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jkim
New Member
Canada
28 Posts |
 Posted - October 16 2009 : 02:52:52
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HI EVERYONE,
HAS ANYONE HERE EVER GONE THROUGH BACKGROUND CHECK? AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE?WHAT IS BACKGROUND CHECK ANYWAY? PLEASE EXPLAIN
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
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Nosmc
New Member
19 Posts |
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jkim
New Member
Canada
28 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 03:07:41
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HI NOSMIC,
MY SPOUSE DOESN'T HAVE CRIMINAL RECORD. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR BACKGROUND CHECK?
THANK YOU SOO MUCH |
Edited by - jkim on October 16 2009 03:09:17 |
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Maja
Top Member
Canada
1066 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 03:08:43
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| We all go through background check once you are in process of sponsorship. They check if you have criminal record - commited crimes - in any country you've lived in. |
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bhavijaan
Junior Member
74 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 08:26:18
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| The background check can take any where from a few days to months to years.......... |
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mfeq
Average Member
127 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 12:35:33
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Background check includes criminal (Police Clearance) and security (National Security) checks. All adult applicants for immigration to Canada and ALL their dependents, whether accompanying or not, are required to contact the police or relevant authority of each country where they have lived for six months or longer in the last ten years and obtain the necessary police certificate or clearance stating that they do not have criminal convictions. A National Security check procedures identify persons seeking admission who are, or have been, involved in espionage, subversion, or terrorism.
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dpenabill
Top Member
1111 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 16:20:37
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All of us who have gone through the PR application process have been subjected to a background check. None of us have been officially informed as to what was actually done (well, some may have subsequently been involved in litigation where some aspects of the process came to light, although I have not seen any reports from such individuals to this effect).
Security check, re criminal inadmissibility:
A large part of the background check is a "security" check, that is a check to see whether the applicant has a criminal record or other history (association with organized crime, terrorist activities, war crimes, and so on) that would render the applicant criminally inadmissible to Canada. How this is done is technically not transparent, not shared with the public or applicants, although many of us have had enough experience with this sort of thing to glean some fairly concrete ideas about what they do, in addition to the obvious . . . ranging from checking relevant electronic databases to, in some instances it appears, contacting law enforcement or related agencies seeking either information or, in some cases (again, it appears), seeking the investigation of the person or related persons or . . . no one outside the agencies directly involved knows for sure . . . but also, in some cases, involving an investigation by or on behalf of embassy staff.
That is, the nature and the extent of the "security" part of the background investigation can vary greatly, and given the vagaries of communication and cooperation with different agencies and officials in various countries, the thoroughness of such checks can vary greatly, and the amount of time they take can vary greatly. I suspect (again, based on extrapolating from personal experience with background and security checks generally as well as from the reports of other PR applicants, not based on any direct knowledge, since CIC and the Canadian government deliberately does not share such information publicly) this can range from a simple computer generated database search following an examination of the police clearances the applicant submits in conjunction with background information provided, completed within the day or at most days, to checks involving exchanges of communications and queries in hard copy that can take months to complete -- and some have reported what amounts to the suspension of processing for longer than a year or more while background checks are being conducted.
I further suspect that the level of scrutiny involved for any particular individual applicant will depend in large part on their particular history -- former military personnel in some countries, for example, are likely to be examined far more intently than a youthful college graduate from the UK. Any criminal history at all will probably invoke a more thorough examination. But the extent of the inquiry may also depend on various indicators: history indicating a lifestyle way beyond the person's apparent means might suggest criminal activity and induce a closer examination. (At the risk of belaboring the obvious, again this is based on extrapolating not any direct knowledge.) It appears that some people have the bad luck to have a name and DOB similar enough to someone who pops up in the electronic databases such as to cause a more thorough investigation into who they are and their history. And so on.
General background check:
This is not as clear (recognizing that the security check itself is not particularly clear either), but I also believe that as part of their evaluation of the application, some "background" checking is done to verify information in the application. Much of this is probably a matter of simply cross-referencing the information the applicant and sponsor provided (comparing vital statistic information on the various forms, for example), but may include electronic database searches to verify prior address or employment information. Here too, the extent to which this is done is not apparent, and here too it probably varies depending on whether the first level of inquiry results in raising questions or not. The more obvious issues are, probably, along the lines of someone listing an address where they lived in a city which does not exist or which is not in the country (state, or province, or such) indicated, or having worked for an employer while living in a city a long, long way from any location where such a company did business. These are just examples, details in the background information the applicant provides which may be double checked and if inconsistent or erroreous which may result in the application undergoing more scrutiny or the applicant's background subjected to a more thorough examination . . . not every little error or inconsistency is likely to incite an intensive investigation, CIC personnel do not have the time or resources to so easily get distracted, but may raise questions which if not easily reconciled on their face may result in further background checking if the circumstances suggest a need to do that.
Thus, for example, while others seem to disagree with me, I highly suspect that a "background" check comparable to a credit check is often done on applicants, not to check their credit but to verify address and employment history. |
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jkim
New Member
Canada
28 Posts |
Posted - October 16 2009 : 23:46:53
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HELLO EVERYONE,
THANKS ALL FOR YOUR REPLIED
MY SPOUSE HAD LIVED IN EUROPE FOR FEW YEARS. SO I GUESS WHY OUR CASE IS TAKING SO LONG, THEY PROPERLY DOING BACKGROUND CHECK IN EUROPE. AM I RIGHT? LOL.
