about it...

Edited May 10, 2022 by S9471

[Bh_sarah 942]

4 minutes ago, S9471 said:

i have several colleagues who needed to get it at rcmp, and every time they went they were asked for proof of residence within the precinct city/area. it's possible that you can tell them you are visiting and don't have residence in canada - it could work, but you wouldn't know unless you talk directly to rcmp about it...

Thank you! I actually need to go to a credited fingerprinted agency as far as I know and not straight to RCMP (maybe it's the location I used to live). I contacted them before and nothing was said to me about proof of residence, but I might ask again. They might be easier to deal with than RCMP.

[S9471 60]

28 minutes ago, Bh_sarah said:

Thank you! I actually need to go to a credited fingerprinted agency as far as I know and not straight to RCMP (maybe it's the location I used to live). I contacted them before and nothing was said to me about proof of residence, but I might ask again. They might be easier to deal with than RCMP.

well, if you are in canada, you will need to request to rcmp. outside of canada you are going through agency

[Bh_sarah 942]

14 hours ago, S9471 said:

well, if you are in canada, you will need to request to rcmp. outside of canada you are going through agency

I was talking to some friends that had to get theirs for their Canadian Permanent Residency this year and it seems that where we lived (PEI) we need to go through an agency since the police department doesn't collect fingerprints. So everyone needs to deal with this credited service providers instead with police directly. Checked the RCMP website and they do say that some places don't have this service at the police stations.

I appreciate all your help though, I will investigate the proof of residency better.

[Chancy 6,233]

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