What is a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)?
A PCC is like a clearance certificate from any country’s police department which shares the information about criminality, pending cases, historical information etc. of an applicant. This information is printed on a letter head which the applicant can upload to support PR application. Since Canadian Government is specifically concerned about its own Citizens, every immigrant has to provide PCC. There are some countries which share PCC directly with IRCC. Each PCC has a validity and jurisdiction under which its approved. There have been cases where an applicant has to get another such document to support his/her PR application. There are a number of facts, myths and debatable questions which I have tried to answer below through some points:
- The PCC is only required from those countries where an applicant has lived for 6 months continuous in a trip.
- The PCC is only required for all such trips, mentioned above, in last 10 years. No PCC is required for any such trip beyond that time
- Each country has its own validity timelines on PCC document, so always apply for that after ITA (Invitation To Apply) or if you are sure enough to get ITA in the upcoming round of invitations.
- In some countries, like Malaysia, PCC is also called "good conduct certificate". There can be more names depending on the nation, so do check before applying.
- The PCC has to be in English or French. If its not, then it should be translated by a certified translator.
- PCC should be submitted by the primary applicant and all other family members who are 18 or older in age.
- Some countries, like USA, need fingerprints to provide such document, while others need a simple application.
- You can always visit the local Embassy of the country whose PCC is required.
- In some cases, IRCC has requested for a PCC for even 5 months of stay. This usually happens through an ADR (Additional Document Request) however its not to be worried, they always give you enough time to submit.
