The Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship of Canada, Marc Miller, has clarified that temporary residents are not required to present police clearance certificates upon their entry to the country.
According to the statement of Minister Miller, all temporary residents, including those entering the country for study or work purposes on respective permits, do not hold or show such a document, VisaGuide.World reports.
Minister Miller made such a clarification following questions from Indo-Canadian Member of Parliament Arpan Khanna.
Responding to MP’s question, Minister Miller stressed that he never said temporary residence need to present a police clearance certificate upon their entry to Canada, Hindustan Times explains.
I have never said such certificates are required for temporary residents.
Authorities Carry Out All Necessary Verifications, Minister Miller Stressed
As Minister Miller explained, the country’s authorities carry out other screening processes that help them to identify whether a certain person can enter the country without requiring them to present a police clearance certificate.
Although in some cases, applicants of a visitor, students, or temporary workers may be asked to present a police certificate, Minister Miller explained that the authorities for biometric verification.
This means that temporary residents have all their fingerprints and other biometric data taken and checked before they are permitted to enter Canada.
We do not, as a routine matter, require a police certificate for temporary residents. They may be required if an officer decides to do so as part of a cascading security screening.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Minister Miller highlighted that these certificates may not be reliable in some cases, suggesting that there is no need for this requirement to be mandatory for such groups of residents as long as the authorities carry out the other checks.
What is a Police Certificate & Who Needs It?
A police certificate is a document that proves whether the holder has a criminal record or not.
The document plays an important role when it comes to approving or denying a visa to an applicant.
Depending on the program that foreigners are applying for, they and their family members of the age of 18 or older may need to present such a document.
To get a police certificate, applicants need to contact the police department to ask for the document, and in some cases, they may be required to provide additional information and documents.