# Police Clearance Report



## debbyhope (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi All,

I had a day from hell today!!! Woke up early & took a 3 hour bus trip to London - South African Embassy. I went there to hand in my application for a relative/temp rssident visa.

There was hardly any queue and didnt have to wait to be assisted. i guess it was too good to be true. I was 'assisted' by a very rude & uninterested lady. To cut a long story short, after going through paper work for at least 15 minutes, I was informed I needed something called a Police Clearance from my Embassy (Namibian). I was not told about this before, when I called them or on their website. 

Isnt this one & the same as the good behaviour (character) certificate from the police??
I asked them to expalin what it was about and why I needed the Police Clearance Report and all I was told was I needed it because I have lived in the UK for so long and left my country when I was over the age of 18. What??? I have travelled to & fro Namibia, South Africa and UK with my husband (who is SAcan) without any of these requirements. 

I called my embassy & they told me I needed to go to the police station & get some kind of report with finger prints and hand it over to them and it would cost me £10.00. I was willing to run around London doing all this but the South Afrcan embassy was now closed to foreign applications (@ 11 am!!!) 

Please anybody, HELP . I need to go back next week to sort this all out.


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## Ostrich (May 20, 2011)

I don't want to discourage you, but my husband also applied for a police clearance certificate from Namibia nearly 5 months ago (through the Namibian consulate in SA), and we still don't have it. We did pay them for 2x copies, though! You need to follow up regularly with them. 

You might be able to show evidence of submission earlier, like the receipt to show that you've applied, or a letter from the Namibian consulate which indicates that they are assisting you? Can you ask the SA consulate over the phone if they will accept this? 

When I came over on a relative's permit years ago, I did not have proper FBI clearance which took months to acquire, and they let me in on the condition that I submit it as soon as I received it (which was a few months after arriving in the country). I was pregnant, so not sure if that made any difference. 

Good luck!


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## gatvol (May 21, 2011)

When we applied for SA police clearance, our first payment mysteriously went missing so we had to send a second payment.


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## Guest (May 23, 2011)

debbyhope said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I had a day from hell today!!! Woke up early & took a 3 hour bus trip to London - South African Embassy. I went there to hand in my application for a relative/temp rssident visa.
> 
> ...


Hi 

Welcome to the world that is Home Affairs and its embassies!

A police clearance report is required for every country in which you have lived for a period longer than 12 months since you were 18 years old. I have had a look at the SA High Commission website and it does state "Police clearance certificates in respect of applicants 18 years and older, in respect of all countries where person resided one year or longer."

For the temporary application you should be able to submit with a letter of undertaking confirming that you have applied for the police report and that you will submit this as soon as it is issued. Submitting this letter and proof that you have in fct applied should be enough for the embassy to accept the application.

Hope this helps.


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

debbyhope said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I had a day from hell today!!! Woke up early & took a 3 hour bus trip to London - South African Embassy. I went there to hand in my application for a relative/temp rssident visa.
> 
> ...


As far as I know you always need Police Certification for all South African residence permits. As you have lived in the UK you will need to get one from the UK. You can contact ACRO who issues these certificates. Google ACRO and you will find an entry stating Police Certificates. Their website will have all the information that you need and the relevant application form. It costs 35 pounds for a 10 working day service or 70 pounds for a 2 working day service. No finger printing needed for UK certificate, all you need is a copy of your passport, a recent photograph witnessed by a professional and proof of residence. You might also need Police Certification from your home country. Usually if you contact the police authority in your country they should be able to tell you how to get hold of it. The certificate will be valid for SA purposes for 6 months. Hope this helps.


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