Questions about getting fingerprints in London

[Portlandia 15]

So we got NOA2 yesterday - yay! And I've got pretty much everything ready to go to complete all the forms - just need to check my vaccinations with my GP and get up to date before the medical exam. BUT - I didn't realise that you could do police checks early, and as I have to get one from Australia (which requires fingerprints), I'm now getting worried about timeframes (from what I've read, the entire process from now to getting my Oz police check could be 3 months).

1. I know I have to book an appointment to get fingerprints to send to Oz. Do I have to do this at New Scotland Yard or can I try City of London police? I've also found 2 private companies that do fingerprints in the London area - are they acceptable?

2. If I have to go to New Scotland Yard, what are the the current timeframes for getting an appointment? The private companies suggest it's 6 weeks (although they may just be saying that to get business...) And if it is going to be a few weeks, is it worth asking them to let me know when they have cancellations? (I work around the corner so could easily pop in at short notice)

3. I read another post from a while back that said that while the Australian police check can take 30 working days not counting postage time (boo), people have had success at speeding that up by ringing directly and explaining their situation and asking that it be sped up a bit - has anyone had any success with that recently?

4. There is nothing on the Australian police check site about additional fees for overseas postage. Just to be on the safe side, I've asked my dad (in Australia) to send an A4 envelope with sufficient postage to get a medium size file from there to here, which I'll send along with the application. Is that overkill?

Thank you!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

So we got NOA2 yesterday - yay! And I've got pretty much everything ready to go to complete all the forms - just need to check my vaccinations with my GP and get up to date before the medical exam. BUT - I didn't realise that you could do police checks early, and as I have to get one from Australia (which requires fingerprints), I'm now getting worried about timeframes (from what I've read, the entire process from now to getting my Oz police check could be 3 months).

1. I know I have to book an appointment to get fingerprints to send to Oz. Do I have to do this at New Scotland Yard or can I try City of London police? I've also found 2 private companies that do fingerprints in the London area - are they acceptable?

The London Embassy website gives this document of acceptable places to get fingerprinted. http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/39181/pdfs/UK_police_forces.pdf

That is found on this page. http://london.usembassy.gov/document_checklist.html#police_certificate

I don't know the answer to you other questions or remember it being discussed. I remember one didn't know and found out at the interview she ordered to wrong one and had to get the fingerprint version. She dropped out and I don't know how long it took her to get the Oz certificate or the visa.

[Portlandia 15]

Thanks Nich-Nick!

Just an update on New Scotland Yard fingerprint appointments - they had two slots free tomorrow (and more later in the week). I've been getting used to the idea that everything takes weeks or months to arrange, so that came as a welcome surprise!

To take with me - £70.50 in cash, and my passport.