Guest ozzyozzer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi all I have just been asked by case officer to get medicals and police clearances and have a question to ask regarding the police clearances. Does the case officer actually stipulate in his request that you need to get SA clearances as mine only states medicals and police clearance? I have been in the uk for 11 years but from the date of the visa application it has only been 9.5 years. I really dont want to go through the nightmare with the SA gov depts as it left me bleeding from the eyes after trying to get military discharge certificates which took 4 months!! Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4lan Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi Ozzy, I dont want to be the bearer of bad news but if I understand the Police Check requirements correctly you will need certificates from ALL countries that you have been a resident in. So if you are 30 years old and moved to the UK at age 20 from SA and have lived here for 10 years you'll need them from both.. I am not certain an if I am wrong at least this reply will bump you're thread and encourage someone who does know to post. Best of luck. - 4lan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozzyozzer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 The word I'm thinking of rimes with DUCK!!:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4lan Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 perhaps you could start the ball rolling on the South African certifiation, unless it too expensive, as its better to have at least started the process "if" needed... Sorry I can offer more exact advice! - 4lan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillabong Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi ozzyozzer as far as i understood it you only have to get police checks from the countries you lave lived in FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, i am originally SAfrican, and didn't need to do SA police checks, as been in UK 14 years, if you have been in UK for 10 years then i wouldn't think that you would need them.......... maybe someone else can confirm that too........ hopefully you wont need to get blood from that stone!!!!!!!! Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4lan Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi ozzyozzer as far as i understood it you only have to get police checks from the countries you lave lived in FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, i am originally SAfrican, and didn't need to do SA police checks, as been in UK 14 years, if you have been in UK for 10 years then i wouldn't think that you would need them.......... maybe someone else can confirm that too........ hopefully you wont need to get blood from that stone!!!!!!!! Jill Thanks for the correct answer and prompting me to check the 47p form that instructs you how to obtain your Police Certs. Quote below taken from the DIAC form. Please check the list of countries and areas below. If you have lived in any one of them for a total of one year or more in the last 10 years, you must get a police certificate from the authorities in that country or area. My apologies for the initial incorrect answer. I hope that clears it up. - 4lan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozzyozzer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi ozzyozzer as far as i understood it you only have to get police checks from the countries you lave lived in FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, i am originally SAfrican, and didn't need to do SA police checks, as been in UK 14 years, if you have been in UK for 10 years then i wouldn't think that you would need them.......... maybe someone else can confirm that too........ hopefully you wont need to get blood from that stone!!!!!!!! Jill Thanks Jill and everyone else for responding......... I have been churning though as much info as possible on the 10 year rule.....I have been here for 11 years but apparently your time here is taken from the date of your visa application (which puts me at 9.5 years, as this excludes the years waiting for a case officer which will take it to 11 years). I HOPE I'M WRONG HERE!! Wow who thought the last hoop would be the most painfull........... Jill its gonna take months for them to find the right stone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayandjay Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi Ozzy (and others) I've joined this forum just to reply to you as for once I actually have some useful info. I've been reading posts on here for ages and would like to thank everyone for all the great and useful info! So here's my small contribution... Regarding SA police clearances, it is actually quite easy. There are agents who will help you with this but it can also be done by anyone on your behalf in person in Pretoria, which might cost a lot less. Ok. So I'm not really sure if I can mention the name of the agent we used here (I could do so if you want). They charged us £170 for myself and my wife, but its £150 for one certificate. This included postage and delivery of all the documents. But as I said, it is possible to get a relative or friend to do this for you for free. the SAPS charge R54 (or R58) per certificate - I forget exactly.... We used the agent as it was easier and they provide great service. Probably the most difficult thing to arrange will be fingerprints, which need to be done by the UK police (Local to you). We were charged £66.50 each for this service and had to make an appointment to get these. Apparently the SA embassy will not do this for police clearances. I think the price differs slightly depending on which police force... I have copies of the fingerprint forms and the application form, and would be happy to sends these to you if you like. I think you can email me directly via this website?? SAPS give a guideline of 4 to 8 weeks for clearance certs to come through, but ours took 3 weeks, and a friend of mine who went to america last year had the same experience - 3 weeks. Another point to note (if applicable), is that by default married womens' maiden names will not be included on the police clearance, unless proof is provided of their maiden names. They accept certified copies of any form of ID (marriage certs, ID document, driving licence, etc) or scanned copies by email. We sent off my wife's certificate to DIAC without her maiden name, but as we were unsure, contacted the SAPS directly (via an email address i got from one of these forums), and surprisingly, I got a reply within an hour, and was asked to send marriage certificate scan by email. The woman in charge there is very efficient and professional in my experience! They re-issued my wife's certificate for free and that all took only 1 day! And anyone can collect it as long as they have the right ID number. But after that, DIAC still accepted my wife's police clearance without her maiden name anyway So a pleasant surprise as far as South African efficiency goes huh! Hope this is helpful for you and anyone else who has lived in South Africa. