Police Clearance Requirements For Visa Applications – Mistakes to Avoid and How to Get it Right

This post reflects the legal landscape as of the date of publication. Laws may have changed since then. Please consult a legal professional for current information and personalised advice.

For visa assessment purposes, all police certificates issued are considered valid for 12 months from the date of issue, it doesn’t matter if the issuing country specified a different time period.

For police clearances issued from countries other than Australia. If the clearance is more than 12 months old, and you have been back to that country for two months or more (cumulatively) since the certificate expired. You will need a new police clearance.

It might be tricky to prove your travel movements to the Department. Sometimes it is easier / leads to a quicker visa grant to provide a new clearance instead of waiting for the Department to accept the older police clarance.

Technically, where a police clearance is more than 12 months old and you haven’t been to the country that issued the clearance since the expiry of the police clearance you shouldn’t need a new clearance.

Googling police clearances doesn’t always take you to the right type of police clearance, you should always trust the details that the Department post on their website about which overseas authority is allowed to issue police clearances.

To know more, checkout this link: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/contact-us/offices-and-locations/offices-outside-australia