# Police Clearance Certificates (PCC)

If you want to immigrate to Canada, you and your dependants may have to provide police clearance certificates when you submit your application for permanent residence.

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**What is a police certificate?**

A police certificate is a copy of your criminal record or a declaration of the absence of any criminal record. Police certificates are different in each country and territory and may be called police clearance certificates, good conduct certificates, judicial record extracts, etc. They are issued by police authorities or government departments and used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to prevent individuals who pose a risk to Canada’s security from entering the country.

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**Who needs a police certificate?**

In general, you and everyone in your family who is 18 years of age or over need to obtain a police certificate. You must obtain a police certificate from each country or territory where you have lived for six consecutive months or longer since reaching the age of 18 (except Canada). The certificate must have been issued no more than three months before you submit your application. If the original certificate is neither in English nor in French, submit both the certificate and the original copy of a translation prepared by an accredited translator with your application.

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**How to obtain a police certificate:**

In most cases, it is your responsibility to contact the police or relevant authorities and request the certificate. When doing so, you may have to:

* Provide information or documentation such as photographs, fingerprints, or your addresses and periods of residence in the country or territory.
* Pay a fee for the service.

To find out if you need a police certificate from a country or territory in which you lived for six months or longer, consult the link below:

{% embed url="<https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/how.html>" %}

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* Getting a foreign PCC can be a tedious and painstakingly long process so it is imperative to be proactive to avoid delays and get things done on time.

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