Police Certificates for New Zealand Visa Applications
Immigration New Zealand requires a police certificate with your visa application if you plan to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or longer, and it must be less than 6 months old when you submit. You may not need to supply one again if you provided it with a previous application. Some visa categories add their own rules.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| General trigger | Planning to stay 24 months or longer |
| Recency | Must be less than 6 months old at the time you submit |
| Repeat applicants | May not need to supply one again if provided in a previous application |
| Cost | Set by the issuing country's authority, not by INZ. INZ charges nothing for it |
| Lead time | Days to several months, depending on the country |
| If it is missing | Since 2026, an application may be declined without further contact |
| Exemptions from lodging the certificate itself | Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel — proof of application accepted |
| Which branch it sits in | Character requirements, third-party checks and police certificates |
What a police certificate is, in this context
A police certificate is a document issued by a national police force or government authority stating what criminal record it holds for you. Different countries call it different things — police clearance certificate, criminal record check, certificate of good conduct, penal clearance — and INZ accepts the document that the relevant national authority issues.
It is not something INZ produces, sells or can chase for you. It comes from the issuing country, on that country's timetable, at that country's price.
INZ uses it as evidence in the character strand of an application, alongside the declarations you make in the form itself. Character sits beside health, funds, genuine intentions and (for some visas) English as a separate assessment strand.
When New Zealand requires one
There are two general rules and INZ states both plainly.
The stay trigger. "If you plan to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or longer, you must provide a police certificate with your visa application." Note what this is keyed to — your intended length of stay, not your nationality, not the visa's name, and not whether you have ever been convicted of anything.
The recency rule. "Make sure the police certificate is less than 6 months old when you submit your visa application." Six months from issue, measured at submission, not at decision. A certificate that was fresh when you requested it can expire while you are waiting for something else in the application.
The repeat-application relief. "You may not need to provide police certificates if you have provided them in a previous visa application." Note the hedge in INZ's own wording — may not. It is not an automatic exemption, and it does not mean an old certificate stays valid indefinitely.
What is not a general rule — and why that matters
A great deal of published guidance states, as though it were universal, that police certificates are required from every applicant aged 17 and over, for their country of citizenship plus any country they have lived in for 5 years or more since turning 17.
Those rules are real, but they are category-specific, and INZ's general police certificates page does not state them that way. Verified examples:
| Category | Published rule |
|---|---|
| Dependent Child Resident Visa | Certificates for applicants 17 and over, from countries of citizenship and any country where they spent 12 months or more in the past decade |
| Skilled Migrant Category | Certificates less than 6 months old |
| Business Investor | Certificates less than 6 months old |
The practical consequence: read your own visa's page for the age threshold and the country list that apply to it. Applying another category's rule to your application is how people end up with the wrong set of certificates — which, since 2026, is not a harmless mistake.
The 2026 change that made this urgent
Under the 2026 upfront police certificate rules, an application lodged without a required police certificate may be declined without further contact. INZ is not obliged to write to you and ask for it.
That converts a fixable omission into an outright decline, and because a processed application is not refunded even when it is declined, it also costs the fee. Three jurisdictions are named as accepting proof that you have applied for a certificate, rather than the certificate itself: Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel. No other nationality should assume a substitute is accepted.
This is important enough to have its own page — the upfront police certificate rule.
Step 1: Work out whether the requirement applies to you
Start with intended length of stay. Twenty-four months or longer is the general trigger. Then open your own visa's page on immigration.govt.nz and read its specific requirements, because several categories require certificates regardless of stay length, and several set their own age and country rules.
Step 2: Identify which countries you need certificates from
The published country rule varies by category, so this is read from your visa's page rather than assumed. Where a category does publish one, it typically covers your country or countries of citizenship plus countries you have lived in for a defined period.
If you have lived in several countries, this is the step that decides your timeline, because you are now waiting on the slowest authority rather than the fastest.
Step 3: Apply to each issuing authority
Each country's process is its own. Some are online and take days. Some require fingerprints taken in person, a local address, or an application submitted through an embassy, and take months.
We do not publish a per-country directory of how to obtain police certificates. Those processes change frequently and a wrong instruction here costs a reader real time — INZ's police certificates page links the routes it considers current, and the issuing authority's own site is the definitive source.
Step 4: Check the date before you submit
The certificate must be less than 6 months old when you submit. If you have been waiting on something else — a medical, a job offer, an NZQA assessment — check the issue date again before lodging. A certificate that has aged out is treated as not supplied.
Step 5: Attach it with the application, not afterwards
The 2026 rules assume the certificate is there at lodgement. Attaching it later, or waiting to be asked, is the behaviour the rule change was designed to stop. See uploading evidence.
If a certificate is not in English
It needs a translation supplied with it, like any other non-English document. Applicants from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau supply a translation and the scanned original. See translation requirements.
If your certificate shows something
A police certificate that records a conviction does not automatically end an application. Character is assessed against published requirements, and INZ publishes material on explaining a character issue when you apply, and on character waivers.
What this page will not do is tell you how your particular record is likely to be assessed, or how to present it. That is a judgement about your circumstances, and making it for you would be regulated immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Anyone in that position should speak to a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer — you can check a licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority public register, reachable from iaa.govt.nz. See character requirements and character waivers and how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
How this fits the rest of the application
Police certificates sit in the branch INZ calls character requirements, third-party checks and police certificates — one of eight evidence branches. The full framework is on documents you need for a New Zealand visa application.
Together with medical evidence, it is one of the two items with a lead time you do not control, which is why both belong at the start of your timetable rather than the end. See medical examinations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a police certificate for a New Zealand visa?
If you plan to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or longer, yes — INZ states you must provide one with your application. Shorter stays may still require one depending on the visa category, so check your own visa's page.
How recent does a New Zealand police certificate need to be?
Less than 6 months old when you submit your application. The age is measured at submission, not at the date INZ decides.
How do I apply for a New Zealand police clearance?
New Zealand certificates are issued by the New Zealand Police through their own criminal record check service, not by INZ. Certificates from other countries come from that country's own authority, and each has its own process, fee and timeframe.
Do children need police certificates?
Where a category publishes an age threshold, it is typically 17 and over — that is the published rule for the Dependent Child Resident Visa, for example. INZ's general police certificates page does not state a universal age threshold, so read your own visa's requirements.
What if my police certificate is not in English?
Supply a translation with it. Applicants from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau must supply the translation and the scanned original of the document.
Do I need one if I gave INZ a police certificate before?
You may not. INZ's wording is that you may not need to provide them again if you provided them in a previous visa application — which is a possibility, not a guarantee. Confirm it applies to your application rather than assuming it.
What happens if I do not include a police certificate?
Under the 2026 upfront rules, the application may be declined without INZ contacting you first. The fee is not refunded once an application has been processed, even where it is declined.
Does a criminal conviction mean my visa will be declined?
Not automatically. Character is assessed against published requirements, and waiver processes exist. How any individual record is assessed is a matter for INZ, and advice on a specific record requires a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer.
This page explains published rules. It is general information, not immigration advice, and it does not assess any individual's circumstances. Anyone who needs their own situation assessed should speak to a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
