Important info about Criminal Background Check in Canada
Here is a message I sent to our partners and independent reps about a potential major roadblock for Canadian applicants who want to teach in Korea due to some changes to the criminal background check issuing rules:
Hello,
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that this morning I received an email from a company we work with in Canada that provides background checks. They let me know that as of November 25th, local police agencies are no longer supposed to issue background checks and that basically all background checks should be processed through the RCMP with fingerprints. The RCMP check is said to take about 120-180 days (4-6 months). Obviously, that has a major impact on any applicants in Canada.
He advised me that the agencies involved are trying to fight the change to allow local agencies and private companies access to doing the checks. This is a major source of revenue for local police services as noted in this article:
Anyhow, at this point, technically, a local police department can still easily type in a name and DOB into the CPIC database, get the results, and print out a background check locally. It seems as though it is taking some time for this rule to trickle down to all local police departments, so it may be a window of opportunity for teachers to get the CBC done quickly. But, if this does result in a change across the country, then we may see it take 4-6 months to get a background check which may really cut down on the number of viable Canadian applicants as how many people will actually wait that long and then not change their mind?
We are of course hoping that this will not remain for long, but if you have a look at the RCMP site about processing times, it makes me embarrassed to be a Canadian:
They say that they've noticed a massive increase in the number of requests over the last 7 years! Yup, years, not months...you'd think that someone would say, "hey, it's been 7 years now, maybe we should make some adjustments." Then they go on to say that they are working on a project to increase the processing time but that it will take "another few years." Wow! How can we possibly be so inefficient?
So, if this does change, we are going to have a bit of a mess on our hands for Canadians.
Just wanted to give you the heads-up on this. If you are Canadian, get your background check done asap!
Jason
posted by Access South Korea Now @ 9:35 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hello Jason.
I was recently informed by the Ontario Provincial Police of the following:
"I'm not too sure if you've been advised yet, we get numerous requests a day - December 8 2009 the RCMP have advised all Police Services across Canada that we can no longer conduct "out of Country" criminal record check for applicants that cannot attend our Detachment in person unless the request is specifically for Immigration or their Visa. If your request is for either of these purposes, please indicate this on the consent form and indicate your Korean address'.
'When the request is for employment purposes applicants must attend their local police service of jurisdiction over the address that they are currently residing in or if that Police Service doesn't provide this service they can contact the Embassy or Consulate, once your prints have been taken you must forward them to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Attached is the RCMP website for you use'.
While our ultimate goal is to get employment, we need the background clearance in order to be issued and F2 visa.
I've relayed this point to the person in charge of processing the background checks and I will pass her response to you.
This whole process is bit of a pain for us currently in Korea. Any additional information on your part will be greatly appreciated.
Greg In Ulsan
Hello Jason.
This is what I have just been told by the Ontario Provincial Police processing centre.
"I'm not too sure if you've been advised yet, we get numerous requests a day - December 8 2009 the RCMP have advised all Police Services across Canada that we can no longer conduct "out of Country" criminal record check for applicants that cannot attend our Detachment in person unless the request is specifically for Immigration or their Visa. If your request is for either of these purposes, please indicate this on the consent form and indicate your Korean address".
"When the request is for employment purposes applicants must attend their local police service of jurisdiction over the address that they are currently residing in or if that Police Service doesn't provide this service they can contact the Embassy or Consulate, once your prints have been taken you must forward them to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Attached is the RCMP website for you use".
Since I will need the background check in order to get a F2 visa, there still may be hope. The OPP can do the check within hours but the whole identity notarization, verification and time in mailing add up to a month at least. No fingerprints required (when I did this the first time).
I replied to the office and I will let you know how it went.
Greg In Ulsan
Hey Greg,
Thanks for sharing your latest experience in obtaining the check. Very helpful for anyone going through the same process!
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