Exceptional Circumstances
When applicants need to initiate Police Certificates (PCs), some countries require them to complete a consent form. For instance, an applicant from New Zealand would need to download and complete the Consent to Disclosure of Information (NZ) form available on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
Thereafter, the applicant would need to upload the form along with any other Police Certificates (PCs) that the applicants needs to provide as part of the electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR). The processing office would typically assess the consent form and the electronic file. After this, the processing office would initiate the request for the Police Certificates (PCs). However, the processing office would only take these steps if it does not reject the application as incomplete.
Applicants would need to refer to website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). This site provides country-specific instructions on the documentations that applicants would need to provide to the particular country’s policing agency before they can initiate the request for the Police Certificates (PCs). It is worth noting that the authorities could reject applications as incomplete if the applications:
- Do not include the required the Police Certificates (PCs) and,
- Do not provide the relevant supporting documentation
Situations could arise where the officers would need to utilise their discretion. This could typically take place when assessing whether the Police Certificates (PCs) that do not fall within the prescribed standard parameters of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) still require them to process the application. For instance, the war in Syria has made it quite difficult for former residents to obtain Police Certificates (PCs). Therefore, the officers would need to use their discretion for determining how best they could fulfill this admissibility requirement.
Situations could also arise where some countries do not issue Police Certificates (PCs) to applicants. Rather, these countries would prefer communicating directly with the relevant Canadian authorities. In this scenario, the officers would need to follow the existing procedures for obtaining documentation prescribed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
In exceptional circumstances, the officers could find that some applicants might experience delays when obtaining their Police Certificates (PCs). In other words, these applicants might not obtain their Police Certificates (PCs) within the 60-calendar day timeframe allocated by the authorities for submitting a complete electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR).
In these situations, the authorities require that the applicants submit a letter of explanation as part of their application. In addition, the applicants would need to submit the relevant proofs of having requested for Police Certificates (PCs). Therefore, for example, applicants could submit a copy of the receipt obtained when they requested the prescribed authority for initiating the Police Certificates (PCs).
Officers would need to use their discretion for assessing whether Police Certificates (PCs) that do not fall within these time limits are valid. In addition, they would need to assess whether Police Certificates (PCs) that do not fall within these time limits are reliable for the purpose of evaluating admissibility.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration
