Police certificate
Encyclopedia
A police certificate is an official document issued by police
or government agency of a country to enumerate any criminal records that the applicant may or may not have. Criminal records may include arrest
, conviction
, and possibly criminal proceedings.
Police certificate is also known as good citizen certificate (in HK), good conduct certificate, police clearance certificate, or judicial record extracts.
Applicants may have to submit fingerprints
and certain personal information to request a criminal record check, and the police or government agency may charge a fee. If no record found, the police certificate will indicate such.
A person may be required to present a Police Clearance Certificate as part of employment screening, as a pre-requisite for volunteer work, as preparation for a court appearance, to apply for a visa to enter/stay in some countries, or to satisfy a statutory requirement.
Individuals may seek a national criminal history check through two ways:
1.Their local police service.
2.A CrimTrac-accredited “broker” e.g. commercial background checking service provider authorised to conduct national criminal history checks for and on behalf of its customer (i.e. Health Outcomes International Pty Ltd (Trading As National Crime Check)). NPCS Accredited Agencies are listed on Australia's CrimTrac website.
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
or government agency of a country to enumerate any criminal records that the applicant may or may not have. Criminal records may include arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
, conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
, and possibly criminal proceedings.
Police certificate is also known as good citizen certificate (in HK), good conduct certificate, police clearance certificate, or judicial record extracts.
Applicants may have to submit fingerprints
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
and certain personal information to request a criminal record check, and the police or government agency may charge a fee. If no record found, the police certificate will indicate such.
Scope
Depending on each country's law, applicants may be required to submit police certificates of countries which they have stayed beyond periods as specified by law.- Canada: Countries where applicants have resided for 6 months or more.
- New Zealand: Countries where applicants have resided for 12 months or more.
- United States: Countries where applicants have resided for 6 months or more.
- Australia: For citizenship applications, countries where applicants have resided for 3 months or more if the applicants have been outside Australia for more than 12 months since acquiring permanent residency; for visa applications, countries where applicants have resided for 12 months or more.
Period of Validity
A police certificate may or may not have period of validity itself, and criteria for validity vary for each country. Australia, for example, recognizes police certificates for 12 months from their issue dates for both visa and citizenship applications, independent of any validity period noted on the certificates themselves. As in many countries, this practice is neither mandated nor noted in any legislation; rather, the approach has simply been adopted by Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship for the sake of consistency across varying jurisdictions.Australian Police Clearance Certificate
Individuals in Australia can request a Police Clearance Certificate (also known as a national criminal history check) on themselves.A person may be required to present a Police Clearance Certificate as part of employment screening, as a pre-requisite for volunteer work, as preparation for a court appearance, to apply for a visa to enter/stay in some countries, or to satisfy a statutory requirement.
Individuals may seek a national criminal history check through two ways:
1.Their local police service.
2.A CrimTrac-accredited “broker” e.g. commercial background checking service provider authorised to conduct national criminal history checks for and on behalf of its customer (i.e. Health Outcomes International Pty Ltd (Trading As National Crime Check)). NPCS Accredited Agencies are listed on Australia's CrimTrac website.
External links
- Clickable Maps providing general information on where to obtain a police certificate in the particular country from Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- List of non-immigrant visa requirements for US State Dept. includes police certificates
- South Australia Police National Police Certificate FAQ
- US embassy in Japan website police certificate FAQ
- Explanation of process used to obtain a police certificate in the US from the NZ Dept. of Labor, which requires police certificates
- To get a police clearance certificate for Uae,Qatar,Kuwait,Saudi,Oman,Qatar,Kuwait,Bahrain
- http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/criminal_history_checks/IndividualChecks.html