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bwanas Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi I went through something similar when getting my visa last year. I got a UK police clearance as I had lived there for 18 months in 2000/2001. My application was in July 2008. The clearance expired by the time I got a case officer in Aug 2010. I was dreading to have to go through everything again to get another UK clearance since I live in South Africa and it does take time and rules change etc etc. My agent emailed the CO and they said don't worry about getting another UK clearance. I would get in touch with your CO and argue a bit. I mean technically you last lived in SA 9.5 years ago and therefore only 0.5 of a year is part of the 10 year residency period and well 0.5 years is less than 1 year :err:. They might be lienient? Alternatively I can pass on some details of an agent in Johannesburg who charges about R800 each for clearances excluding courier fees and will get them for you within about 3 weeks? Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KandM Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi Ozzy (and others) I've joined this forum just to reply to you as for once I actually have some useful info. I've been reading posts on here for ages and would like to thank everyone for all the great and useful info! So here's my small contribution... Regarding SA police clearances, it is actually quite easy. There are agents who will help you with this but it can also be done by anyone on your behalf in person in Pretoria, which might cost a lot less. Ok. So I'm not really sure if I can mention the name of the agent we used here (I could do so if you want). They charged us £170 for myself and my wife, but its £150 for one certificate. This included postage and delivery of all the documents. But as I said, it is possible to get a relative or friend to do this for you for free. the SAPS charge R54 (or R58) per certificate - I forget exactly.... We used the agent as it was easier and they provide great service. Probably the most difficult thing to arrange will be fingerprints, which need to be done by the UK police (Local to you). We were charged £66.50 each for this service and had to make an appointment to get these. Apparently the SA embassy will not do this for police clearances. I think the price differs slightly depending on which police force... I have copies of the fingerprint forms and the application form, and would be happy to sends these to you if you like. I think you can email me directly via this website?? SAPS give a guideline of 4 to 8 weeks for clearance certs to come through, but ours took 3 weeks, and a friend of mine who went to america last year had the same experience - 3 weeks. Another point to note (if applicable), is that by default married womens' maiden names will not be included on the police clearance, unless proof is provided of their maiden names. They accept certified copies of any form of ID (marriage certs, ID document, driving licence, etc) or scanned copies by email. We sent off my wife's certificate to DIAC without her maiden name, but as we were unsure, contacted the SAPS directly (via an email address i got from one of these forums), and surprisingly, I got a reply within an hour, and was asked to send marriage certificate scan by email. The woman in charge there is very efficient and professional in my experience! They re-issued my wife's certificate for free and that all took only 1 day! And anyone can collect it as long as they have the right ID number. But after that, DIAC still accepted my wife's police clearance without her maiden name anyway So a pleasant surprise as far as South African efficiency goes huh! Hope this is helpful for you and anyone else who has lived in South Africa. J This response is spot on, I have just sent off for my SAPS Police clearance certificate and also responded to a thread from JasonH dated 31/01/2011 called Help re police checks (10 years??) PLEASE! My response to Jason was, it is similar to yours, my CO was very specific and requested bot a UK and SA Police Clearance Certificates. Jason, I got my CO on 28 January and with a request for Police Clearance Certificates for both SA and UK. I left SA on Nov 4 2001 and have been in UK since, I am a UK born and was in SA on secondment from the UK as a temporay non resident. Not withstanding as I have spent time in SA within the last ten years FROM the ORIGINAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT date, in my case December 22 2009 not the date you get the CO therefore I am required to obtain a SA PCC. So where to start: I first rang SA House in London and got accidently put through to the Colonel of Police based there, though iniatially a little put out that I had got through to him was most helpful, he said to get in touch with your local UK county police and they will carry out the finger print test for a small fee. It appears that according to the Devon and Cornwall police you need to find a Police Station that has a Custody Suite as they are the ones organised to take fingerprints. www.dfa.gov.za/consular/policeclear.htm A helpfull website this is the site that has a link to the annex 23B form that you will need to fill in. Photocopies of your passport/ID book A bankers draft for Rand 59 per application, cost from NatWest £8 A covering letter as to why you need the PCC Organise Courier ensuring that you send a prepaid return envelope with your UK address on in the initial package, You now wait!!!! I hope it helps KandM CPV 143 Ack 22/12/09 CO 28/01/11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozzyozzer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Thank you one and all for your kind help.........time to bite the bullet and get the clearances.........I suppose we must stay positive hey as this could be the last time I call a SA gov. deptartment and listen to the phone ring for 20 min..........there is a silver lining!:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VickyMel Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 As suggested by others I would suggest if your CO asks for them you try and get talk your way around it re it was now over 10 years ago. The SAPS PCC phone system is not great - in my experience when you eventually get through you speak to someone who will just say its been done or its not been done - rather send an email as they usually reply the following day and it is someone who knows what is happening. Cost in RSA is R59. The turn around has been anywhere between 6-10 weeks recently. VickyMel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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