Japanese citizens' police certificate

[Deryck and Miho 0]

Hello all,

My fiancee is Japanese and will need to get a police certificate at some point for the latter part of the K-1 visa process. Does anyone here know from experience how long it ususally takes to receive the police certificate from the local authorities after requesting it? Also, is there any harm in her requesting it several months before she needs to present it?

Regards,

Deryck

[stangguy 0]

For my wife it took 4 days to get her police certificate. However, from what I have seen of other Japan filers it is dependent on the local authorities, up to 2 weeks. As far as recieving it early, the risk is that it expires. I don't remember how recent the certificate needs to be but it was either 6 months or 1 year. Along with that Japan requires proof that a police certificate is needed for something before they will issue it. For my wife that was simply showing them a copy of the NOA2, but again it is dependent on the police department handling the request. I have heard that some places require a letter from the embassy in order to get the police certificate. Even for my wife there was some hesitation to issue it. One officer said it wasn't sufficient but checked with another officer who said it was and ultimately they allowed her to turn in the paperwork to get the certificate.

[Deryck and Miho 0]

Wow, thanks for the detailed info. You answered what I asked and also what I didn't think to ask!

This makes me a bit more at ease... I was hoping it was not a 1 or 2 month process to obtain. With that in mind, it should not be a problem to just wait for the NOA2 before she requests it.

Regards,

Deryck