# Police Clearance Critical Skills.



## fellowzimbo (Jul 29, 2015)

I have been in South Africa for less than 12months on a 1 year critical skills Visa. I have now managed to get a job offer which i would want to submit along with other documentation asap. Do i need a police clearance from south africa since i have not been here for 12 months or more. the requirement according to vfs is stated as below.

Police clearance certificate issued by the police or security authority in each country where the relevant applicant resided for 12 months or longer after attaining the age of 18 years, in respect of criminal records or the character of that applicant, which certificate shall not be older than six months at the time of its submission: (provided that the certificate shall not be required from a foreign country in the case of renewal or extension of a visa within the republic).


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## RubyRuby (Jun 28, 2015)

To be on the safe side, I would suggest you get one. The VFS people go by the check list they have in front of them and won't even listen to your explanation regarding you being here for less than 12 months.


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## fellowzimbo (Jul 29, 2015)

thanks RubyRuby, I am actually submitting my fingerprints today for the clearance. its better to be safe than get rejected.


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## Klipspringer (Feb 21, 2015)

fellowzimbo said:


> "(provided that the certificate shall not be required from a foreign country in the case of renewal or extension of a visa within the republic)."


I have read this sentence over and over and still don't understand what it means. Can someone please explain this? So if you applied the first time in SA and you renew, you only need the police clearance for SA? If they don't accept the 12 month thing I bet they also don't pay any mind to this stipulation, or am I misinterpreting it?


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