Certificate of Good Conduct/Police Certificate from Military Police

[Soup Dragon 104]

Hi

I am British and living with my USC husband who is active duty Army and stationed here in Germany. Our I-130 has been approved and I am now putting together the last bits for my application. We are DCF through Frankfurt.

I am having difficulty in obtaining my German police certificate; the people at the local rathaus have no clue what to do as I am not registered locally so I guess I am not officially a resident here, even though I am SOFA status through my husband's orders.

I already have my UK police certificate (clean) and the military police have said they will do background checks and provide a certificate of good conduct/police certificate for me which I know will also be clean.

Has anyone else had difficulty with getting a German police certificate, how they got round it and will a military provided certificate of good conduct be acceptable?

Thanks

[newbie87 20]

Im sure this is the samethjng in Germany as well. I got police clearance on base for Japan got got checked list even tho security force staff told me it covers both on and off base. Best to get someone that speak German to help you out and explain the situation.

[StrawberryKiss 170]

It is a bit complicated because the employees in the Rathaus are supposed to let the Bundesgerichtshof know where they need to send the police certificate to and they usually go by the German address that you're registered under (Army bases and APO addresses don't count as German territory and Deutsche Post cannot deliver the mail there because they're not allowed to). Try talking to the employees again, maybe they can find a way.

If it's not far away you could also appear in person at the Bundesgerichtshof and request the certificate. Or directly mail a written request to them and explain your situation. If you're overseas and apply for one through a German embassy/consulate, they also forward the requests to the Bundesgerichtshof in Bonn, so I don't see why directly sending them a letter wouldn't work out in the end.

Visitors and mailing address can be found here:: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country/GM.html#policerecords-1

[Soup Dragon 104]

Thanks Strawberry!

My address isn't the issue (at least I don't think it is), I gave the lady at the rathaus my physical address but she said it's complicated because I'm 'not in the system'. I offered to show her my apartment lease as proof of address but she wasn't interested. All she asked for was my passport and my mother's maiden name. How do they run the check anyway, by passport?

[StrawberryKiss 170]

Ugh, how rude of her! Sorry to hear that. They're not all like that, though. Just gotta keep trying!

I don't know how they run it exactly. They probably just needed one ID # from you to verify your ID and get access to your file. I guess numbers from ID cards or residence permits would also work. I just always showed the people at the Rathaus my German ID and they asked for my DOB to access my file and then they asked if my registered address was still current concerning the delivery. But they can only see the address you're registered under, marital state etc., not any criminal records. Only the people in Bonn can do that.

[fabtozki 0]

Hi! I know it’s been quite a while but I was wondering how it went in you acquiring your police certificate. I am also here in Germany on SOFA and having the same dilemma. I hope you were able to get everything done. 

Thanks in advance! 

[Soup Dragon 104]

On 1/2/2019 at 8:13 PM, fabtozki said:

Hi! I know it’s been quite a while but I was wondering how it went in you acquiring your police certificate. I am also here in Germany on SOFA and having the same dilemma. I hope you were able to get everything done. 

Thanks in advance! 

Hi yes, it was all cleared up.  I made this post four years ago!  If I remember correctly I got the police cert via the local rathaus using my passport in the end and it arrived at my house within about a week.     My ROC has now been approved and I'm getting ready to do the final part of the process.   Good luck to you!