FAQ

Employment verification enables us to verify a candidate’s employment history, including previous job titles and descriptions including the start and end dates. Our highly professional team will contact the former employers to verify all the required information, including the accuracy of all information on the candidate’s consent form.

Similarly, Our experts also contact former educational institutes to verify the candidate’s education and credential information that was provided.

Your legal counsels will best answer this question. Globeia recommends that any background checks that may reveal sensitive information that is protected by privacy and human rights laws, such as a criminal record check are done only once you have decided you wish to hire the candidate.

On average, criminal background check are done in less than 4 hours. Additional services will vary in times based on the types of searches. Through our client website, authorized users can log in to view their in progress candidates files. As each service is completed, the results are posted online so that you do not have to wait for the final report to view individual service results.

It is legal for employers to use something they found on social media to make a decision.

In Canada, a driving record also called a driver’s abstract, is a record of a person’s driving history. It lists when a driver’s license was first issued, plus any driving tickets or other offenses that an applicant received in the previous five years.

Yes, we run reports on people living around the world. We can also run reports on people living in one country and working in another.

Yes, please make sure that your employer or volunteer organization accepts third party criminal record checks.

Today, majority of employers, big and small, perform some form of pre-employment background check on job candidates.

Pre-employment background checks must be conducted carefully and in compliance with the law. Notifying the candidate and obtaining their consent prior to performing any background check, and ensuring the information is being used in a compliant manner, are of utmost importance.

Criminal record searches and identity crosschecks are the most common background checks, but solutions vary depending on industry and specific job requirements.

The typical background check is meant to verify if the applicants are truthful about their criminal record, education, and employment history

Because of that, we recommend reference checks and education and employment verification in addition to the Canadian criminal record checks.

The cost will depend on the complexity of the screening. If you perform a large number of background checks regularly, it is the most cost effective method.

Results depend on the breadth and depth of the background check as well as the goals of your organization. We work with our clients to understand the needs of their organization and help them design program to match their needs.

• Canadian criminal record checks
• Credit bureau inquiries with identity cross check
• Reference interviews
• Employment verification
• Education verifications
• Credential verifications

Your legal counsel would best answer that. There is a huge diversity in laws and best practices by province and industry, so your industry and job requirements will likely guide you in the right direction.

Your legal counsel is the best choice for this answer. Our background checks are built to assist you to comply with privacy and human rights legislation. But you need to understand the services and the rules to be sure you are using them correctly in your situation. Our Privacy and Compliance team always stays on top of current and pending legislative and regulatory changes. When changes occur, services are updated accordingly, and clients are kept informed to ensure you are aware of your obligations.

The information required for background checks varies depending on the services being conducted.

You have a right to access your information, dispute its accuracy, and be told its sources and to whom it has been disclosed. Federal or provincial privacy law may protect your information.

The average turnaround time for an RCMP Criminal Record Check is fifteen minutes to four hours, however, times may vary due to the following:

• If One ID has been requested, then the applicant may not have submitted clear photographs, or they may have submitted invalid IDs. Certn’s Support team will reach out to the candidate to obtain valid photographs via email, in order to successfully submit the application. Any further delays or issues with their IDs will be brought up to the Client.
• The candidate may not have disclosed convictions accurately initially. In this case, please reach out to our support team for further assistance.
• Inaccurate details (ie. incorrect date of birth, spelling errors, wrong names) submitted by the candidate. Our support team will reach out to the candidate to verify their information or retrieve the correct details for their application.

If you do encounter any delays or issues when issuing an RCMP Criminal Record Check, please reach out to our support team, or your Account Manager, for assistance.

To start a background check, you only need to provide your candidate’s email address. We take care of securely gathering their personal information and verifying their identity.

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The possible existence of a Criminal Record will result in a “Not Clear” determination.

Results will only contain criminal records that have been disclosed, as entered by you (the individual). Checks resulting in a “Not Clear” determination will also indicate confirmation of disclosure when provided by the individual.

Canada has not signed ‘The Hague Apostille certificate’ convention. Therefore, the Canadian government does not issue an apostille to validate documents for international use. The important thing to remember is if you follow the process of the country in which the document has been issued, there will be no problem with your documents being accepted in another country. Meaning, your document first must be authenticated by the Global affairs Canada Authentication services section located in Ottawa. Once authenticated, the document needs to be legalized by the embassy in Canada of the country in which the document will be used. Once the document has been authenticated and legalized, it will be accepted for international use or as the equivalent to an apostille in a country that uses the apostille process.

These countries include Albania, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.

Yes. The majority of our clients live outside of our region, or Canada for that matter, so we have developed systems that ensure an easy to follow process whether around the corner from us or around the world. Our experienced agents work closely with clients on a daily basis from every region concerning their various types of documents for the authentication and legalization process with ease and efficiency.

Globeia will provide you with an Order Form to complete, which you will need to include when sending your documents. Some Embassies will also have an application form that they will require you to complete, but do not worry as Globeia makes it easy with instructions and guidance throughout the process. Global Affairs Canada does not require you to fill out their authentication request form as Globeia fills this out for you when attending the office.

