Police Certificates FAQ - IEC

Most Working Holiday applicants must provide a police certificate from their country of citizenship to apply under International Experience Canada. There are some exceptions, for example, if you are a citizen of Japan, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland or France, you do not need to provide a police certificate from your country with your application. That being said, an IRCC officer may request one at a later date.

If you answered “Yes” to a question about having criminal records from before, you will be required to present police certificate no matter the country you are from.

In most cases, you will be able to apply for your police certificates in advance following the instructions here. In some countries, like Hong Kong or México, you are not allowed to directly request a Police Certificate on your own. You will first need a letter from the Canadian Government requesting you to provide one to support your work permit application.

Police Certificates must be issued no more than 6 months before the date you submit your IEC work permit application.

If yours is getting closer to the 6-month deadline, the safest option is to request a new Police Certificate. If you don’t, IRCC officers can request an updated one at any time during your work permit process.

You will need a Police Certificate for your IEC work permit application, only for those countries that you have worked, studied, traveled or lived in for 6 months or more in a row since you were 18 years old as confirmed on IRCC website.

In some cases, obtaining a police certificate for your IEC application may be more complicated. Certain countries do not issue police certificates directly to the public and will only provide them after receiving a formal request from the Government of Canada.

If this applies to you, don’t worry. During your International Experience Canada (IEC) application, IRCC will provide instructions on how to obtain the required police certificate. Because processing times can vary significantly between countries, it is important to research the requirements early and be prepared to start the process as soon as you receive instructions from the Canadian government.

Example: You lived in Hong Kong for more than 6 months in a row, you will not be able to request the Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) directly on your own. The Government of Canada would need to issue first a letter requesting for this police certificate. The Hong Kong Police Force will send your police certificate directly to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada address shown on the request original letter.

• If the Police Certificate is from your home country:

It is important to make sure that your Police Certificate does not exceed the 6-month duration from when it was issued by the time you want to use it for your IEC work permit application for Canada.

• If the Police Certificate is from another country than your home country and you are not living there currently:

Even though some countries put expiry dates on their Police Certificates, if you have a Police Certificate that was issued after you left the country and you have NOT been back, not even for a holiday, you will still be able to include it for your IEC work permit application and it should be still valid. However, an IRCC officer may request one at a later date if they consider it is needed.

Yes! It will be valid, as long as you have not returned to that country, not even for a short vacation! If you returned for a trip, then you will need a new one.

Example: Let’s say you lived in the United States for one year on a J-1 visa between 2023 and 2024 and obtained an FBI Clearance Certificate (also known as an FBI Identity History Summary) in February 2024 before leaving the country.

If you later returned to the United States, even for a short trip, such as a weekend visit to Seattle in August 2025, your previous FBI clearance may no longer meet the requirements for your IEC work permit application.

Because you re-entered the United States after your police certificate was issued, you may be required to obtain a new FBI Identity History Summary when applying for your International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit or Working Holiday visa Canada application.

This is why it is important to review your travel history carefully and ensure that all required police certificates for Canada are valid and up to date before submitting your application.

In most cases, no. For an International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit application, you are generally required to provide a police certificate only from countries where you have lived for six consecutive months or longer since turning 18 years old.

For example, if you spent two months each summer working in Spain between 2023 and 2025, but never stayed for six months in a row, you would not normally need to provide a Spanish police certificate when submitting your application.

However, IRCC officers can request a police certificate if they believe it is necessary. It is important to be aware that you may still be asked to provide a police certificate, even if you have not lived in a country for six consecutive months.

If this happens, IRCC will send you an official request letter explaining what document is required and providing a deadline for submission. To avoid delays in the processing of your IEC work permit or Working Holiday visa Canada application, you should be prepared to obtain the requested police certificate within the timeframe provided.

If you lived in Australia for more than 6 months or if you are an Australian citizen, you must provide your Australian National Police Certificate — Overseas Visa – Supply to a Country Other than Australia (code 35).

Australia is one of the countries with specifications that you need to pay attention to. Even if you did not hold a driving license during your time there, if you lived in Queensland or Victoria you will need to provide the following documents:

1. If you lived in Queensland for 6 months or more, you will need a Traffic History issued by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, you can apply online here.
2. If you lived in Victoria for 6 months or more, you will need to provide a Full License History Search with your police certificate that goes back to your 18th birthday or the day on which your first Australian driver’s license was issued. You can apply online through VicRoads.

IMPORTANT: If you never had a driving license, 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 license in that state.

Normally, you will not need to provide an RCMP Criminal Record Check. But in some cases officers can request it through a request letter during your IEC work permit application.

If you are requested this document while being in Canada, bring your request letter to the closest police station. They can advise you on how to complete the steps to request the document. Please be sure you bring an example of the RCMP Criminal Record Check with you as a reference. That way you can show the officer the document you are looking for, as different types of Police Certificates exist in Canada.

If you are requested your RCMP Criminal Record Check while you are living outside of Canada, you can refer to companies like Commissionaires in Vancouver where you can send your fingerprints and the rest of the requested documents in order for them to do the process on your behalf. That way you can receive your RCMP by mail.

The most important thing is to prove you applied for the police certificates needed for your application. Show you made your best effort to get the certificate on time (with a screenshot of the confirmation page or email.)

Some examples of proof that you can submit along with a letter of explanation can be a confirmation or payment receipt, a delivery confirmation or even a tracking number. An officer will review your application and decide if they will provide you with extra time to provide the certificates.

If you receive your requested Police Certificate after you submit your IEC work permit application, you can go ahead and submit a webform to International Experience Canada.

Explain your situation and request to include the attached police certificate to your in-progress IEC work permit application. Make sure you provide all your personal details, including your UCI and Application Number. Pay attention to complete the personal information properly, so they can link your request with your work permit application.

Sometimes, even if you have already submitted the requested police certificate through an IRCC webform, an immigration officer may still ask you to upload the document through your IRCC secure account at a later stage of your IEC work permit application.

If you receive this request, make sure you follow the instructions provided and upload the police certificate directly through your IRCC secure account before the deadline. Failing to submit the document through the requested channel could result in delays in the processing of your International Experience Canada (IEC) application.