Police Clearance Certificate

What is Police Clearance Certificate?

A Police Clearance Certificate, most commonly known as PCC, is an important official document issued by the police or the authorized government agencies and is issued or provided as a result of a background check in order to enumerate any criminal records that the applicant may have. In other words, a police clearance certificate is issued in order to prove that the applicant has no criminal offense or charges against him such as arrest, conviction, murder, extortion etc and thus ensures a clear background. It is mainly required for the Indian citizens who are looking to migrate to a foreign country for the scope of employment, long-term stay or residential stay. However, it is not a mandatory requirement for those who are traveling abroad on a tourist visa.

Location of the applicant is an important aspect of a police clearance certificate because although it is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), it does specify the location or the place from where it is being issued and most of the countries require you to obtain one from the place of your residence. Normally, a police clearance certificate is given by the Regional Passport Office of the place that you have resided in the last six months and thus at times pose challenge for those who are staying in another city, other than their resident city, for work.

Documents Required for Police Clearance Certificate

However, if that is the case, one of the easiest option with you is to get your address changed to your existing one and can use the latest bank statement as your residence proof. The reason why using bank statement is one of the safest bet is simply because getting the address changed to your new address is quite a simple and straightforward one. However, you need to submit the bank statement in original with the stamp of the bank, which is again not a tedious process. Apart from bank statement, you can also try your luck with your rental agreement, provided it is registered and if not, it is better to get it notarized. Below is the list of documents which are required to obtain a police clearance certificate:

• Identity proof
• Address proof
• Birth certificate
• CENOMAR or Bachelorhood certificate (if bachelor)
• Marriage certificate, if married
• Evidence of financial support
• Photographs as per the prescribed format

One needs a police certificate when applying for a passport or when applying for the visas of certain countries and although the overall process for this is quite similar, the processing time in both the cases may differ.

Documents Required for Police Clearance Certificate if you are going to ECR Countries

United Arab Emirates; Yemen; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Qatar; Afghanistan; Oman; Indonesia; Kuwait; Syria; Brahmin; Lebanon; Malaysia; Thailand; Libya; Iraq; Jordan

• For Skilled and Semi-Skilled Individuals: For those who have signed employment contracts directly with the foreign employers and not through any recruiting agents should submit following documents in original for getting the police clearance certificate:
  • Address proof, in case the address has been changed
  • Self-attested copy of Employment Contract with foreign employer
  • Old passport in original with self-attested photocopy of its first two and last two pages including ECR/non-ECR page and page of observation, if any.
  • Copy of valid visa.
• For Non-Skilled Workers and Women: If you fall under the category of non-skilled workers or if you are a women and if your age is less than 30 years, then you are required to submit following documents, especially if you are in seeking employment directly and not through any recruiting agents:
  • Copy of your old passport. However it has to be submitted in original and its first and last two pages need to be self-attested its ECR or Non-ECR page and page of observation, if any.
  • An attested copy of employment contract, which is signed by the Indian Mission need to be submitted. In case it is not available with you, you have the option to submit an attested copy of the permission letter from the concerned Indian Mission or Post.
  • If you have already obtained Visa, then you need to submit a valid copy of the same.
• For Skilled and Semi-Skilled Individuals through Recruiting Agents: If you are fall under the category of skilled and semi-skilled workers and have signed an employment contract with your employer via certain registered recruiting agents, then you have to submit the following mentioned documents with the Protectorate of Emigrants:
  • Copy of your old passport. However it has to be submitted in original and its first and last two pages need to be self-attested its ECR or Non-ECR page and page of observation, if any.
  • Address proof, in case the address has been changed
  • An attested copy of employment contract, which is signed by the Indian Mission need to be submitted. In case it is not available with you, you have the option to submit an attested copy of the permission letter from the concerned Indian Mission or Post.
  • Also you need to produce a copy of registration certificate, which is issued by the Protectorate of emigrants, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Govt. of India. However you have to make sure that the registration certificate is valid.
• For Non-Skilled Workers and Women through Recruiting Agents: For non-skilled workers and women below 30 years of age who are seeking employment through the Recruiting Agents registered with Protectorate of Emigrants abroad are required to submit following documents in originals:
  • In addition to the documents mentioned for the skilled and semi-skilled workers, non-skilled workers and women have to ensure that all documents are duly attested by the concerned Indian Mission.

Documents Required for Police Clearance Certificate if you are going to Non - ECR Countries

Following documents need to be submitted if you are immigrating to Non-ECR countries (apart from the countries that are listed above):

• Old passport in original with self-attested photocopy of its first two and last two pages including ECR/non-ECR page and page of observation, if any.
• Address proof, in case there is a change in address
• Proof of your Residential Status, Employment contract and long-term visa for immigration.

Documents Required for Dependent Family Members of a Person either residing or emigrating in or to both ECR and Non-ECR Countries

• Old passport in original with self-attested photocopy of its first two and last two pages including ECR/non-ECR page and page of observation, if any.
• Address Proof, in case there is a change in the address
• A copy of Sponsorship Declaration by the person who has sponsored the emigration of the applicant seeking the Police Clearance Certificate.

Process to Obtain the Police Clearance Certificate

As mentioned above, anyone seeking for a police clearance certificate, is actually looking for an official document verifying his or her criminal record, because that is the first thing any foreign employer or visa office would ask for and although a straight process, it is advisable to start the process as early as possible because while in certain cases it takes a day or two, in certain cases it might take somewhere between a week to ten days as well. Also in order to expedite the process, you should re-check all the information you have entered in your application to avoid going go and fro on it.

You can apply for obtaining police clearance certificate by following below mentioned steps:

1. Visit the Indian Passport website on www.passportindia.gov.in
2. On the homepage of the Indian Passport website, click on the “Police Clearance Certificate” link. Once you click on the mentioned link, it will take you to the registration page which will have additional details for obtaining Police Clearance Certificate.
3. If you are living in India at the time of applying for the Police Clearance Certificate, it is important for you to choose/designate which police district you live in from the drop-down list of different districts. For example: if you are living in Delhi, then select “CPV Delhi” in order to pick up your Police Clearance Certificate at the Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) division in Delhi.
4. However, if you are not living in India at the time you apply for the Police Clearance Certificate, you have to visit your local Indian Embassy or Consulate in order to apply for the certificate.
5. In order to apply for the Police Clearance Certificate on the Indian Passport website, you need to login to the Passport Seva Online Portal with the username that you have just created.
6. After logging in to the Passport Seva Online Portal, click on “Apply for Police Clearance Certificate” to bring up the application for the Police Clearance Certificate. It is important to fill out all the fields with the proper information before you move to the next step.
7. Once you have entered all the required details, next step is to pay the required fee which is Rs 500 i.e. $7.76. You can pay the fees by using various modes of payments such as net banking, credit card, debit card, an Indian banking account or with your SBI Bank Challan Account. The payment is done by clicking on the “Pay and Schedule Appointment” on the payment page.
8. Once you click on the “Pay and Schedule Appointment” tab on the home page, you will be asked to pick up an appointment schedule depending on the options available which by and large depends on if you live in a less busy district or in a major city; because in the former case, you might be able to get the appointment in the very same week whereas in the later case, you might have to wait for a week or more before you get your appointment.