Living abroad does not disqualify you from obtaining a Canadian criminal record check. It does change the mechanics completely, and the part most applicants get wrong is assuming they can do from Lisbon or Dubai what a resident does in Ottawa.
A local police service processes residents. It will not deal with someone living outside the country, and police stations abroad cannot submit anything to Canada. Only one route exists, and it runs through an agency in Canada accredited by the RCMP.
This guide covers the criminal record check process from abroad: what the certified product is, where to have prints made in your country, which cards the Royal Canadian Mounted Police accepts, how to obtain an RCMP criminal record from abroad, and what to do once the certificate is issued. Criminal records held in the repository are the only thing being searched — nothing else about you is examined.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
Only One Product Is Available From Abroad
Three types of police record check exist in Canada, and two of them are unavailable to you.
A name-based check searches the RCMP’s Canadian Police Information Centre. Being date of birth based, a name-based criminal record check is quick but inconclusive — where the name and date of birth match someone else, the applicant is asked to provide fingerprints anyway. Employers inside Canada often accept it as a criminal background check for hiring; foreign authorities generally do not. A vulnerable sector check requires attendance at a police service within Canada and cannot be obtained from outside of Canada under any circumstances.
What remains is the certified criminal record check — a fingerprint-based criminal record check run against the National Repository of Criminal Records by the RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services rather than by biographical details. That branch holds Canadian criminal records and returns the result. A Canadian RCMP certified criminal record check of this kind is what immigration authorities, foreign employers and licensing bodies ask for, and the only version available while living outside the country. It supports permanent residence, Canadian citizenship and work permit files alike.
Because prints cannot be confused between two people, the result is a definitive statement of criminal record verification: either a match exists in the repository, or it does not.
What the Search Actually Covers
Canadian criminal records held in the National Repository are the entire scope of the exercise. The search returns convictions recorded against your fingerprints and nothing else — no employment history, no immigration file, no credit information, and no criminal records held by another country.
Two consequences follow. A person with criminal records in another jurisdiction receives a clear Canadian result, because those records are not in the repository being searched. And a person whose Canadian criminal records were sealed by a record suspension also receives a clear result, since suspended convictions are removed from the searchable set for most purposes.
That is why foreign authorities frequently ask for police certificates from every country of residence rather than relying on one. Canadian criminal records answer only for Canada.
Where to Get Fingerprints Taken
Fingerprints taken abroad must be captured in person, on paper, by an authorized official. Acceptable providers include:
- Police in your country of residence
- An embassy or consulate — though many Canadian missions no longer offer this
- A government department authorized to take fingerprints
- A notary public
- A private fingerprinting service holding an agreement with a local police force
Practice varies. In the United States, police departments and private agencies are familiar with the requirement. In the United Kingdom, forces generally do not fingerprint the public for foreign applications, so a private bureau is the practical route. In Australia and New Zealand, notaries, police and private agencies all offer it — though some Australian ones will not release the completed card to the applicant and post it to the processing agency instead.
Country-specific instructions sit on our pages for a Canadian police check from the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
Which Fingerprint Form Is Accepted
The official RCMP fingerprint form is the C-216C. The FBI’s FD-258 is also accepted from applicants abroad — both use the same ten-print layout, so an operator familiar with one can complete the other.
Three rules are absolute:
- Ink and roll only. Digital or live-scan printouts are not accepted from abroad; the impressions must be rolled in ink on the card itself.
- Originals only. Scanned, emailed or photocopied prints are never processed. The physical fingerprint card must reach Canada by mail or courier.
- Complete fields. Every box filled, plus the name, signature and stamp of the official who made them.
Quality is the usual failure point. Smudged, faded or partial impressions are rejected by the RCMP after submission, which means a new appointment and a second fee. An operator who takes these cards regularly is worth finding.
How Submission Works
Electronic submission is not available from outside Canada. The sequence is fixed:
- Complete the application types and consent form for your purpose — immigration and travel, or a Privacy Act request for United States immigration
- Have your prints made locally on an accepted card
- Email scans of the completed forms and two pieces of government-issued identification to the Canadian agency for review
- Mail or courier the original card and paperwork once the scans are approved
- The agency digitizes the card and handles submission to the RCMP electronically, since only an accredited firm can submit fingerprints into the system
Only a company accredited by the RCMP can perform that final step, because the network access is granted with the authorization. Prints sent by an applicant directly, or handled by an unaccredited operator, go nowhere.
Our online service covers exactly this route, and our page on accredited fingerprinting explains what the authorization involves.
Timelines and Results
RCMP processing typically runs between 10 business days and roughly twenty once the file is submitted. A clean search with no match moves fastest; anything requiring manual review takes considerably longer, and a match in the repository can extend it well beyond that.
Add transit at both ends. Shipping from your country to Canada, then delivery of the finished certificate, frequently adds a fortnight to the total. Where the agency handles return shipping, a tracked service is worth the cost.
Check results arrive as an RCMP criminal record check certificate — an RCMP certificate showing either that no record exists, or the level of criminal record found. Someone without a criminal record receives a clear statement to that effect — that is the criminal record certificate most foreign authorities want to see. Where results go to a representative rather than to you, a third-party consent form must accompany the application.
After the Certificate Is Issued
The finished certificate rarely satisfies a foreign authority on its own. Because it is federal, certification runs through Global Affairs Canada — an apostille where the destination joined the Hague Convention, or full legalization where it did not.
For the Gulf, the chain continues through UAE Embassy attestation in Ottawa, or the Qatar and Kuwait missions. Our guides to what a criminal record check shows, choosing the right form and the check for immigration cover the surrounding decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have lived in Canada to apply?
No. Anyone can request a search of Canadian criminal records, whether or not they ever lived in Canada.
Can I apply if I was never convicted of a crime?
Yes, and most applicants have no criminal history at all. The check exists to prove that.
Is a police information check the same thing?
No. That is a name-based product from a local force. It is not available from abroad and is not accepted where a fingerprint-based check was requested.
Who can I contact about the status?
Whoever submitted your file. Contact us and we will check where it stands rather than leaving you to chase the RCMP directly.
Does the certificate expire?
Not formally, though institutions commonly treat anything older than six months as stale.
Need Help Obtaining an RCMP Criminal Record Check?
Legalization Service Centre is an RCMP accredited fingerprinting company in Ottawa, authorized to digitize international ink prints and manage the whole process. We check every form and identification document before you ship originals, because a typo invalidates a search that has already been paid for.
Whether you need fingerprinting, an apostille, notarization or full legalization for a non-member country, we can guide you through every stage — from anywhere in the world.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.