Important info for all Canada applicants
All applicants to Work and Gap Canada are required to provide a recent police check when they send their Work Authorisation Application. You will receive this form on acceptance to the programme. Please note you are not required to send the police check with your initial Work or Gap Canada application.
Many Canadian employers may want to see a police check when you arrive in Canada so it is advisable to apply for two before you depart as the one that you submit with your Work Authorisation application will not be returned to you (the Canadian High Commission will retain this for their files).
How to obtain a Police Background Check
This is also known as a Subject Access, Police Certificate or Disclosure and must be dated within the last 12 months.
A “Subject Access” is a summary of any data which is held about you on the National Police Computer (NPC). It is also sometimes known as an NPC check. Applicants based in Scotland or Northern Ireland should note that a Scottish Disclosure or Northern Ireland Subject Access will not be accepted on it's own – you must obtain a UK Police National Computer Subject Access.
The check costs approximately £10 and takes about 30-40 days to be issued. You will be required to send documentation to prove your identity; details of acceptable proof should be provided on the application form.
You can usually download the application forms for the Subject Access from your local police force website (look for links for ‘Freedom of Information' on their website). Your local police station should also be able to provide you with relevant forms.
Once your Subject Access has been issued, please send the original to BUNAC along with your Work Authorisation Application and other supporting documents as detailed in the guidelines for the application form.
Police Certificate
This is a relatively new initiative which aims to provide Police Certificates for visa purposes, the certificate will show the results of a criminal check. The Police Certificate is the quickest form of police check that you can receive but it does cost more than a subject access. The Police Certificate can be issued in approximately 2 days for a cost of £70 (an additional copy costs £5). For further details please go to;
http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp
UK Disclosure (CRB)
If you work with children you may already have a Disclosure. If this is dated within the last 12 months, you can use this as your police check. It must be the original copy and must be a standard or enhanced disclosure, the basic disclosure is not acceptable.
If you have lived overseas for more than six months since you were 18, the Canadian High Commission also requires a police check from that country. A Google search should help you locate the contact details for the police service for the country in which you resided. For quick reference the following links may be useful:
- Canada
You do not have to submit a Canadian Police Check with your application but the Canadian High Commission reserve the right to request that you obtain one. We would suggest that you apply for a RCMP check just in case this is requested at a later date
- Australia
- New Zealand
- USA
- Japan
- Others
Please be aware that the Canadian High Commission will not return your police check document(s) when your work authorisation application has been processed. If you will require a police check when you are in Canada (for job-hunting for example), we suggest you request a duplicate copy.