Police certificates
Do I need a police certificate for the IEC application?
For the International Experience Canada (IEC) you need a police certificate:
- from your home country (or the country where you are currently living)
- from all countries where you have spent more than 6 months in a row since the age of 18.
All time spent in a country counts, no matter whether you were there as a visitor, student, or worker.
How can I apply for a police certificate?
Always follow the requirements from the official website of the Canadian government. To do this, click >> here << and select the country in the drop-down list and follow the instructions.
For citizens of the following countries, a police certificate is not required
- Andorra
- Belgium
- Finland
- France
- Iceland
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Portugal
- Spain
- Switzerland
However, an IRCC officer may request one at a later date, then it must be provided.
You still must provide police certificates for all other countries or territories where you have lived for a total of six months or more since your 18th birthday.
For example you are from Spain and did a 1-year Working Holiday in Australia:
You do not need a police certificate from Spain, but you must provide a police certificate from Australia because you spent more than 6 months in that country.
If you are from one of the countries listed above, there is no dedicated upload spot in the GCKey account for these certificates.
You must upload the police certificates from other countries in the optional documents section. In addition, if the certificates are not in English or French, include a certified translation as well.
UK Applicants: “No Live Trace”
If you’re from the UK and your ACRO Police Certificate says “No Live Trace” instead of “No Trace,” it means you have a police record that is no longer active but still exists in your file.
In this case, IRCC usually asks for a Subject Access Request (SAR) to review your full criminal history. If your certificate shows “No Live Trace,” it’s a good idea to request and upload the SAR when you submit your application to avoid delays.
A SAR is a record you can request from ACRO. It provides the processing officer with the information they need to decide whether your past record affects your admissibility.
Australian Applicants: The police certificate is incomplete without these
The most common delay for applicants from Australia and participants who spent more than 6 months in Australis, is they don’t provide the additional traffic reports. You can find all information here on the website of the Canadian government.
- If you lived in Queensland: traffic history
- If you lived in Victoria: full licence history search
If you’re not able to provide a traffic history or a full licence history search, you must provide a letter issued by the Queensland and/or Victoria roads authority with your police certificate to confirm that you’ve never held a driver’s licence in that state.
How to request confirmation of No Queensland Driver’s Licence
Email the Department of Transport and Main Roads at paid_searches@tmr.qld.gov.au.
In your message:
Explain your situation, for example:
“I am applying for a Canadian Working Holiday Visa (IEC program) and require confirmation that I have never held a Queensland driver’s licence, to include with my police certificate.”
Attach the following required documents:
- The completed F2121 Release of Information form
- Three forms of identification (e.g. passport, driver’s licence from another country, proof of address)
Politely request a waiver of the usual licence history search fee, as you have never held a Queensland licence. You may include something like:
“As I have never held a Queensland licence, I kindly request a fee waiver for this search, if possible.”
Make sure to include your current contact details in case they need to follow up with you.
How to request confirmation from VicRoads:
Contact the VicRoads Licence Correspondence Team by emailing demerits@roads.vic.gov.au
In your email, be sure to include the following:
- Scanned copy of your passport (as identification)
- A clear explanation of your request. For example:
“I am applying for a Canadian Working Holiday Visa and require written confirmation that I did not hold a Victorian driver’s licence while living in Victoria.” - A complete list of all residential addresses you lived at while in Victoria
- Your current contact details, including your phone number and mailing address
- A request for how you would like to receive the confirmation. For example:
“Please send the written confirmation via email so I can include it with my Australian Police Certificate.”
How long is the police certificate valid?
The police certificate from your home country must be no older than 6 months at the time you submit your IEC application.
If you applied for the police certificate after leaving your home country and have not returned since (not even for a short visit), the certificate remains valid indefinitely and can be reused for future applications.
Does the police certificate need to be translated?
If your police certificate is not in English or French, it must be translated by a certified translator.
You need to upload both the original document and the certified translation.
There is only one upload slot for police certificates. If you have multiple certificates (for example, from different countries), you’ll need to combine them into a single file. You can do this with Merge PDF.
I spent more than 6 months in Canada; do I need a police certificate from Canada?
Even if you spent more than 6 consecutive months in Canada, you do not need to provide a Canadian police certificate. IRCC will check your Canadian record themselves.
Sometimes, IRCC may still ask for a police certificate. If this happens, you must provide it when requested. The request usually comes after you submit your biometrics, and you will get a letter in your GCKey account.
To get a Canadian police certificate, you can follow > this < instruction.
I spent more than 6 months in another country, but not in a row
If your stays in that country were split into shorter periods that do not add up to 6 months in a row, you do not need a police certificate for that country.
However, if you studied or worked there and only interrupted your stay by visiting your home country, it’s different.
Since you always returned to continue your studies or work, you are considered to have lived in that country, and a police certificate is required.
For example: You are from Germany and did an 8-month work assignment in the Netherlands. You visited your family in Germany for a short time after 3 months.
This does not break the 6-month period.
Because you returned to the Netherlands to continue your work, your stay counts as continuous, so a police certificate for the Netherlands is required.
Help; my PDF is too large to upload
Unfortunately, there is only one upload slot available. If your file is too large and the system doesn’t accept it, you’ll need to compress the document before uploading. You can do this with Compress PDF
Can I reuse a police certificate from a previous IEC application?
In most cases, no. This is because you were likely still living in your home country at the time of that application, or you may have returned home to visit family or friends afterward.
Any time spent back in your home country usually means you’ll need a new police certificate for a new application.
The police certificate rule is:
- A police certificate cannot be older than 6 months.
