While I was researching to get information on the validity of Indian Police certificate and FBI clearance, I found that on quite few threads on this forum it has been said that Indian PCC is valid for 6 months from issuance date and FBI clearance is valid for 1 year.
However, the information under police certificates section on the official Canadian immigration website tells a different story:
- For the applicant’s current country of residence, the police certificate must have been issued no more than 6 months before the submission of the e-APR.
- For countries in which the applicant no longer resides, the police certificate must have been issued after the last time the applicant stayed in that country for 6 months or more in a row .
- Police certificates meeting the above requirements can be accepted even if they have an expiry date that has passed.
So what I think this means for many in this community including me who are from India and living in the U-S is that:
- FBI clearance should be under 6 months old before submission of e-APR; and
- Indian PCC has no set time limit it just needs to be issued after your most recent “6 months in a row” stay in India.
If anybody has had a different understanding or experience on this matter please feel free to correct me.