Do you need a police clearance certificate for an Australian visa?

Every Australian visa applicant has to meet a character requirement. Home Affairs requires visa applicants and family sponsors to provide a police certificate from each country where they spent more than 12 months in total in the last 10 years since turning 16. For South Africa, that is the police clearance certificate issued by the South African Police Service.

Home Affairs’ current guidance is that it may ask for police certificates after you have applied. Family sponsors are included, not just the applicant.

When the request arrives, you are working to the Department’s timeline rather than your own, which is the reason to understand your position before you apply.

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The Australian character requirement

Australia assesses the character of every visa applicant under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. When you apply, you must declare any criminal conviction, and any charge awaiting legal action, in any country, and answer every question truthfully.

After you apply, Home Affairs may ask you to:

• Provide a police certificate from the countries you have lived in
• Complete a personal particulars form for a character assessment
• Provide other evidence of character

A visa can be refused, or later cancelled, if the character requirement is not met.

Who is asked for a police certificate

Home Affairs asks for a police certificate, which it also calls a penal clearance certificate, from each country where you spent more than 12 months in total during the last 10 years, after turning 16.

What that means in practice:

• The 12 months are cumulative. Separate stays in the same country add up.
• It applies country by country. If you also lived somewhere other than South Africa for that long, you will need that country’s certificate as well.
• It applies to family sponsors, as well as to applicants.
• Time spent in Australia is handled separately. If you have spent 12 months or more in total in Australia in the last 10 years, that is covered by an Australian Federal Police check.

When to get your South African certificate

Because Home Affairs may ask for police certificates after lodgement, you might choose to wait. That is a reasonable approach, with one catch: the South African certificate is not an instant document. SAPS states that finalisation takes approximately 15 working days from the date all required documents are received, excluding postal time, and it currently reports a backlog.

Answer 2 questions before you decide when to apply:

1. Is it recent enough? Home Affairs states that it accepts police certificates issued in the 12 months before you apply for your visa. A certificate obtained too early may fall outside that.
2. Where will you be when it is requested? Applying from South Africa and applying from Australia are different processes with different delivery arrangements.

Tell us your dates and we will talk you through how long the South African certificate takes.

Applying from inside Australia

Some South Africans are already in Australia on a temporary visa when a permanent residency application calls for this certificate.

Applying from abroad is different from applying at home:

• Fingerprints are taken in the country you are in, on that country’s official forms or on the SAPS form where available. They must be originals.
• The application still goes to the Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria, the only office that issues the certificate.
• SAPS does not email certificates or return applications sent from abroad. The finished certificate is handed to a person you nominate or to a courier.
• SAPS destroys certificates that are not collected within 3 months of being finalised.

Once Home Affairs has asked for a certificate, those are not details to discover halfway through.

How Police Clear helps with Australian applications

We collect, we expedite, and we deliver. Applications are submitted directly to the Criminal Record Centre in Pretoria and handled end to end, whether you are in South Africa or already in Australia.

Speed you can plan around. Standard turnaround is 5 to 7 business days, with 3 to 5 and 1 to 3 business day options available, and approximately 80% of cases are completed sooner than quoted. Timeframes are estimates, not guarantees, but when Home Affairs has asked for a document, you need one you can plan around.

Every applicant accounted for. Where a family sponsor or several family members each need a certificate, tell us everyone who needs one and we will quote for all of them.

A registered South African company. Police Clear (Pty) Ltd, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, working with applicants at home and abroad.

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What a police clearance for Australia costs

Official SAPS fee	R190, paid to SAPS
Police Clear service fee	Private service fee, quoted on request
Standard turnaround	5 to 7 business days
Need it sooner	3 to 5 or 1 to 3 business days

The R190 is the fee SAPS charges to run the check, and it is payable whether you apply yourself or through a service. Police Clear charges a separate private service fee for handling the application, quoted on request. Turnaround times are estimates, not guarantees.

Send us your details and we will confirm what your application needs and what it costs.

Fees are quoted in South African rand and include VAT at 15%. A binding price is given in a written quotation. Statutory fees payable to SAPS, Home Affairs or DIRCO are set by those authorities and are payable in addition. Our refund and cancellation terms are in our terms and conditions.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a South African police clearance certificate for an Australian visa?

If you spent more than 12 months in total in South Africa during the last 10 years, after turning 16, Home Affairs requires one as part of the character requirement.

Should I submit my police certificate with my application or wait until I am asked?

Home Affairs’ current guidance is that it may ask for police certificates after you apply. Home Affairs accepts certificates issued in the 12 months before you apply, and a South African certificate takes time to obtain, so plan around both.

Do family sponsors need a police certificate for Australia?

Home Affairs requires police certificates from family sponsors as well as from visa applicants, where they meet the same residence test.

How long is a South African police clearance certificate valid for Australia?

SAPS does not publish a validity period. Home Affairs states that it accepts police certificates issued in the 12 months before you apply for your visa.

What is a penal clearance certificate?

It is another name for a police certificate. For South Africa, the document Home Affairs is asking for is the police clearance certificate issued by SAPS.

Can I apply for a South African police clearance certificate from Australia?

Yes. Fingerprints are taken in the country you are in and the application still goes to Pretoria. The certificate cannot be emailed, so delivery needs to be arranged before you apply.

How long does a South African police clearance certificate take?

5 to 7 business days as standard through Police Clear, with 3 to 5 and 1 to 3 business day options available at a higher price. SAPS states that finalisation takes approximately 15 working days from the date all required documents are received, excluding postal time, and currently reports a backlog. Timeframes are estimates, not guarantees.

This page is general information about a document facilitation service. It is not legal or immigration advice. Australian visa requirements are set by the Department of Home Affairs and change from time to time. Confirm the current requirements for your visa with Home Affairs before you rely on them.