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From Pakistan · Police certificate

A police certificate from Pakistan, the way IRCC asks for it.

IRCC calls it a Police Character Certificate or Police Clearance Certificate. Who needs one, how recent it must be, and how to get it in each province — or from the Gulf.

IRCC’s Pakistan instructionsAll the paperwork from Pakistan

Who needs one

Permanent residence: yes. Visits: usually not.

IRCC requires police certificates for permanent residence, from you and, depending on the programme, from family members aged 18 or older.

For temporary residence — visiting, studying, working — it generally asks only if you have a criminal record, or where a programme’s checklist requires one.

Which countries, how recent

Every country of 6 months or more since 18

Where you live now: issued no more than 6 months before you submit your application.

Anywhere else you spent 6 months or more in a row since turning 18: issued after your last such stay there. Time before 18, and time in Canada, needs no certificate.

In Express Entry the window is short — IRCC gives 60 days to submit police certificates and advises starting as soon as you are in the pool. IRCC: when to get a police certificate.

Living in Pakistan

Where to apply, province by province

Each province runs its own service. These are the official links IRCC gives on its Pakistan page; the certificate is then couriered to you or collected from the office where you applied.

  • Punjab

    Through Police Khidmat Markaz (PKM), with offices in all 36 districts. IRCC notes you can apply at any PKM in Punjab, not only in the district the certificate is for — someone now in Lahore who used to live in Rawalpindi can apply in Lahore.

    Official Punjab service →

  • Islamabad

    Islamabad Capital Territory has its own character-certificate service through Islamabad Police.

    Official Islamabad service →

  • Sindh

    Requests go through Sindh Police’s own online request service.

    Official Sindh service →

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Processed in person — IRCC says you may need to visit the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). This includes the former FATA agencies: Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, Orakzai, Kurram, North and South Waziristan.

    Official Khyber Pakhtunkhwa service →

  • Balochistan

    Through Balochistan Police’s own service, linked from IRCC’s Pakistan page.

    Official Balochistan service →

Not a Pakistani citizen but lived in Pakistan? IRCC directs you to the local district office of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Police Security Branch — or, if you have left, to the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate.

Living abroad

From the Gulf or anywhere else

Apply through your nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate. IRCC lists what to bring:

  • A completed application form (IRCC’s Pakistan page links it)
  • Certified copies of your passport — every page that shows your legal stay
  • A certified copy of your National Identity Card
  • Three passport-size photographs
  • The applicable fees

A relative in Pakistan can sometimes apply for you

They need everything in the list, plus an affidavit on Rs 20 judicial stamp paper saying they will receive the certificate for you, and an authority letter in their name to collect it. IRCC’s Pakistan page has samples of both.And remember the second certificate: if you have lived in the Gulf country for 6 months or more, you need one from there too.

Before you file

Four things that catch people out

Police fingerprints are not biometrics
Fingerprints taken for the certificate are separate from the biometrics IRCC needs for your application, which you give at a visa application centre.
The High Commission can’t help
IRCC says the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad cannot help you get a police certificate. It comes from Pakistani authorities only.
Issued too early
A certificate from your current country older than 6 months on the day you submit is out of date. Time the request to your application.
Not in English or French
Send a copy of the original and a certified translation into English or French.

Straight answers

Police certificate questions

Do I need a Pakistani police certificate for a Canadian visit visa?
Usually not. IRCC requires police certificates for permanent residence; for temporary residence it generally asks only if you have a criminal record, or if a particular programme’s checklist says so — International Experience Canada is one that usually does. Check the document checklist for the exact application you are making.
How recent does my police certificate have to be?
For the country you live in now, IRCC wants a certificate issued no more than 6 months before you submit your application. For any other country, it must have been issued after your last stay there of 6 months or more in a row since you turned 18. IRCC can ask for updated certificates later.
I live in the Gulf. Which police certificates do I need?
Usually two at least. One from Pakistan, which you can request through the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate, or through a relative in Pakistan. And one from the Gulf country you live in now, because IRCC asks for a certificate from every country where you have spent 6 months or more in a row since age 18 — including where you are today.
Can a relative in Pakistan apply for me?
In some cases, yes. IRCC says a relative can apply with everything you would provide yourself, plus an affidavit on Rs 20 judicial stamp paper confirming they will receive the certificate for you, and an authority letter in their name to collect it. IRCC’s Pakistan page has samples of both.
Can the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad help me get it?
No. IRCC states plainly that the High Commission cannot help you obtain a police certificate. It comes from the Pakistani police, or from a Pakistani embassy or consulate if you are abroad.
Are the fingerprints for the police certificate the same as my biometrics?
No. Fingerprints taken by the police for a certificate are separate from the biometrics — fingerprints and a photo — that IRCC requires for the application itself, which you give at a visa application centre.
What if I can’t get a police certificate?
IRCC asks for proof that you requested one from the correct authorities, with a letter explaining what you did to get it. It warns that this is not guaranteed to be accepted, so start early rather than rely on it.

Also from Pakistan: the immigration medical exam and giving biometrics.

Reviewed by the Tashfeen legal teamLast reviewed October 2026

Getting your file together

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Bring your police certificates, passport and the rest of your file. We’ll tell you what is missing, what is out of date, and what an officer is likely to query. No one can guarantee an outcome, and we won’t.

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