Foreign police certificate has no dates of residency. Does it need to have these? Help!

[S&J_ 247]

Hey everyone,

 

I have a police certificate from China that I will be getting officially translated for the K1 visa in London. I lived in China from 2014 - 2017. The police certificate that I have has no dates of my residency. It only states the following:

 

1.) Full name

2.) Passport number

3.) Date of birth

4.) No criminal record 

5.) Official signature, police department name and official stamp.

6.) Date of when signature was signed (which shows July 2017). 

 

Would the police certificate need to specifically state the dates of when I started living there to when I left, or do you guys think the one that I have would be OK? 

 

Thank you all for your help! 

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Yes, it is needed. My local police certificate does not state the duration of my residency either. 

[heyusa 118]

My foreign (German) one doesn't have them and my case was completed at the NVC, so, from my personal experience, I'd say no, pretty sure it is not needed... but then again, people who have got theirs from China might know better

Edited July 22, 2017 by heyusa

[EG&XY 144]

@lotusflower16 are you interviewing in china? Or are you interviewing elsewhere? I assume from the title that you are not interviewing in china.

[S&J_ 247]

@EG&XY I'm interviewing in London

[EG&XY 144]

So, since you are not interviewing in China I'm not entirely certain if you are still required to follow the process below, but since the document is from China I suspect that you may need to.

 

The following is from the department of state's website about specific requirements for various documents from different countries. This is text is directly from the page describing police records from China. (https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country/CH.html)

Quote

Police Records

Generally available, reliable. Persons should apply for a certificate of no criminal record at the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) (or certain types of employers such as state owned enterprises), then make application to the notary office for a certificate based on the PSB document. Persons without a criminal record will be able to obtain a certificate to that effect. Certificates for individuals with one or more criminal convictions will list all convictions for which records still exist. The certificates purport to reflect all criminal convictions during residence in China. Police records are generally not available for the period prior to 1949. Certificates are available for those in the J-1, Z, and X categories. The GOC does not issue police records for temporary residents of China in L or F visa categories.

Police records also are not available for those who were in China in diplomatic status including those working for international organizations such as the United Nations. Notarial police certificates are based in part upon records from an individual's employer. If an employer refuses to release records, the notarial office is not able to issue a certificate. This is the case for persons sent abroad for education by the Chinese Government who fail to return to China.

 

From what you described it sounds like you only have the certificate of no criminal record from the PSB. However, you will note that the last half of the second sentence talks about applying for the certificate from the notary office based on this no criminal record from the PSB. If haven't gotten the certificate prepared by the notary office then you may want to try to as that seems to be the "official" document accepted when submitting documents from China. I think I have seen that there are ways to get the certificate issued if you aren't currently in China, but from what I have seen it seems to be easiest if you or someone you know can go directly to the office to submit documents, going through the embassy/consulate in London could take a really long time. If you are lucky and ask nicely you may be able to get them to issue the certificate in both Mandarin and English, my husband was able to have that done with a little extra money and so we didn't have to have a separate translation done. We were able to get the certificate issued in just a couple of days, but if they are busy it might take closer to a week. There should be offices in most major cities.

 

As far as the dates of residence, what you have is similar to what my husband's says. It simply states that as of date X there was no criminal record for him in China. As long as that date is after you left then you should be fine.

[Peot 162]

I don't see what difference it makes what date you started living in the country... As long as the date of the form is recent, it checks your lifetime criminal history there.

In this case, if the date doesn't appear anywhere else, I suppose they'd have to take your dated signature as the date of the form. It's not as though you can sign and date that AFTER the stamp of approval is added.

 

If you were to bring them a criminal check taken 3 years ago, obviously that wouldn't be acceptable.