2015-Aug 28: Applications requiring a Fijian police certificate

Visa Pak 226 - Guidance for staff about applications requiring a Fijian police certificate and the process for obtaining these.

Visa Paks

28 August 2015

Applications requiring a Fijian police certificate

Context

This advice provides guidance to staff on how applications requiring a Fijian police certificate should be treated. This is to ensure consistency between offices in terms of whether or not such applications are accepted for processing where no police certificate is submitted.

Applying for a Fijian police certificate

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) provides a special application form (INZ 1185) that applicants can use to request a Fijian police certificate from the Fijian authorities where one is required. After completing the form, the applicant must submit it to the Fijian Police Headquarters with the correct fee, certified copies of their birth certificate and the bio data page of their passport(s). The applicant will receive a fee receipt.

If the applicant has used the INZ 1185 form and followed the process above, they will not receive the police certificate directly. Rather, it will be delivered to the INZ Suva office, where staff will enter the results into AMS client notes. This means that usually, when INZ receives an application requiring a Fijian police certificate, the police certificate will not be submitted with the application.

Accepting applications for processing

Current practice at the INZ Suva office is to accept applications that require a Fijian police clearance for processing as long as the applicant has provided evidence that they have applied for the police certificate prior to submitting their application (and all other mandatory lodgement requirements have been met). Evidence will normally be in the form of a fee receipt from the Fijian authorities.

Action

In the interests of consistency, it is recommended that other offices take the same approach as the INZ Suva office when lodging applications requiring a Fijian police certificate. It should also be standard practice to check AMS client notes as police certificate results may have already been recorded by the INZ Suva office.