Once your documents have been fully processed, you will receive an email update via our Online Order Status Tracker. The email will contain an estimated delivery date along with the courier details and tracking information. Using the tracking number with the courier/mail service that you had selected earlier in the process will give you the most up-to-date information about the location of your documents.

Yes. Some clients find it convenient to use our address for the forwarding of their requested document as it saves them valuable time with the authentication and legalization process. We only ask that before your document is received at our office, that you complete our Order Form with your particular request details and forward it to us via email or any other convenient way listed on our Contact Us page so that we can open a request file under your name to ensure the proper identification and processing of the document when received by our office.

Once your documents are complete, we will return or forward them by Canada Post free of charge or based on your instructions.

There are multiple reasons that Global Affairs Canada may decline to authenticate documents. In most cases, it may be due to the document missing an original signature or stamp, or the signature cannot be verified. Global Affairs Canada will not authenticate documents issued by religious institutions such as baptismal certificates or religious marriage certificates. Global Affairs Canada will also deny the authentication of documents that are issued by educational institutions that are unrecognized by the federal government. In some exceedingly rare cases, Global Affairs may decline to authenticate your document if they believe that the content is misleading, or that it may be used for illegal or fraudulent purposes. If your documents are written in or contain a language other than English or French, Global Affairs will decline the authentication unless the document meets one of their foreign language requirements.

Yes, our experienced agents attend in person at both Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section and your required embassy in Ottawa. This allows us to ensure that your document meets the requirements of Global Affairs Canada and the embassy, and to confirm with the embassy how long the legalization is expected to take ensuring that the proper requirements and fees are provided.

Depending on what document you have to process, Global Affairs Canada will have different requirements as to whether the document must be an original or a certified true copy made by a Canadian Notary Public. Vital Statistics documents must be original documents that have been issued by the provincial or territorial Vital Statistics office. Either original College or University Degrees or Diplomas from a public accredited institution, or a certified true copy of the original made by a Canadian Notary Public, can be authenticated by Global Affairs Canada. Any documents not issued by a federal authority or issued by an institution not recognized must Global Affairs make a certified true copy by a Canadian Notary Public.

Yes, Global Affairs can authenticate either your original Canadian degree/diploma or a notarized copy – the choice is yours. Many of our clients choose to have a notarized copy made for authentication since it saves the processing and stamping of your original. This helps keep the original in pristine condition for future use but also raises another good reason why using a notarized copy may be the best option for you. If using your original, it is important to ask if you will receive it back from the person who is requesting it. If you are not sure it may be best to make a notarized copy. Current processing times for authentication of a degree are 25 business days when dealing with the Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section directly, but we can expedite this to as quickly as one day. Ask us about how we can help you with this.

A Commissioner for Oaths in Canada is generally not authorized to certify a true copy of a document, where their authority is governed by the province or territory of appointment. A Commissioner for Oaths is generally only authorized to witness signatures for certain documents such as a Statutory Declaration or an Affidavit.

Yes, in most cases the requesting party in the country you will be using will provide you with the document in the native language. This happens because the laws of the country in which they will be used usually govern documents containing a foreign language. Before explaining, it is important to know that if your document contains a language other than our two official languages, English and French, Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section has an extra requirement. Global Affairs Canada requires that you provide a notarized translation in either English or French that has been certified by a Canadian translator and notarized by a Canadian Notary. Now that they have authenticated your document, it is ready for legalization at the embassy. Depending on the country, the embassy may have extra requirements that have to be provided before your document can be legalized. As Embassy requirements change for various documents, it is best to speak with one of our experts to ensure that your document is prepared for legalization in the correct and most up-to-date manner.

Global Affairs Canada has reduced their operating hours for the public and are closed on Fridays. We are, unfortunately, unable to provide same-day priority authentication on Fridays due to this hour reduction. The new operating hours for Global Affairs Canada are now Monday to Thursday 10:30 AM till 12:00 PM (noon) and 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. In addition, they do have restrictions as to how many documents can be processed daily.

Yes, there is no Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section office in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Halifax, or St. John’s. Canadian documents can only be federally authenticated at Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section located in Ottawa.

No, in fact, Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section will not authenticate provincial authentication signatures. In order for your document to be authenticated, it must have a signature that is in the Global Affairs Canada registry and falls within their requirements for processing.

Even if the documents were identical, they would be considered two documents. Documents are calculated by volume, not by content.

Our services can be paid securely online using MasterCard and visa credit card, apple pay, discovery, PayPal or interact e-transfer once your documents have been received by us or include a corporate cheque or money order when sending to us. For payment of embassy fees, most accept payment by bank draft or money order.

Yes, all you would need to do to arrange for someone else to drop your documents off at Globeia, is to speak to one of our helpful agents and set up an appointment under the name of the person who will be dropping off your documents.

In some jurisdictions yes, our Ai will look at social media. We find all public profiles, provide clients with links and evaluate them for risk. We never look at images, nor do we ever collect, evaluate or store any information that might be protected by any human rights law.

No, Vulnerable Sector Checks must be done at your local police station.

No, please make sure that your employer accepts criminal record checks from third parties who work with the RCMP. The RCMP will not refund us, so we can’t refund you.

When a criminal record search is completed by a police service, they compare the name and date of birth against the CPIC database.