Getting the Certificate of Clearance from Singapore

[dirtsquirter 7]

Hi all, has anyone had experience with these police clearances from other countries? My wife worked in Singapore, so she needs the police clearance from there. I copied all the forms from Singapore we need to fill out, and in the package we send for the clearance, they want an "official request" from an official agency, which I assume is the NVC. This police clearance will take weeks to get here, so I want to send for it asap. I tried asking for the official request from the NVC, but no luck. I have paid for the AOS, and will be sending the affidavits in to NVC soon, and am waiting now to pay for the IV Bill, Any ideas? Thanks

[Casprd 167]

I remember this one came up recently and there are some weird things with the Singapore police clearance. Something like they give a letter stating no criminal record but at least the Guangzhou consulate wasn't accepting those. Do a search on the forums and you can find that thread and the steps they went through to get an official police clearance from Singapore.

[caly 48]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/302719-singapore-police-certificate/page__view__findpost__p__4573882

This might be the link Casprd is talking about. Hope this helps.

[dirtsquirter 7]

1.

What is Certificate of Clearance (COC)?

Certificate of Clearance (COC) is issued to Singapore Citizen to certify that the named person has no criminal record during his stay in Singapore.

Note - Why is there a change in the policy for CNCC.

Police are not obligated to issue Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) but have done so as a form of international cooperation since other countries provide similar documents as well. However, this service does not form part of police’s core function. Further, following the recent differentiation approach between citizens and non-citizens in terms of benefits in the healthcare, medical and education sectors, a similar distinction was also drawn with regard to CNCC issuance policy. As such, COCs will only be issued to citizens henceforth. The policy change will affect only a small number and there are alternative mean such as applying for a Statutory Declaration through the Commissioners of Oath or qualified legal practitioners. This is what I found on their website, so I guess I go into the interview without the COC? Because it is unobtainable? I hope someone who recently went through this can shed some light on the subject, because this particular country is changing their policy so that all previous information would be useless. I need to hear from someone who had their interview recently, needed their Singapore police clearance, and showed up without it because of this "change of policy" Thanks VJ'ers!

[xoxo_rm 3]

1.

What is Certificate of Clearance (COC)?

Certificate of Clearance (COC) is issued to Singapore Citizen to certify that the named person has no criminal record during his stay in Singapore.

Note - Why is there a change in the policy for CNCC.

Police are not obligated to issue Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) but have done so as a form of international cooperation since other countries provide similar documents as well. However, this service does not form part of police’s core function. Further, following the recent differentiation approach between citizens and non-citizens in terms of benefits in the healthcare, medical and education sectors, a similar distinction was also drawn with regard to CNCC issuance policy. As such, COCs will only be issued to citizens henceforth. The policy change will affect only a small number and there are alternative mean such as applying for a Statutory Declaration through the Commissioners of Oath or qualified legal practitioners. This is what I found on their website, so I guess I go into the interview without the COC? Because it is unobtainable? I hope someone who recently went through this can shed some light on the subject, because this particular country is changing their policy so that all previous information would be useless. I need to hear from someone who had their interview recently, needed their Singapore police clearance, and showed up without it because of this "change of policy" Thanks VJ'ers!

i visited singapore as tourist, and i dont have any record of over staying in that country, the longest time i stayed is a month. do you think the consulate will ask me for a police clearance on my interview? and do singaporean police (SPF) issue police certificate for tourist visa entry only? headache

[caly 48]

1.

What is Certificate of Clearance (COC)?

Certificate of Clearance (COC) is issued to Singapore Citizen to certify that the named person has no criminal record during his stay in Singapore.

Note - Why is there a change in the policy for CNCC.

Police are not obligated to issue Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) but have done so as a form of international cooperation since other countries provide similar documents as well. However, this service does not form part of police’s core function. Further, following the recent differentiation approach between citizens and non-citizens in terms of benefits in the healthcare, medical and education sectors, a similar distinction was also drawn with regard to CNCC issuance policy. As such, COCs will only be issued to citizens henceforth. The policy change will affect only a small number and there are alternative mean such as applying for a Statutory Declaration through the Commissioners of Oath or qualified legal practitioners. This is what I found on their website, so I guess I go into the interview without the COC? Because it is unobtainable? I hope someone who recently went through this can shed some light on the subject, because this particular country is changing their policy so that all previous information would be useless. I need to hear from someone who had their interview recently, needed their Singapore police clearance, and showed up without it because of this "change of policy" Thanks VJ'ers!

Please read the link I've posted. The OP of that thread went through this in March 2011 (the change of policy happened in October 2010).

[Ryan H 3,812]

i visited singapore as tourist, and i dont have any record of over staying in that country, the longest time i stayed is a month. do you think the consulate will ask me for a police clearance on my interview? and do singaporean police (SPF) issue police certificate for tourist visa entry only? headache

Since you only went there as a tourist and did not reside there as a resident, then you do not require a police certificate from there.

[caly 48]

i visited singapore as tourist, and i dont have any record of over staying in that country, the longest time i stayed is a month. do you think the consulate will ask me for a police clearance on my interview? and do singaporean police (SPF) issue police certificate for tourist visa entry only? headache

You don't need a police certificate of clearance from Singapore. You only need to submit police certificates for countries other than your home country if you have lived there for more than 12 months (and you were 16 or older at the time).

Edited September 2, 2011 by caly

[caly 48]

Dirtsquirter, another member who's fiance interviewed in manila was able to get confirmation via email from the manila embassy to be exempted from obtaining a copy of the singapore police certificate. This is probably more useful and relevant to you.

This post is here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/278033-singapore-police-certificate-of-conduct/page__view__findpost__p__4477838

Further in post #27 of the same thread, he said to write to IVManilaReplies@state.gov regarding this issue. They got the reply in 3 weeks, and were approved at the interview.

[dirtsquirter 7]

Thanks for the reply, I did check out all the threads from earlier in the year, but was hoping for confirmation from somebody who went through this recently, as in 30 days or less. I know things can change rapidly in this journey, so things that happened only a few short months ago could very well be outdated now. I will take your advice and send the email to the Manila embassy. I sent smoochie1209 a PM about their experience, as she was just approved last month, I am waiting for his reply now. Seems his girl just landed in the states and he must be a little preoccupied at the moment...

[caly 48]

When I was collecting my police certificate, I saw some applications forms specifically for non-citizens (It's slightly different than the form for Singapore citizens).

If you want up to date information, you can try emailing them at spf_cid_coc@spf.gov.sg

I know they check and respond to emails because I had forgotten to submit a copy of my passport with my application form and was told to email the passport data page to them. Sent it in on a Friday and got a response to confirm they had received it the following Monday.

You can also give them a call at 6557 3985 during office hours (they are closed on weekends). I believe this is the direct line to the records and COC office that is not published on their website.

When the policy first changed, there was a lot of confusion. But since so many months have passed, I would think that they have developed a standard operating procedure for these kinds of cases by now.

Good luck!

[dirtsquirter 7]

Thanks Caly, I just sent them an email, will keep the results posted here...