A traveller in a navy suit holding a passport and boarding pass, with a suitcase beside a window

Which Visa Applications Need a Police Clearance Certificate

October 6, 2026 DiginamiX Comments Off

Correct as at 5 October 2026. We review this page when a destination changes its police certificate rules.

In short

Most visitor and tourist visas do not list a police clearance certificate. Some authorities can still ask for one, and New Zealand requires one once your total stay reaches 24 months.
Work visas are where the requirement usually starts. It depends on the destination, the occupation and the length of stay.
Study visas differ the most. Some destinations list a certificate once a study stay passes a set length and others do not list one at all.
Partner, family and residence visas ask for one at most of the destinations covered here, often from every country where you have lived for 6 or 12 months.
Each authority decides how recently the certificate must have been issued, so the certificate has to be timed to the visa application.

Whether a visa needs a police clearance certificate depends on two things, the type of visa and the country you are applying to. A short holiday rarely calls for one. A long-term job, a course of study or a move to join a partner often does, each on its own conditions.

This guide sets out what eight destinations ask for, by visa type, using each government’s own published rules.

What a police clearance certificate is and who issues it

A police clearance certificate is the document an immigration authority uses to check your criminal record. The immigration department of Canada describes it as a statement that you do not have a criminal record or, if you have one, a copy of that record.

Every South African police clearance certificate is issued by SAPS Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management in Pretoria. It is an original document, and SAPS does not email completed certificates. Canada’s Pretoria visa office accepts only the SAPS certificate from residents of South Africa, and not a criminal record check from a private company. Our police clearance service handles the application for you, and our guide to how long a police clearance takes covers the timing.

Do visitor and tourist visas need a police clearance certificate

Usually not, although the answer is not the same everywhere.

Not on the published document list. The Standard Visitor guidance for the United Kingdom, the short stay visit visa page for Ireland, the UAE federal immigration authority’s lists for tourist visas and visits to relatives or friends, and Portugal’s list for a short-stay Schengen visa do not include a police certificate.
May be requested. Australia says of its Visitor visa, “We may ask you to provide a police certificate.” Canada’s Pretoria visa office does not list one on its visitor visa checklist, although Canada says applicants with a prior criminal record may need one. United States regulations require one from a nonimmigrant visa applicant where the consular officer has reason to believe a police or criminal record exists.
Required for long stays. New Zealand requires police certificates from visitors aged 17 or older whose total time in the country will be 24 months or longer, counting time spent there on earlier visas. It also says it may ask for police certificates after you apply.

Which work visas need a police clearance certificate

Work visas are where the requirement usually starts, and each authority attaches its own conditions.

United Kingdom. A Skilled Worker applying from outside the UK needs a criminal record certificate only for the listed occupations in education, healthcare, therapy and social services. It covers every country, other than the UK, where they were present for 12 months or more in the previous 10 years while aged 18 or over, and a partner applying from outside the UK to join them needs one too. The Health and Care Worker visa asks applicants outside the UK for one in all but four of its occupation codes.
Canada. The Pretoria visa office’s work permit checklist asks for original certificates from the countries of birth and residence for everyone aged 18 or over in the application, if the stay in Canada will exceed six months. International Experience Canada applicants must provide one too.
Australia. For the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream, Home Affairs asks for a certificate from every country, your home country included, where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16.
New Zealand. Work visa applicants must provide certificates when their total time in the country will be 24 months or longer, from every country of citizenship and any country lived in for more than five years since turning 17.
Portugal. The general document lists for temporary stay visas and residency visas both include a criminal record certificate from the country of nationality or the country where the applicant has lived for over a year. Applicants under 16 are exempt.
UAE. The federal immigration authority lists “a certificate of good conduct, duly attested as required, according to the announced categories” among the documents for an entry visa for a work mission or residency sponsored by a government, private or free zone entity. Its page does not name those categories, so confirm with your sponsor whether yours is one.
Ireland and the United States. Ireland’s long stay employment visa page does not list a police clearance certificate. US temporary work visas are nonimmigrant visas, so the rule described above for visitors applies.

A traveller with a backpack on a moving walkway in an airport concourse, seen from behind

Do study visas need a police clearance certificate

Study visas vary more than any other type.

Listed for longer stays. Canada’s Pretoria visa office asks citizens or residents of South Africa aged 23 or over for original police clearance certificates when their stay in Canada will exceed six months. Canada’s study permit guidance adds that in some cases it may ask for a police certificate. New Zealand applies its 24-month rule to student visas. Portugal’s long-stay study visas fall under the national visa lists described above.
May be requested. Australia requires Student visa applicants and family members aged 16 and over to meet its character requirement, and says it may ask for a police certificate after you apply. US student visas follow the nonimmigrant rule above.
Not on the published document list. The document lists for the UK Student visa, Ireland’s long term study visa and the UAE’s study, training or qualification visa do not include one.

Do partner, family and residence visas need a police clearance certificate

At most of these destinations they do, and the rules usually reach back over every country you have lived in.

