Just a quickie here -- Bruce has received a letter from Scotland Yard returning his docs we submitted for the police certificate and stating the certificate will be with him in 40 days (as we all know!). However, and I am probably being a bit thick here, I am a little confused whether this is 40 business days or 40 calendar days. Can anyone shine some light on this?

And yes, like others have already said, although it's not an NOA2 or anything, just knowing SOMETHING is moving SOMEWHERE feels like a little victory!

I always thought it was calendar days, but I may be very wrong.

My fiance's surprisingly took 10 calendar days!

I went into my local Police station here in the Isle of Man last week, with my filled in form, my 10 pounds and ID. The policeman at the counter said "40 days?! It's like a 10 min job" I hope i'm going to get the right information! =/

Dawn.

For most UKers it has taken 30-40 calendar days. No less.

Okay, the 40 days starts from the moment the police force gets your application. This CAN be up to two weeks after you send it off. So, I'd allow at LEAST 6 weeks in total for your application. You'll also get a receipt, that'll tell you the date they started processing it. Start counting down from that.

Whether it is working days or calendar days...I know for a fact it is calendar days. When I phoned up the help line, as my certificate was well overdue, the woman did a count on the telephone to see how long it had been and it included weekends.

Hope that helps!

Must one go into the police station?, I did not see that on the MET POLICE site. I sent mine with the proofs and check but it's almost 2 weeks and the check has not been cashed. Please how long did it take ur checks to get cashed??

Thanks

You don't HAVE to go to the police station. The form says you can either take it or mail it in.

We just thought it was easier so you didn't have to mail in your proof of identity. I'm not sure if there's anyone else here who did it by mail, though, to tell you how long it took to cash the check.

From http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/inde...amp;cty=London:

To obtain a Police Certificate in the UK, go to your local police station and request a form called "Subject Access". Send send this with the £10 fee to the Data Protection Officer of the police force for the area you are resident in. This form is then sent by the police to Scotland Yard and the results are supplied to the individual requesting them within a statutory 40 day time limit. If you're waiting for your certificate try 0207-230-3751 to see where it is.

U.K. police certificates are considered valid for 12 months from the date of issuance.

Stoopid site made me double post.

I did mine via mail but used a postal order to pay. It took nearly three weeks for me to receive my receipt saying they were about to process it and, if I recall correctly, Feather and Flutter also waited about that amount of time. Perhaps one of them used a cheque and will be able to help more.

I really wouldn't worry too much just yet. Give it another week and, if you've not heard anything by then, give them a call and see if they have any records of receiving your request.

I didn't know you'd done yours by mail, mags! Good to know.

PS I emailed my mom the picture of the 'cookie cat' from your sig. She loved it!

Finally home from work, and had a look at the letter and receipt. The receipt is dated 15 March (I posted it on the 13th), and the accompanying letter says to start counting from the date on the receipt. So by applying Mags' advice we are due a response by 24 April using calendar days. I paid by cheque through the post, and they still haven't banked it 2 weeks later. However, the process has begun and we are counting the days...

Oh, the letter also says that currently it is taking the full 40 days to process.

Well, if you have the receipt and the date...it's their problem if they haven't cashed the cheque yet!

And fwiw, I think they always say 40 days to CYA. My fiance was told 40 days when he dropped it off, then he got it in 10.

In the US - for legal stuff - if it says something takes x days, that means x calendar unless they specifically say x BUSINESS days or x days (excluding holidays), etc, etc.

My fiance recently took in his form (we're still aways off from needing it, but what the hell), and I don't recall them making a big deal about the time to process - but I didn't ask my fiance about that either. Since who knows if we'll even have an NOA2 in 40 days, we aren't rushed.

Can't help but laugh about the report of the guy saying it's only a 10 minute job! Heck, our I-129fs are only 6-15 minute jobs . . . PLUS the 100 days to get to them, right? I'm sure it's the same thing for the police checks.

