NZ Police Certificate Checker — Which Certificates Do You Need?

Police certificates are one of the most common reasons a visa application stalls. Not because people fail the character requirements, but because they didn't realise how many certificates they needed, or how long each one would take to arrive.

This free tool asks about your age, your visa type, the countries you've lived in and how long you spent in each, and tells you which police certificates your application is likely to require.

Why this trips people up

The requirement isn't simply "a police certificate from your home country." It can extend to every country you've spent significant time in, going back years — including places you lived briefly, studied in, or worked in on a previous visa.

People discover this at the point of lodging, which is the worst possible moment. Some countries issue police certificates in days. Others take months, require an in-person appointment, an apostille, or a request routed through an embassy. A certificate you didn't know you needed can hold up an otherwise complete application for a whole quarter.

There's also a shelf life. Police certificates issued too long before you apply are not accepted, so there is a wrong time to get one as well as a right time. Getting them all too early is its own mistake.

Who should use it

Anyone preparing an AEWV, residence, partnership or longer-stay visitor application — particularly if you have lived in more than one country as an adult, have spent time in a country you no longer have contacts in, or are applying as a family where each adult has a different history.

Employers supporting migrant workers find it useful too, as a way of understanding why a candidate's paperwork is taking longer than expected.

How to use it

Enter every country where you've spent meaningful time as an adult, not just the ones you think count. The tool's usefulness depends entirely on how complete you are with it. Then work backwards from your intended lodgement date to plan the order you request them in.

Where it stops

This tool tells you which certificates you are likely to need. It cannot tell you what will happen if something appears on one.

If you have a conviction, a charge, an arrest that didn't lead to conviction, or anything else you're unsure about, that is a character question rather than a paperwork question, and it needs proper advice before you lodge — not after. Character issues are often manageable when addressed openly and early, and considerably harder once an application has been filed without them.

Book a 30-minute consultation ($99), call +64 9 213 1677, or read our guide to police certificate requirements for AEWV and visitor visas.