Police Clearance Certificate
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.
It is mainly used for the following purposes:
- To engage in business.
- Obtaining entry visas for certain countries.
- Migration to other countries.
- Employer’s Request.
- Joining the University.
- Other similar purposes.
Period Of Validity
A police certificate may or may not have period of validity itself, and criteria for validity varies 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.
United Arab Emirates
Certificates of Good Conduct (also called Police Clearance Certificates) can be obtained from Dubai Police within 2-3 working days for residents within the country.
For citizens and residents inside the UAE:
The applicant’s fingerprints are taken.
Obtaining the document takes between 48 and 72 hours.
For citizens and residents outside the UAE:
Required documents:
- A copy of the applicant’s passport.
- A copy of the old passport provided that the previous residence is fixed in it.
- A card showing the applicant’s ten fingerprints on the official form issued by the competent authority – Police – in the country of residence. The card should be attested by the UAE embassy in the res
- ident’s country and by the office of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- The applicant or one acting on his behalf should submit the documents.
