👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family-Based Immigration｜Do You Need a Police Certificate If You’ve Lived Abroad?

When preparing a police certificate for a family-based immigrant visa application, three factors are key: how long you lived there, how old you were at the time, and which country you lived in.

A simple way to understand the requirements is as follows (see Figure 2):

After age 16: Lived in your country of nationality for 6 months or more → Police certificate required

After age 16: Lived in your current country of residence (if different from your country of nationality) for 6 months or more → Police certificate required

After age 16: Lived in another country for 12 months or more → Police certificate required

If you have ever been arrested: A police certificate is required regardless of your age, length of residence, or country

📌 Example

A 🇨🇳 Chinese applicant is currently 24 years old:

Has lived in 🇨🇳 China continuously → 🇨🇳 Police certificate required

Studied in 🇬🇧 the UK for 2 years after turning 16 → 🇬🇧 Police certificate required

Stayed in 🇯🇵 Japan for 8 months after turning 16 → 🇯🇵 Generally not required

Currently living in 🇨🇦 Canada and has lived there for 8 months → 🇨🇦 Police certificate required

💡 Important Notes

1. If you are under 16, you generally do not need to obtain a police certificate based solely on your residence history.

2. Whether you currently live in the U.S. or have lived in the U.S. in the past, you generally do not need to submit a U.S. police certificate.

3. Police certificates are time-sensitive supporting documents. In practice, a commonly used validity period is around 6 months, so it is generally advisable to provide a version issued within the most recent 6 months.

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