New Zealand Police Certificate

[lileepad 3]

Hi everyone,

I had my consulate interview in Sydney last Wednesday and was told everything was fine and that they will issue my K1 visa once they receive my NZ Police Cert.

I advised them that I applied for my police cert 20 working days ago and am still waiting for it and also while there, they got me to sign a clearance for to request a police cert for my NZ one on my behalf.

Is it because they can get hold of it faster?

I really hope so. Has anyone experienced this and if so, how long did it take for you to receive your police cert from NZ when you applied for it and if the Sydney Consulate applied for it on you behalf- was it faster??

Many thanks.

[RandomRealityShif 5]

I went through the Embassy in Auckland so the time to get back documents was probably faster, but I was told that when you apply for the Police Certificate yourself they only supply a copy that doesn't include any information under the Clean Slate Act, and they want to see everything, which is what their copy will show. So even if you do get yours back before theirs comes back they won't accept it.

[SweetDelish 38]

I realise this is a few weeks old, but just in case anyone is looking for reference. The Australian consulate should send you the NZ police clearance form with your packet 4,

if they don't, then email them to request it.

You cannot request the clearance yourself as VonDenton mentioned, you will receive an incorrect clearance that they won't accept.

[lileepad 3]

Hi everyone,

I actually requested through the New Zealand MoJ and requested it myself. After 20 working days, I then called the officer in NZ to make sure it had been actioned and explained my situation. He completed and printed out my police cert on the day with a hand written signature. I then got a courier to pick it up from their office to post to my Australian address by courier ($75).
If I had waited for their postage, it would have taken another 2 weeks. I then sent it to the consulate in Sydney and I was approved.

^^^ so Im not sure if the above replies are an old system - but they accepted my clearance. Mine did not include clean slate, it was just the usual Police Record Certificate but printed in letter head with a hand written signature. They did this as I mentioned that its for a US Visa.
I did also make sure to mention my previous names used.

[Anubicdarque 0]

I have the MOJ one, but I believe there is a separate NZ one, I have downloaded the form from the Auckland consulate, (I got the link from the reciprocal part of the state dept website) and filled most of it in, and sent a quick email off to the USATraveldocs support about the information needed for the Requesting Office, Email address for Requesting office and what my case number would be (just double checking before I email it in) then will scan it, and my passport and email it though to where they tell me (I asked if I email it right though to Auckland or to Sydney) So...... I will let you all know what happens. They may not need it and just want my MOJ one (it did as part of it, I think, ask if it was for immergration purposes)

OK now that I have rambled... now to wait for the email.. who comes first the one from the Sydney Consulate asking if I am ready... or the one from USATraveldocs to let me know what I need to know about the police clearance authorisation

[Mark2222 8]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post but I thank everyone who has provided information on their experiences to make the visa process easier on this site. I wanted to share my mistake  / unknown factor which may help those who have lived in New Zealand in the past and are applying at a US Consulate other than Auckland.

 

My fiancee and I filed for K1 visa in 2017 and I recently attended my interview in Sydney, Australia after the very long wait and thinking I had all my paperwork sorted out a long time ago. All of my documentation was correct and accepted except my New Zealand Police Certificate. I'm from New Zealand but live in the Australia hence I required a police certificate from there and why I was interviewed in Sydney. My Australian and UK certificates were fine following the standard instructions but my NZ one which I applied for through the ministry of justice wasn't accepted. There is a different process I wasn't aware of and nor was the ministry of justice as far as I can tell. I called to ask them originally and questioned whether this was the correct process which they didn't say it wasn't and I requested the certificate for a US Visa and they failed to mention anything.

 

Anyway, this was my mistake, which I'd like others to avoid. What you need to do to get a valid and accepted NZ police certificate or vetting certificate is wait until you have a case number from the consulate you will interview at. Once you have that you can apply for your NZ police certificate at the following website:

 

http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/businesses-and-organisations/vetting/vetting-process-visas

 

Fill out the Section 14 form and send it to here: vetting@police.govt.nz

 

If you email the US Consulate in Auckland it is all explained in their automated reply email (I emailed them to check I was following the correct procedure that the Sydney Consulate had outlined to me). The Q and A reply says the following:

 

Q:  How can I get a New Zealand police clearance?
A:  To obtain a New Zealand Police clearance certificate for U.S. Immigration, the applicant can download and sign a Section 14 ‘overseas’ form available on the New Zealand Police Vetting Service website, http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/businesses-and-organisations/vetting/vetting-process-visas. When you complete the form, please indicate that the criminal record is being requested for the United States of America and reference the three-letter ten-digit case number (e.g. ACK followed by 10 numbers for Auckland) or A#.  The postal address is U.S. Consulate General, Immigrant Visa Section, Private Bag 92022, Auckland, New Zealand. The requestor should email the completed request form to the Police Vetting Service at vetting@police.govt.nz<mailto:vetting@police.govt.nz>
COURT RECORD for any conviction in New Zealand you must obtain the court record from the actual court where the conviction occurred, NOT the Ministry of Justice central office.
NOTE: the Clean Slate Act proviso does NOT apply to U.S. immigration law for persons wishing to travel to the United States.

 

This is great for those interviewing in Auckland as I'm sure they provide this information but I was a bit blindsided. Luckily this process is quick. I have been told the NZ police process these every Friday and send the reports out to the Auckland consulate who will then forward it to your consulate based on the case number you provide.

 

You cannot handle or bring this certificate to your interviewing consulate. You must have it sent to the Auckland consulate and they will forward it to your consulate. You will likely never see this piece of paper.

 

I hope that this helps someone in the future who didn't see this like I did.

[Rami91 37]

How long did the interview take you ?

[Mark2222 8]

I was there a total of an hour and a half. Most of that was security and waiting. The actual interview is about 10 minutes.

[valentinasc 330]

I hope I can get an answer.. 

Im still waiting on a case number but when I’ll request the Police Certificate, do I write my case number and the US Embassy’ address in Bogota, Colombia (My interview will be there) correct?  Or Input Auckland’s US Embassy address and they’ll send it to Bogota? 

Sorry if it’s a dumb question, I just had enough with all the police certificates I had to collect (4)

Edited June 6, 2018 by valentinasc

[Mark2222 8]

Hi,

 

It must go through Auckland US embassy. They will forward it to Bogota or wherever you specify. The NZ police will only send it to Auckland based on my discussion with them.

 

Just put the Auckland embassy address and note that it should to be forwarded to Bogota. Hope that helps.