Police Clearance Certificates Validity for Onshore Candidates

Police Clearance Certificates Validity for Onshore Candidates

I’ve received some questions regarding Police Clearance Certificates validity. It has become difficult to get a PCC from various countries due to the Global Pandemic. However, if you are someone who’s transitioning from an Australian work or Student visa to a Global Talent Program visa, you might not have to obtain a new police certificate if you’ve not returned to that country even if your PCC is over 12 months old. We base this on public information available on the Department of Home Affairs website.

If you’re looking for personalized advice for your Visa application, we recommend registered Migration Lawyers who specialize in the Global Talent Programme.


Police Clearance Certificate Validity

The Department of Home Affairs states these conditions when testing the validity of a PCC:

  • For visa assessment purposes, all police certificates issued are considered valid for 12 months from the date of issue, irrespective of the period specified by the issuing country. 
  • If the applicant returns to the country that issued the police certificate during the certificate’s validity, it will generally not affect the validity.
  • Where an overseas police certificate has expired and the applicant has returned to the country that issued the certificate for more than two months in total (as a cumulative period) since the certificate expired, a new certificate will need to be provided.
  • Where a certificate has expired and the applicant has NOT returned to the country that issued the certificate, a new certificate is not required.

What this means for Candidates?

If you are already in Australia, and continued to live in Australia without returning to the original country for more than 2 months, your certificate is still valid. You will still need an AFP Check from the Australian police.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, the blog shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information.

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