If a foreign country refuses to issue a police certificate, or if their government infrastructure has collapsed, you will not automatically be denied Canadian PR. You must demonstrate to IRCC that you made your absolute “best efforts” to obtain it by providing refusal letters, proof of communication, and a sworn legal affidavit.
Gathering documents for a Canadian Permanent Residency application is stressful, but it becomes a nightmare when a foreign government ignores you. Many applicants living in Halifax, Edmonton, or Toronto discover that certain countries simply do not issue police clearances to non-citizens who have already left. Other nations may be experiencing severe conflict, meaning their police databases are entirely inaccessible.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) expects a police certificate from every country you have lived in for 6 months or more since age 18. If you cannot provide one, leaving a blank space will result in an immediate application rejection. 🗓️ To navigate this crisis, you must build a strong evidentiary case proving the document is legally impossible to obtain. Seeking help from a top-rated immigration law firm in our directory is highly recommended to draft a persuasive submission.
Step-by-Step Guide to Proving “Best Efforts” to IRCC
IRCC officers have discretion to waive the requirement for a specific police certificate, but only if they are entirely convinced you exhausted every possible avenue. Here is the legal strategy to handle an unobtainable document.
Step 1: Follow IRCC Country-Specific Guidelines
Before doing anything else, check the IRCC tool “How to get a police certificate.” Sometimes, IRCC acknowledges that a country will only send the certificate directly to the Canadian embassy. In these rare cases, IRCC will instruct you on how to ask the Canadian government to fetch it on your behalf (e.g., New Zealand).
Step 2: Document Every Attempt Meticulously
If you must request it yourself, keep a paper trail of everything. Send requests via tracked international registered mail, save copies of all emails sent to the foreign police department or embassy, and keep receipts of any processing fees paid. The officer wants to see timestamps proving you tried multiple times over several weeks or months.
Step 3: Obtain a Formal Refusal Letter
Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, typically require you to hold an active resident ID (Iqama) to get a clearance. If you no longer have one, try to get the local embassy to give you a formal letter stating that it is the country’s official policy not to issue police certificates to former temporary residents. 📩 This official refusal is gold for your Canadian application.
Step 4: Draft a Letter of Explanation (LOE)
Your lawyer will draft a comprehensive Letter of Explanation. This letter will outline exactly why the certificate cannot be obtained, referencing the geopolitical situation (e.g., civil war in Syria) or citing the specific foreign law that prevents the issuance. You must upload this LOE in the exact slot where the police certificate would normally go in your IRCC portal.
Step 5: Swear a Statutory Declaration
To bolster your LOE, you should swear an affidavit or Statutory Declaration before a Canadian notary public. You will swear under oath that you have no criminal record in that specific country and detail the exhaustive steps you took to try and prove it. Lying on this affidavit constitutes perjury and immigration misrepresentation.
How Much Does Providing Alternative Proof Cost?
While you may save the fee of the foreign police check, mounting a legal defence for its absence involves other costs. Here are estimates in CAD as of May 2026:
| Service / Expense Type | Estimated Cost (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Tracked International Mail (Proof) | Typically $30 to $80 CAD via FedEx or DHL. |
| Notary Public for Affidavit | Generally $40 to $80 CAD per document. |
| Lawyer Fees (Drafting LOE & Strategy) | Usually $500 to $1,500 CAD for complex justification. |
| Certified Translation of Refusals | Often $50 to $100 CAD per page. |
How Long Does the Process Take?
If you are invited under Express Entry, you only have 60 days to submit your profile. You must show that you began trying to get the certificate almost immediately. If an officer accepts your LOE, they will proceed with the background check manually. If they feel you didn’t try hard enough, they will issue a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL) giving you an additional 30 to 60 days to try again or provide better proof before refusing the application.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What if the police certificate simply hasn’t arrived in time?
If the 60-day Express Entry deadline is approaching and you are still waiting for a delayed certificate, upload a Letter of Explanation alongside proof that you ordered it (payment receipts, tracking numbers). IRCC will generally accept this and simply put your application on hold until the certificate arrives.
Does IRCC automatically know if a country is at war?
While IRCC officers are aware of global events, you cannot assume they will automatically waive the requirement. You must still formally request an exemption in your Letter of Explanation, stating that all diplomatic channels or government offices in that country have ceased operations.
Can I just use a local background check instead of a national one?
No. IRCC strictly requires national-level police certificates (unless otherwise specified in their country guidelines). Submitting a city-level or state-level background check without an accompanying federal check will likely lead to an incomplete application refusal.
Will not having the certificate delay my PR?
Yes. If IRCC accepts your explanation, the Canadian security agencies (CBSA and CSIS) will have to perform a more intensive manual background check relying on international intelligence databases, which frequently pushes processing times beyond the standard 6 months.
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