All applicants to Work 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 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

You must send an ACPO Police Certificate with your Work Authorisation Application. The Canadian High Commission will not accept any other police check.

The Police Certificate is the quickest form of police check that you can receive and can be issued in approximately 2 days (£70) or 10 days (£35). We would advise you to obtain 2 copies so that you have one to take with you to Canada to show employers. Additional copies cost £5. The Canadian High Commission will not return the copy that they receive with your Work Authorisation Application.

For Further details please visit the ACPO Police Certificates page.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland

You must obtain an ACPO Police Certificate. No other UK Police Check will be accepted. You cannot obtain this from your local police station instead you must submit a postal application for an ACPO Police Certificate.
For Further details please visit the ACPO Police Certificates page.

Overseas Police Check

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. All police checks (UK and overseas) must be dated within the last 12 months. If you will require a police check when you are in Canada (for job-hunting for example), we suggest you request a duplicate copy.