Medical exams and police certificates

Medical exams and police certificates are two parts of the file Vietnamese applicants usually need for a work permit or permanent residence.

When an immigration medical exam (IME) is required

According to IRCC, temporary resident applicants need an exam if they:

• plan to stay in Canada more than 6 months and lived in or travelled to certain countries or territories for 6 months or more in a row in the year before coming. Vietnam is on this list (checked 19/10/2026);
• or will work in a job where public health must be protected, such as health care, primary or secondary schools, child care or in-home care, however long they stay;
• or are applying for a parent and grandparent super visa.

How to get the exam

• Only an IRCC panel physician can do the exam; your own doctor can't.
• You can do an upfront exam before applying to avoid delays. IRCC notes a medical exam can add more than 3 months to processing.
• Bring your passport to the exam.
• The doctor doesn't make the decision; IRCC does.

Police certificates

According to IRCC's instructions for Vietnam:

• Document needed: Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2).
• Vietnamese citizens can apply in person or by mail at the Department of Justice where their permanent residence is registered, or online through their local Public Service Portal. People in Hanoi apply online through the Hanoi Department of Justice's service.
• People no longer living in Vietnam apply to the National Centre for Judicial Records.
• IRCC usually requires police certificates for permanent residence, citizenship and some temporary programs. For permanent residence, you need one from each country where you lived 6 months or more since age 18.

Note IRCC's Vietnam page was updated in 2024, before Vietnam's 2025 administrative reorganization. Check the current place to apply with the Department of Justice or the Public Service Portal.