- You can use a police certificate for future applications, only if it was issued after you left the country and you have not been back there. If you returned to that country (even for only 1-2 days to visit), you need a new one.
What if I do not receive the police certificate in time before the deadline?
Don’t wait until the very last day to submit your application just because one document is missing. Try to submit by day 18 of the 20-day deadline at the latest.
If you have already applied for your police certificate but haven’t received it by day 18, you can upload proof that you requested it instead (for example, a confirmation email or proof of payment).
In the optional documents section, also upload a short letter (just 1–2 informal sentences) explaining that you have requested the police certificate and need more time to receive it.
Since there is only one upload slot, you’ll need to merge everything into a single PDF (your receipt + letter). You can use an online PDF merge tool to do this.
Upload all other required documents and submit your application. After you provide your biometrics, a processing officer will review your file and open a new upload slot, giving you 30 additional days to submit the missing police certificate.
I received the missing police certificate; where do I upload it?
If you submitted your application but only provided proof that you requested your police certificate, you will later receive a request through your GCKey account to upload the missing document. This usually happens after you have provided your biometrics.
At the start of the season, the request may come more quickly. However, the official processing time for an IEC application is up to 8 weeks from the date of your biometrics. So it can sometimes take longer to receive the request.
Option 1 - Webform
Once you receive your police certificate, you can try submitting it via the webform > here <. There is a good chance, the processing officer finds the document there.
However, the processing officer might miss the webform and still request the police certificate via your GCKey account. Then you must upload it there too AND submit it. Follow the instructions below to submit.
Option 2 - GCKey account
IRCC will send you a letter requesting the police certificate. They will also open an upload slot in your GCKey account where you can submit it.
If the request comes through GCKey and your police certificate doesn’t have certain information, fill in the missing fields as follows:
- for the “Document Number,” enter “000000”
- for the “Expiry Date,” select a date that’s one year later than the date of issue
After you upload a document, you still need to submit it.
To do this, click NEXT and go through all the steps until the status says “replacement provided.” Only then is the document fully submitted. You don’t have to pay any fees again.
Many applicants forget this step. If the document isn’t submitted before the deadline, the application can be refused.
> Here is how you can find the upload spot and upload the document
(Click the first link)
Can I apply for a police certificate before entering the pool?
Yes, you can apply in advance for foreign police certificates, as they often take much longer to process.
However, it’s best to wait before applying for the police certificate from your home country. Since it must be no older than 6 months, and you don’t know when you’ll receive an invitation, applying too early could mean you’ll have to request it again.
I have a drunk driving conviction; can I apply for the IEC?
A drunk driving conviction (DUI) can make you criminally inadmissible to Canada. You must report it on your IEC application.
Depending on your BAC at the time and how long ago it happened, you may be able to apply for criminal rehabilitation, which usually takes 6-12 months.
Because this can be complicated, it’s best to talk to an immigration lawyer who knows about inadmissibility.
>> Here you can also find more official information about inadmissibility.
I was arrested but I was never charged or prosecuted; will this affect my application?
If you were arrested but never charged or prosecuted, it usually does not affect your application.
You should still be honest about it on your application if asked, but since there was no conviction, it generally does not make you inadmissible.
You should report the arrest in the relevant question on your application and provide all related court documents, along with your police certificate. IRCC will review the documents and make a decision.
Even if you were never charged or prosecuted, you must answer “Yes” to the question asking if you have ever been arrested. This will open a field where you can explain the situation shortly.
In addition, in the optional documents section upload
- an explanation of your situation
- any court records, if they exist
- and your discharge papers or any proof showing that the case was dropped.
Since there is only one upload slot in the optional documents section, you will need to combine all your files into a single PDF. You can do this using a PDF merge tool like Merge PDF. If the file is too large, you can compress it using a PDF compression tool like Compress PDF.
What if I simply leave out a police certificate?
This is not recommended and can cause delays or even a refusal.
First, your application must include complete, month-by-month work history with no gaps. If there’s an unexplained gap of 6 months or more, IRCC will ask for a police certificate, which will delay your application.
Second, you must upload all passport pages that contain visas or entry/exit stamps. Because of this, omitting information or documents is strongly discouraged.
Finally, many countries share immigration info, and Canada can see how long you stayed elsewhere. Leaving out stays can cause your application to be refused and may lead to misrepresentation charges.
Did you know that five countries share immigration data through the Five Eyes Alliance?
These countries are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They can see exactly where you were and how long you stayed in a country.
Also, every time you check in for a flight or enter a country, your passport is scanned. Even if there’s no stamp, immigration data still exists for your entry and exit.
Do I need a police certificate from my birth country if I never lived there?
Some applicants have two citizenships and want to apply again for the IEC using the passport of their second citizenship, even though they never lived in that country.
There’s a small glitch in the system: it may automatically request a police certificate from your birth country just because you entered it in the application. However, this does not mean you actually need one.
Here is what you should do:
IRCC will send you a letter with the request for the police certificate. They will open up an upload spot where you can upload it. Instead of the police certificate, upload a short explanation, that you never lived in that country.
In the system, an expiration date and document number are required.
- as expiration date, select a day that is at least 1 year later.
- as document number, enter N/A in the field. Or try all as zero. 000000
! After uploading, you must also submit the document.
To do this, you have to continue with NEXT and click through all the steps until the status of the document is set to “replacement provided”. Only then the document is completely submitted.
When I activate the work permit, do I need a current police certificate?
No, when you activate your work permit, you can use the police certificate you uploaded with your application. It’s okay if it’s already older than 6 months at the time of entry.