At least we get to give a different country trouble for being slow too.

Yeah well they say that the FBI namechecks for AOS physically take 10 minutes too, and yet we have people in namecheck hell for 2 years (if not longer).

my letter said it would take the full 40 days but i received it after 21 days or so.

I sent in my forms on the 5Th of March .......got a receipt back on Tuesday of this week telling me that it had now gone to New Scotland Yard and it would take 40 days from the receipt, the check has still not been cashed so it is anyone's guess on how long the thing will take. I am sure the last time I did this it did not take this long

Don't worry, it's the date on the receipt that counts, not when they cash the cheque (or so the accompanying letter would have you believe!).

Hmmn, I sent mine on the 15 Marchth and heard nothing, no receipt nor has the cheque cashed... I sent it by post to the Met (I called and double checked that was correct)...

It took about three weeks for me to receive my receipt and from then on it was 40 days. This seems to be a standard now. I suggest that anyone sending off for their Police Cert allow AT LEAST an 8 week time frame to do it in.

Just to be safe.

I still think Chas' 10 day turn around for his may be some kind of record.

I guess they didn't have many other requests when he took his in.

Yup, that is VERY quick. Perhaps they had a "lull" in applications at that time. Who knows eh?

Finally got my receipt from the MET today and from the date on it, I expect my certificate by 28th April. Am glad 'cos I was beginning to think ave been lost somewhere in Scotland Yard...

Let the waiting begin...40 days countdown has begun....

Well, we got the Police Certificate yesterday -- lovely and clean of any wrongdoing, just as we knew it would be -- so it took us 35 days in total after all. So those of you still waiting...nil desperandum!

My husband got his in 9 calendar days.

I think Gone's (TracyTN's fella) took about 10 days, so there are lucky exceptions. Mine, however, took about 45 days. Typical!

Thus proving that you definitely were walking between the raindrops, as you guessed the other day...!

Hehe, it's so weird; everything was so easy. Even the GP letter was no big deal in the end, even though at the time I was panicking and so stressed out that I wasn't eating. Without VJ to help us, we figured out which forms to file and what to do and when. I think it might have been easier in some ways with VJ, but in a way I'm glad I didn't find it until afterwards because all the horror stories would have stressed me out. Hell, they stress me out NOW and we have the visa already!

I am having exactly the same problem...I am what my husband calls a "healthy eater" and my US size 2 mother calls "overweight" (Thanks, Ma!) and the RFE this week cancelled my appetite. Very, very unlike me...hope it lasts, I've already lost 2 pounds!

Nah, don't hope for that. Just try to catch mono; it's the best diet ever.

Already had mono when I was 14 years old and svelte. Totally wasted on me back then. I shall hope for a tapeworm instead.

I got down to 95 lbs with mono....oh, how I envy myself then.

I could not find that information anywhere! It was one of the most stressful times of my K1 visa journey. I was soooo efficient that i ordered my police certificate early and it took only28 days to arrive. Beleiving that the visa would only take 3 months i thought it was wise to get everyhting together early. Of course it took 4 and a half months and I had a feeling i had read somewhere that police certs where only valid for 3 months after issuance so i started to pnic and ordered another police certifictate. I mailed my packet 3 back stating that ihad everything they had requested and got my interview date sooner than i thought i would. It was going to be the 39th day after my receipt notice for the 2nd police cert. It arrived the day before. Stresssssssssssss! If i had known that it was valid for 12 months I would not have had the stress. OOh well, all worked out and here I am waiting on an FBI namecheck. Good O.

My police certificates took 14 days to come through from the date I posted the forms. I sent off two forms, one to my local county police force and one to the Met in London, both came through at the same time (23 Jan 2007).

Ahem. Always so quick to be negative...

calendar days.... mine and others i know only had to wait around 2 weeks...

Neil's took 38 calendar days. They were cutting it close

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.....okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.