SA Police Clearance Certificates replaced by Background Checks from January 2018 onwards

The Immigration Act, No 13 of 2002 requires amongst other supporting documents the submission of a Police Clearance Certificate when making an application for a long-term Temporary Residence Visa or Permanent Residence Permit.

The Department of Home Affairs has now replaced the South African Police requirement with biometric background checks in the application process for TRV’S and PRP’S at VFS Global Visa application centres within South Africa.

• The Biometric background check service is linked to the South African Police service database.
• This service is provided at a value added cost of R175.00 (incl.VAT) and replaces the requirement to submit the manual police clearance certificates obtained from SAPS.
• Applicants will no longer be required to submit the old format of the South African Police clearance certificate when making an application for a renewal or extension of their visa within South Africa. Applicants are to note that this process will only apply to the RSA police clearance. Where the applicant is required to submit a police clearance from the country of origin the current procedure will remain unchanged.