Do I need to legalize my Certificate of Good Conduct for my visa application?

Whether you need to legalize your Certificate of Good Conduct depends on the requirements of the organization and the country where you need to submit this document. In most cases, for VISA applications, immigration requests, or work permits, you are required to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct from the country where you currently reside and/or have lived. If you have lived in multiple countries, you may need to provide statements from those countries as well.

When should you have your statement legalized?

You should have your statement legalized when the relevant organization explicitly requests a legalized document. If this requirement is not specifically mentioned in the instructions, a legalized statement is not necessary.

United States & Canada

However, we strongly recommend that if you have obtained a Certificate of Good Conduct from the United States or Canada, you ALWAYS have it legalized for your visa, immigration, or work visa application.

Documents from these countries do not include official watermarks embedded in the paper, they lack a handwritten signature but have a printed one, and they are printed on regular paper. As a result, the receiving organization might claim that it is not an official document, even though it is. To avoid such discussions, it is advisable to have the statement legalized in the country where it was issued.

This legalization means that it becomes an official document issued by the relevant organization, in this case, the FBI or the RCMP.

Although legalization comes at a slightly higher cost than an unlegalized document, it also prevents stress and disputes during such procedures.