Canada. Canada says you must provide a police certificate if you apply for permanent residence. Under Express Entry that covers you and each family member aged 18 or older, for every country where you stayed for six months or more in a row during the last 10 years.
Australia. The Partner visa (subclass 309) requires a certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16.
New Zealand. Resident visa applicants aged 17 or older provide certificates from every country of citizenship and any other country where they spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years.
United States. Immigrant visa applicants aged 16 or older need a certificate from their country of nationality and their current country of residence if they have lived there for at least six months, and from any other country where they lived for a year or more after turning 16. A fiancé(e) visa carries a similar requirement.
Ireland. A de facto partner of an Irish national must submit a police clearance certificate, not more than six months old, from their country of current residence and any country they lived in during the five years before applying. Some other family routes ask for one too, such as a dependent parent or adult dependent child joining a family member in Ireland.
Portugal. Residency visas carry the criminal record certificate described above.
United Kingdom and UAE. The UK government’s list of information and evidence for the family visa does not include a certificate, and neither does the UAE federal authority’s list for a residency visa without employment.

Police clearance requirements by destination at a glance

Destination	Visitor	Work	Study	Partner, family or residence
United Kingdom	Not listed	Required for listed occupations	Not listed	Not listed (family visa)
Canada	Not listed, may be needed with a prior record	Required from age 18 if the stay exceeds 6 months	Required from age 23 if the stay exceeds 6 months, may be requested otherwise	Required for permanent residence
Australia	May be requested	Required (subclass 482)	May be requested	Required (subclass 309)
New Zealand	Required from 24 months, may be requested below that	Required from 24 months	Required from 24 months	Required from age 17 (resident visas)
Ireland	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Required for de facto partners and some other family routes
United States	If a record is suspected	If a record is suspected	If a record is suspected	Required from age 16
UAE	Not listed	Required for announced categories	Not listed	Not listed
Portugal	Not listed (Schengen)	Required (national visa)	Required from age 16 (national visa)	Required from age 16 (residency visa)

Not listed means the certificate does not appear on the authority’s published document list for that visa. It is not a promise that one will not be requested. Required is shorthand for the conditions set out in the sections above, such as age, length of stay and the countries covered.

The Hong Kong skyline and harbour at dusk, seen through a high-rise window

Why the certificate should be timed to the visa application

Most of these authorities also limit how old the certificate may be. Six months before the date of application is the most common limit among the rules above, and Australia treats a certificate as valid for 12 months from its issue date.

Based on what our clients and enquirers report, completed certificates commonly take one to six months from fingerprints to delivery. Order too early and the certificate can be too old on the day you apply. Order too late and it can hold up an application that is otherwise ready. Our article on police clearance for immigration sets out the windows for Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

When the certificate must be apostilled or attested

Three of the official sources go further than the certificate itself.

Portugal asks for its criminal record certificate “with the Hague Apostille (If applicable) or legalised”. South Africa and Portugal are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so the apostille route applies between them. The UAE asks for a certificate of good conduct “duly attested as required”, and because the UAE is not a party to the convention, that means the longer legalisation route.

Ireland’s de facto partner page says State-issued official documents from outside the EEA or Switzerland must be attested or apostilled. Its examples are civil certificates and it does not name the police clearance certificate, so confirm the position before yours is issued.

Our guide to what an apostille is explains the two routes, and our attestation and apostille service handles both.

Frequently asked questions

Is a PCC certificate for a visa the same as a police clearance certificate

Yes. PCC is short for police clearance certificate. Authorities also call it a police certificate, a criminal record certificate, a penal clearance certificate or a certificate of good conduct. For the time you have lived in South Africa, it means the certificate issued by SAPS.

Do I need certificates from other countries I have lived in

Often. Several authorities ask for a certificate from each country where you lived beyond a set period, such as six months in a row for Canada’s Express Entry or a total of 12 months for Australia’s partner visa. Each certificate comes from that country’s own authority. Prestige Solutions handles the South African one.

Can I apply for the visa while I wait for the certificate

That depends on the authority. New Zealand says a receipt showing you have applied for a certificate will not be accepted, a rule it extended to student and other temporary visas in an announcement on 1 July 2026, and that a missing certificate can lead to a decline or a shorter visa. Canada’s Pretoria work permit checklist lets an application go in without the certificate, but says the certificate is required before the application can be finalised and that this will delay processing. Tell us your lodgement date and we will give you an honest read on the timing.

If you would rather hand this over

Prestige Solutions helps South Africans at home and abroad obtain SAPS police clearance certificates and time them to a visa application. We check your application before it is submitted, track it, courier the certificate to you and, where your destination asks for it, carry the certificate into the apostille or attestation process. SAPS issues the certificate and the immigration authority decides what it accepts. Fees are confirmed on enquiry.

Start with our police clearance service. If you are already overseas, our guide to getting a South African police clearance from abroad explains how that works, and our visa assistance service covers the visa itself.

WhatsApp 067 814 9534, call +27 11 568 0827 or email info@prestigesolutions.co.za. Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00. Our office is at Rivonia Village, Second Floor, Cnr Mutual and Rivonia Boulevard, Rivonia, 2128.

Sources

All sources accessed 5 October 2026.