THANK YOU MUCH
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smartin
Advanced Member
545 Posts |
Posted - October 18 2009 : 22:25:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Maja
We all go through background check once you are in process of sponsorship. They check if you have criminal record - commited crimes - in any country you've lived in.
do they do a background check in the countries one has lived no longer than 3 months? |
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fountain_8
Advanced Member
771 Posts |
Posted - October 18 2009 : 23:12:44
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| smartin: No, since as per the guide, they only require police clearance certificate for where one has lived 6 months or longer since turning 18. |
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dpenabill
Top Member
1111 Posts |
Posted - October 19 2009 : 01:29:00
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It seems worth restating and emphasizing: the "security" aspect of the background check is not transparent, that is the procedures and processes are not divulged or otherwise shared with the public. None of us know for sure what is included nor what is not included. While some aspects are apparent and probable, some highly probable, among that which is probable is the likelihood that in some instances they will follow or chase down leads/tips/clues/"hits" encountered along the way.
If one has an arrest or criminal case in a country they lived in for less than six months, they are still obligated to report it in their background information, and if they do not reveal it there is still a significant chance it will be discovered in the course of conducting the background check, in which case there are consequences for making a material misrepresentation in addition to whatever effect the criminal matter might have on one's admissibility.
Moreover, there are other factors which may be in play: for example, some applicants have to divulge international travel history. For some applicants the electronic database checks probably include either Interpol or comparable search queries.
In other words: in the process of conducting a background check they very well might include countries in addition to those in which one has reported living in for six months or more. For the majority of applicants, probably not. But maybe. Quite likely for at least some. |
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Oheneba
Average Member
Canada
142 Posts |
Posted - October 19 2009 : 09:37:41
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It also appears, the background check is only used to buy the reviewing officer more time to hold the application in process while they attend to others things in their life.
my wife had lived in her country all her life and had not travel anywhere outside her country before....
One will like to think such background check could be completed sooner however our CAIPS notes suggest they are holding the case down for 6months under the status of background chek. Whilst it was noted on the file that all documents are complete, medical results accessed and finalized and all required fees paid, the file still have a file B'FD date in 6months time in Accra visa Office. |
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Sadhumaharaj
Advanced Member
Canada
770 Posts |
Posted - October 19 2009 : 12:31:03
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To All,
I have few questions, this is for Inland applicants,
Applicant's approved with AIP in Vegreville receive their Landing date within appx 6 weeks or less. Whereas for people like me who's file was transferred without AIP to local office have to wait for AIP first(2 years) then wait for months to years( 2.5 months now)for Background check to be completed.
- Why the difference? while both apply under same category.
INLAND transferred without AIP - both are Scarborough
This is my timeline
Nov 2006(applied); July 2007(local CIC);Aug 09 - (AIP)-waiting for BC check to complete
This is my friends timelines
Feb 2008; July 2008(Local CIC); Oct 2009(AIP+BC check done)
- CIC says they start the BC check ONLY after AIP but how come the difference above? My frd received a letter from Immigration saying everyting is done and is just waiting to get landed(will send a letter soon)
- What is the difference here.
PS: i have not been out of my home country,completed professional degree, in top 10 university rank, worked for few years and came here. NO criminal record, never been out of status, first marr (both me n spouse), clean record. |
Edited by - Sadhumaharaj on October 20 2009 09:56:51 |
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dpenabill
Top Member
1111 Posts |
Posted - October 20 2009 : 01:41:12
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There is no one answer. The causes/reasons for delay vary greatly, depending on many different factors, and for inland applicants in particular the factors vary greatly and which local office is handling the application is one of those factors that seems to make a big difference. While numerous factors personal to the applicant may be at play, luck of the draw can also have an influence, if, for example, a person's name triggers "hits" in database searches those hits may need to be reconciled before the file is processed further.
And remember, the inland application process is essentially an accomodation to avoid injustice for a couple who are presently living together. The volume of inland applications being processed does not convert that process into the routine process. The routine sponsored spouse application is an "out-of-Canada" application.
Moreover, once an application gets sidetracked it seems there is simply a far greater risk of additional problems; for example, once an applicant is marked suspicious even erroneously and where the cause for that is totally resolved (oh, that was someone else with a similar name, not this applicant for example), it seems more likely that application will slip off the rails again, and perhaps again. Not fair, but essentially it is inevitable turbulence affecting a percentage of cases in any bureaucratic process.
That said, your timeline appears to be unusually long. Long enough it seems unlikely to be representative of how cases are handled generally. A lawyer and/or your sponsor's MP may be able to obtain more information about your particular case. But again, it probably does not represent how cases are usually handled.
Among "causes" for delay, however, the following is highly unlikely:
quote:
It also appears, the background check is only used to buy the reviewing officer more time to hold the application in process while they attend to others things in their life
No, not at all likely. |
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winniez
New Member
24 Posts |
Posted - October 20 2009 : 17:47:27
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| I sent my app in Apr and get the AIP in Sep. I also reveived the two letters, which none of them required anything. Then, I received a request for fingerprint check on the coming Monday. I get a digital one done at the end of Sep; the agency said it will send to RCMP. Not sure how long have to wait. If no criminal record, how long it will take RCMP to send the result to CIC. I think the CIC is working on the BC. Does anyone has the same experience, how long do I have to wait... |
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WHAT IS BACKGROUND CHECK?
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