A police clearance is not to be confused with a criminal record check. There is a vast difference between the two, to the extent that no embassy will accept a criminal record check for a visa application or immigration application.
Police Clearance Certificates are documents that can only be issued by the SAPS Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria.
This is where various verification steps are undergone, using databases against fingerprints, ID’s or passports and other checks, in order to be able to determine whether or not an individual has a criminal record against their name
There can be no doubt that a police clearance is an important document, in fact, it is one of the most important documents you’ll need, should you wish to immigrate or travel overseas.
If you have a criminal record and you are not eligible to have that record expunged, you won’t be able to leave South Africa under any circumstances, unless it is done illegally.
For this reason, countries throughout the world are tightening up any gaps that can be used for illegal entry into their countries, as well as to minimise, and one day completely get rid of human trafficking.
A police clearance is an important document
A police clearance certificate (PCC) is a single page document, unless the individual applying has a criminal record, in which case their criminal records will be included on a second page.
A PCC is one of the most important documents you’ll need if you are planning to immigrate, study overseas or work overseas, or, very often, if you are applying for employment locally.
You cannot apply for a visa to travel overseas unless you have a current police clearance certificate, which is a little bit of a challenge at the moment, due to a backlog in applications at the CRC.
If you know that you are going to be travelling overseas in the near future, or applying for employment in South Africa that will require a PCC, start the process of applying now, so that by the time you really need it, you will have received it.
It is possible, in emergency cases, to get an expedited police clearance certificate, but for the best answers to the time period for this, you’d do really well to contact the professionals at Doc Assist.
Based in South Africa, these document procurement experts offer streamlined police clearance services, designed to take all the frustration out of the process, and to present you with the completed PCC when you need it most.
This applies to clients living in South Africa and those living abroad; distance doesn’t intimidate the team at Doc Assist!
Let Doc Assist Police Clearance Services help you to make applying for a police clearance certificate a walk in the park! Contact the team today to find out more about what they can do to assist you with obtaining this very important document.
This team of professionals has all the answers to your questions, and will be happy to guide you in the right direction to obtain any other legal document, from unabridged birth certificates to Notary services, translation services, Embassy Verification, Academic documents to driver’s licenses and more.