# Study Visa for Canada - Police Reports



## FigNewton (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi All,

So, we've just found out that Canada needs police certificates from all countries we have resided in for more than 6 months. Both my partner and I have done a fair bit of living abroad and this documentation could take ages to compile. 

We can easily provide the police certificate for our current country of residence (Germany) and started that ball rolling yesterday. However, getting the required FBI report from the US looks like it's going to take a while - perhaps longer than we can wait. We have no idea how long it will take to obtain this info from France.

Has any one else gone through this process? About how long did it take to get all of your paperwork? Is there some wiggle room if we are making an honest effort to comply?

Thanks in advance.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

FigNewton said:


> Hi All,
> 
> So, we've just found out that Canada needs police certificates from all countries we have resided in for more than 6 months. Both my partner and I have done a fair bit of living abroad and this documentation could take ages to compile.
> 
> ...


I have seen a number questions on this subject and to the best of my knowledge there is no wiggle room. How long it takes obviously varies with each country. The USA and UK have special facilities for providing the documentation but I can't say about France.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The US FBI report is supposed to come back within 2 or 3 weeks, I think it was. (Cheer up, at least you don't have to have that one translated!) All that time and, if you're lucky, all you get is the same form back with a stamp that says "No record." That'll be $18, please.

France should respond pretty quickly. If you were born in France you can make your request online. If not, you can at least download the form to make your request. The site you need i s here: https://www.cjn.justice.gouv.fr/cjn/b3/eje20

The trick seems to be finding where and how to apply for the form in each country.
Cheers,
Bev


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## macmel (May 8, 2008)

We currently live in France and the cjn link in the previous post is the one to use. We got our initial reports in about 3 days and they e-mail the day they receive the request then get in touch if there is any outstanding information. Our certs have run out so we are in the process of getting more and this time they have asked for written submission but again they state it is only a 2 week wait. It is a free service unlike some other countries.


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## FigNewton (Mar 26, 2010)

*Thanks *

I tried posting a "thank you" response last night and it didn't seem to stick. I'll try again...

Auld Yin:

Fortunately, we haven't purchased out plane tix yet so we've decided to move the dates back as much as we can allow (late August). We'll have to provide our own wiggle room.

Bevdeforges:

We looked on the FBI website and they say the process can take up to 13 weeks, which had us a bit worried. Hopefully, it's closer to the 2-3 weeks you mentioned. Was your police record issued before or after all this Homeland Security business, I wonder.

macmel:

Yes, we found the same link for France that Bevdeforges provided but it's good to have a second and third opinion. 

I'm also going to need one from Japan which I'm hoping can be arranged through the Japanese consulate here in Munich. Today, we're off to get our fingerprints.

Thanks again for the advice.


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