Fact check: IRCC has not removed police certificate requirements for temporary residents
A number of news outlets have recently reported on changes to police certificates for temporary residents, with some outlets claiming that Canada has eliminated the police certificate requirement for temporary residents.
However, (IRCC) has made no changes to its policy regarding police certificates, and people seeking entry to Canada as temporary residents should be aware of that they may be asked to provide one.
IRCC鈥檚 website states, 鈥淲hen you apply as a visitor, student or temporary worker, we may ask you for a certificate.鈥
On another page, IRCC writes,
鈥淵ou might need a police certificate if you鈥檙e coming to Canada as a:
- live-in caregiver.鈥
IRCC makes abundantly clear that while police certificates are not always necessary for temporary residents鈥攗nlike for applicants for or 鈥攖hey may very well be required.
What is a police certificate?
A is an official document which states that the given person does not have a criminal record, or鈥攊f the person does have one鈥攑rovides a copy of that criminal record.
Police certificates are issued by the regional police jurisdiction, and may be called a variety of names, such as 鈥済ood conduct certificates鈥 or 鈥渏udicial record extracts.鈥
If the document is in a language other than English or French, it must be submitted along with a translation by a certified translator.
Why might police certificates be required?
Police certificates help officials to confirm that a person isn鈥檛 to enter Canada due to criminality.
All persons seeking entry to Canada as temporary residents should be aware that they may be asked to provide a police certificate.
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