How to get a police certificate - Saudi Arabia

Name of the document you need

Criminal Record Certificate

Police certificate and IRCC requirements

You do not need to provide a police certificate when you first apply for permanent residence. Once your application has been assessed and you have an active immigration file, we will send you a facilitation letter that you can use to request a police certificate from the nearest Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) police station.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will also ask you for a police certificate if you declared a criminal record on your application for an electronic travel authorization, work permit or study permit.

How to apply

To obtain a police certificate from within Saudi Arabia (for both citizens and non-citizens)

The IRCC office responsible for processing your application will send you a request letter for a police certificate when needed.

If you are asked to provide a police certificate from the KSA, you must contact the IRCC Riyadh Office by completing the IRCC Web form - Riyadh. In the IRCC Web form, include the file number and a copy of the request letter from the IRCC office as proof. The IRCC Riyadh Office will then send you an official facilitation letter, which you will need to present when applying for your police certificate.

After you receive the facilitation letter from IRCC Riyadh, you can apply in person to the Criminal Evidence Division of the police nearest you.

The Criminal Evidence Division will only process your request with an official facilitation letter addressed to them; your national identification card (for Saudis), passport or resident identification card (iqama for non-Saudis); and a 4 cm x 6 cm photo.

Once all documents are presented and accepted, the head of forensic evidence will direct you to the identity technician, who verifies your identity, takes your fingerprints and provides a receipt with the date you can collect your certificate. You must appear at the appointed time and present the receipt in person to collect the certificate. The certificate will not be delivered to someone else.

Alternatively, you can ask your employer to request a Criminal Record Certificate on the Amen portal (Amen is the National Cyber Security Center portal). This service enables an agency to request and print your police certificate. You can review, approve or reject requests sent from agencies via this service. You can also review previously received applications, whether they are approved or rejected, during their validity period.

To benefit from this service:

1. You must have an active account in Absher (Absher is the official portal citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia use to access a variety of government services).
2. You and your employer must be in the KSA to access the Amen and Absher portals.
3. You must approve the request for a police certificate via your account in Absher.
4. You must have your fingerprints taken by the Ministry of Interior to complete the request for a police certificate.

Both Amen and Absher require a request from a party or an entity for the police certificate to be processed. The Ministry of Interior suggests the use of the in-person process if the police certificate is for international use, since only police certificates obtained in person can have Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation.

To obtain a police certificate from outside Saudi Arabia

Only non-citizens currently residing in the KSA can obtain a police certificate. For non-citizens who left the KSA on a final exit visa, it may not be possible to get one. You can contact the embassy of your country of nationality in the KSA to see if the embassy is able to assist you.

Saudi citizens oversees can go through the Saudi Embassy to get a police certificate; however, this method may take several weeks.

If you do not have current legal residence status in Saudi Arabia, you are not required to provide a Saudi Arabian police certificate. If you are asked for a police certificate from Saudi Arabia, write: “I cannot provide a police certificate for the time I spent in Saudi Arabia because certificates are only available to people who have current legal residence status.”

Contact information

Saudi Missions Abroad (available in English and Arabic)