Australian Police Check after being there on a WHV

[Gopher87 1]

Morning,

Just had my medical done on Tuesday and everything went well thankfully! I was just going through the Document checklist for the interview when I spied that you need a police certificate for every country you have lived in for over 12 months.

I went to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa and stayed there for around 13-14 months before moving on to New Zealand for another 9 months again on a WHV.

Do I need to get a Police Check done even though I wasn't a resident of these countries and never had a permanent address? I'm certain I'll be asked about my time in Oz as that is where I met my finance.

Kind Regards

Niall

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I think for the purpose of a visa, you lived there. Others in the same situation have gotten one. It takes some time for you to get the proper police certificate from Australia and it requires you to have your fingerprints captured. If you didn't read all the London instructions, here's the page http://london.usembassy.gov/document_checklist.html#police_certificate

It has a link for which UK police stations can do your fingerprints, as well as a link to how to obtain police certificates from other countries.

[BritAbroad2015 61]

Hey,

I was in the same situation, not sure if you 100% need a Aussie one... but I got one just in case.

It actually came faster then my UK one....I requested it online and then the next morning I had an email to say it had been processed. They then sent it to me... I think I got it about a week later.

The website that you get it from is the AFP national police check website.

Cheers and let me know if you need more info.

Amber

[Gopher87 1]

Thanks for the responses guys!

I'm going to get it sorted now!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thanks for the responses guys!

I'm going to get it sorted now!

I know for sure others who didn't get the fingerprint version of the Aussie police certificate, were not approved for their visa at the interview. They had to get the correct version and submit it along with their passport later. I am going to PM somebody I think got the Australian certificate and ask him to help with this topic.

[BritAbroad2015 61]

Yes, thanks Nich-Nick. Id be interested to know also, hopefully I got the correct one.

Cheers,

Amber

[BritAbroad2015 61]

Damn... I think we need finger prints. I'm in big trouble... takes 30 working days.

Can anyone confirm whether we definitely need fingerprint for australia?

Thanks,

Amber

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Damn... I think we need finger prints. I'm in big trouble... takes 30 working days.

Can anyone confirm whether we definitely need fingerprint for australia?

Thanks,

Amber

If you require a police certificate from Australia, then you need fingerprints. It says that in your instructions on the London website.

On the page I linked to earlier:

Please note that many countries require fingerprints to process police certificates for immigration purposes (e.g, Australia, Canada, Nigeria). Police certificates completed without the required fingerprints are not valid. In these cases, applicants must not capture their own fingerprints. View the attached PDF file for a list of UK police forces (PDF - 338kb) that offer a fingerprinting service. Applicants should not attempt to to obtain police certificates for the few countries where it is documented that police certificates are not available.

Here's an example of somebody without fingerprints. Read last post. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/337376-interview-on-monday/

[BritAbroad2015 61]

Thanks for update.

Cheers,

Amber

[Gopher87 1]

Well this is going to be fun!

Guess I better set up an appointment with the PSNI to get my fingerprints and find some place who does foreign drafts.

Or just lie! lol I went over to Oz on my Irish passport not my British, not that that would matter!

Edited September 25, 2014 by Gopher87

[Kiwinyc 62]

I lived in both Australia and New Zealand for over a year each and had to get Police Certificates for both countries. (I am originally a NZ citizen)

I got the fingerprint checked version for Australia - I made an appt and went down to Scotland Yard to have my fingerprints taken (which cost £70) completed the application on-line, printed it out with required ID copies and mailed it down to Canberra with a begging cover letter to please process as quickly as possible. They sent it back in about 3-4 weeks iir, it probably took a week to get there, 2 weeks for them to process it and a week to be mailed back to London.

I wasn't actually sure if I needed the fingerprint checked version but I didn't want to show up and be told otherwise so I got it to remove all doubt. They accepted it with no probs so I guess it was the right one!

You can pay for it with a UK credit card, no need for a Australian dollar bank draft.

Good luck!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Bingo! That's the one I messaged. It thought I remembered an Oz connection. Thank you Kiwi.

[BritAbroad2015 61]

I was on student visa for nearly 3 years in australia.... so I will need to get fingerprint police certificate done. Obviously I feel so stupid we missed this.... no excuses its in black and white.So upset because I've had the other aussie police certificate in my folder for over a month... thought we were so organised! So after my fiance rang the london embassy yesterday, he was told i should still go to my interview without it and then send fingerprints afterwards. So just praying that my fingerprints come back promptly. Getting it Fed-Ex today to aussie ... this is definitely not the cheapest way to do things £75... yikes and definitely not the most stress-free. And also still vised that it will be 3 weeks or so. Unfortunately, Tim and have now got to delay our wedding. Was meant to be Nov 1st.... luckily the pastor has always known our situation and the venue the same. So we are fortunate that we dont lose money, its more just how stressful it is for friends and family who have booked holiday etc. I'm so lucky my boss is understanding and is letting me get my fingerprints taken today.

Thought I'd update you all... learn from my mistakes!

x

[BritAbroad2015 61]

How did you get on with your fingerprint check Gopher? I've mailed mine to Australian Federal Police... keep me posted on your progress and when you receive yours back. I'll do the same.

Cheers,

Amber

[Gopher87 1]

Went to my local police station and got them done on Saturday, they didn't even make me pay thankfully! Posted it on the same day and track and trace says it is on it's way Australia as we speak!