New Zealand tightens police certificate rules for Indian visa applicants

From 1 December 2025, Immigration New Zealand will only accept police clearance certificates issued by a Regional Passport Office from India.

In a move to streamline the submission of police certificates by Indian visa applicants, from December 1, 2025, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will only accept police clearance certificates (PCC) issued by the Regional Passport Office (RPO) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. By accepting only RPO-issued police clearance certificates, INZ aims to reduce delays and simplify the process for applicants.

Representational image. (Pixabay)

These police certificates are sometimes called criminal checks, police clearance certificates or penal records.

From December 1, 2025,

• Only certificates from RPOs will be accepted.
• PCC must be less than 6 months old at submission.
• If issued in a regional language, an English translation is required.
• Some passport offices may require fingerprinting.
• A certificate may still be valid if it is less than one year old, unless INZ requests a new one.
• Applicants under age 16 years do not need to provide police certificates.

Indian visa applicants were previously allowed to provide police clearance certificates from an Office of the Deputy Commissioner or Superintendent of Police, or from their local police station. According to an Immigration New Zealand official statement, “these are in an inconsistent format and more difficult to authenticate so will no longer be accepted from 1 December 2025.”

Requirements for Indian nationals outside India, and for non-Indian nationals who currently or have previously resided in India, have not changed.

Applying for a visitor, student or work visa: Anyone applying for a student, tourist or work visa must provide police certificates if the total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.

Provide police certificates from any country you:

• are a citizen of, and
• have lived in for more than 5 years since you turned 17.

If you have a criminal record, INZ may still be able to grant you a visa. The applicant can provide an explanation of his/her criminal record at the time of application, and INZ will decide whether he/she meets the good character requirements.

Being of good character: To be given a New Zealand visa, the applicant must be of good character. If you have a criminal history, have provided false or misleading information, or could be a risk to New Zealand, INZ can decline the application.

When you apply, you must tell us about any issues or activities, both current and in your past, that could affect the visa issuance decision, including whether you have been:

• involved in criminal or human rights abuse activities, or
• removed or deported from another country.

If there is an issue, INZ may:

• decline your application, or
• give you a character waiver or a special direction which waive (remove) the requirements.

You can request a character waiver or special direction when you apply. If your request is approved, INZ can grant a visa if your application meets all other requirements.

However, visas are given by special direction only in rare circumstances.

What is a police certificate?

Police certificates are documents issued by the police or a government agency. They:

• provide information about any criminal record you have
• are based on official records and checks
• are also sometimes called criminal checks, police clearance certificates or penal records.

If INZ asks you to provide a police certificate, you must:

• make sure the police certificate is less than 6 months old when you submit your visa application
• provide us with a translation, if it is not in English.

How to apply for police certificate online?:

Register through the Passport Seva Online Portal. (Click on "Register" link on the Home Page).

Login to the Passport Seva Online Portal with the Login ID created.

Add details of each step. After RPO selection, the instructions page with the steps involved will load depending on the PSP Service you select steps for ‘Apply For Police Clearance Certificate’ are as follows:

Step 1: Passport Type

Step 2: Applicant Details

Step 3: Family Details

Step 4: Address Details

Step 5: Other Details

Step 6: Self Declaration

Submit your completed application. A unique Application Reference Number (ARN) will be generated. You can also save your application at any point of time and resume later.

After submission of the application, you must start the payment & schedule appointment process by clicking on View > Pay and Schedule Appointment button.
Prior payment of applicable Passport service fee has been made mandatory for booking appointments in all Passport Seva Kendras.

After successful payment, applicant is redirected to the Passport Seva Online Portal. The Appointment Confirmation screen is displayed along with appointment details. Visit the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)/Regional Passport Office (RPO) where appointment has been booked, along with original documents. Users can re-schedule appointments three times except in the case of tatkaal which is once.

PCC fee: ₹500.