Stuart Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Good Morning Everyone I wanted to get some advice from the experts i.e. people that have gone through the process of getting SA police clearance whilst in Australia and would greatly appreciate any answers/comments to my questions.1. Busy getting ducks in a row for Employer Sponsored PR application and one requirement is a South African police clearance certificate. We do have South African Police Clearance certificates that we got for our original 457 visa. These are however dated more than 2 years ago now and although we have only been back to SA for a holiday during that time it would seem that to be safe we should arrange new clearance certificates in case the existing ones are not acceptable. Has anyone else used SA police clearance certificates that have technically expired and had any issues ?.2. We still have a lead time of around 2 and a half months before we are hoping to submit our application so we would like to get the ball rolling A.S.A.P. so that the application is not delayed waiting for the South African police clearance.3. Getting fingerprints done in Australia ... Can we go to any police station in Australia to get the fingerprints done and, if so, do we need to use the SA police form or will the Australian police have their own form we must use ?. Indications are that there is no charge for this ...4. Research is pointing towards a couple of organisations that assist with SA police clearance and if anyone has used those listed below or can suggest any other reputable organisation your feedback would be greatly appreciated.Ones found are as follows :www.southafricanpoliceclearance.comwww.ellexpress.co.zawww.nevetecpoliceclearance.co.zaWhilst the internet can be a very useful place there are no doubt people that would try and scam others hence why any previous experience/suggestions are most welcome.Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated and thanks to everyone on the forum for all the good advice freely given.Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtbike Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 (edited) Hi Stuart, we are in a similar situation. I just lodged our 176 visa and I only have my police clearance from over 3 years ago that we used for our 457 application and my wife does not have one at all. Here in Adelaide there are only a few police stations that can still do ink fingerprints and they are costly. We were told it is around $120 each, so we turned around and walked out. As mentioned I have just lodged our visa application and will wait and see about my police clearance I submitted. If they do require a updated certificate then I will go through the process of getting new ones. Edited May 23, 2012 by dirtbike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtbike Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 DOH - Just saw this on another post :Dear Ms xxxxThank you for your email.Generally, you would only need to obtain a police clearance from the UK orSouth Africa if you have returned to either of these countries for asubstantial period (usually over 1 to 2 months) of time since the expirydate of the police clearance.If you have not returned to either of these countries since the expiry ofthe clearances, as you have stated, then you will not be required toprovide new clearances.kind regardsAdmin UnitAdelaide Skilled Processing CentreDepartment of Immigration and Citizenship(DIAC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riekie Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 We have not been back to RSA at all but were still required to submit new Police Clearance certificates when we went from TR to PR. That said, it was in 2006 so the requirements may have changed. We used bunnyhop and got the certificates in about 7 weeks if I recall correctly. Amazing how these things become just a vague memory over time as we move on with our lives. Sorry I can't be of much more help - maybe double check for your own situation with DIAC to be on the safe side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachelleMunro Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Another reliable company to get police clearances from SA: www.docassist.co.za 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 We did our ENS p.r. in 2011 and didn't need to get new pc's ............however I know of some people that did, because an agent told them to.It depends on how long you were back in RSA for.You can get the fingerprints form from the South African High Commission in Canberra website, but you will find that some police stations are confused about if they can do it or not ( many do not have the old fashioned ink fingerprint kits) and some will direct you to the AFP. We have had fingerprints done at a local police station and they didn't charge us........this was before we found out that we didn't need to, so they never got sent off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clover Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hi GuysI have used DOCASSIST and I personally would recommend Machelle and her team ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted June 28, 2013 Report Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) I used www.nevetecpoliceclearance.co.za,They got the job done but i needed to keep following up with them and they lost the spare set of fingerprints that i left with them, so based on a bit of research i will be trying bunnyhop as i need to do another certificate for PR Edited June 28, 2013 by Nev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spicegold Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hi guys,I`m currently doing my ENS and have got most documents except updated police clearance from SA and UK.Now my agent is telling me I have to get a new SA one, but I`m reading of a lot of people that didn`t have to....I haven`t been back to SA since arriving in Aus and to be honest it doesn`t make sense why they would need another one if they had one for my 457...Dirtbike, did you eventually supply new police clearance certificates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Hi guys,I`m currently doing my ENS and have got most documents except updated police clearance from SA and UK.Now my agent is telling me I have to get a new SA one, but I`m reading of a lot of people that didn`t have to....I haven`t been back to SA since arriving in Aus and to be honest it doesn`t make sense why they would need another one if they had one for my 457...Dirtbike, did you eventually supply new police clearance certificates?Dirtbike's post is almost 2 years old, I don't know if he's still around the traps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spicegold Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi Bronwyn,Yeah I noticed his post was that long ago, just thought I'd give it a go anyways. It seems that I'll have to get a new police clearance, my agent is having none of this, he wants a new one and I'm not getting a clear-cut answer on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swaartbaard Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 I haven't looked into this too closely, but I have been told that if you have an expired Police Clearance Certificate, you can send the original back to the Pretoria Crime Office that issued it and they will simply send you an updated version. You wouldn't be required to go through the process of getting your fingerprints taken again. The fact that you have the original, proves your identity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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