# Police check nightmare...



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

I'm currently in the process of collecting all the paperwork/evidence/etc for the de-facto partner PR application and I note that I will need police checks for the places I've lived in for 12months+ over the last 10 years.

This is where the problems start. The nature of my work has taken me all over the world. The German police check doesn't look _too_ difficult to get hold of, though will need translating - not too much of a problem. However, according to the information the DIAC referred me to, police checks for China are not issued by mail. It appears that you have to apply in person. ?!!!! 

1) I can't afford to go back to China in order to get this done. 
2) I don't speak Chinese (and certainly can't read it) so I wouldn't even know what and how to ask for what I need.

The Vietnam police check looks like it may be similarly problematic as the referred to web site is in Vietnamese...

Short of ringing the consulates/embassies of both these countries, I really have NO IDEA how on earth I will be able to get the documents required, let alone in the time frame needed. Any help/suggestions would be gratefully received.


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

I'd say you're on the right track with starting with their embassies here in Oz and seeing what you can get from them.

And then if no luck, get in touch with Immi to see what they can advise for surely must be a situation that has occurred previously one way or another.

*Edit:* Do let us know how you fare Joolz for another poster, Hannah is currently in China and coming to Australia and will also need a police check - http://www.australiaforum.com/visas...ng-visa-go-de-facto-visa-please-feedback.html .
Maybe there's a chance Hannah can assist you if an application needs to be presented at a police station but not necessarily in person or they may relent locally if someone does present it and explain you are already abroad.


----------



## caledonia (Jan 6, 2010)

Cant help re China and Vietnam but just to let you know my German one came through in only 3 days from requesting it. Good luck with them all!


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

Did you do the German police check via Bonn or were the Embassy staff able to help out? 3 days does sound very quick if it was by post to Bonn, but then again, that's German efficiency for you.


----------



## caledonia (Jan 6, 2010)

Hi Joolz. I requested the certificate and paid the money in person in Munich at the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (where I am still living) on the Friday morning and received the clearance in the post on the Tuesday from Bonn. Cost 13€. So yep German efficiency at its best! UK one just took 4 weeks to come through.


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

caledonia said:


> Hi Joolz. I requested the certificate and paid the money in person in Munich at the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (where I am still living) on the Friday morning and received the clearance in the post on the Tuesday from Bonn. Cost 13€. So yep German efficiency at its best! UK one just took 4 weeks to come through.


I rang the German consulate here in Melbourne a few days ago and according to the very friendly man, all I need to do is download and complete the form from the Embassy website, make an appointment with the Consulate and all will be signed and "in Ordnung". They will sort it out their end and then return it by post to me. Geil! 

Still no luck with the Chinese police check though. I tried phoning the Embassy with no luck, and have also sent an email which I am still awaiting a reply. Hmmmmmmm.


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

Just a quick update on the police check nightmare. I spoke to someone at the DIAC today regarding the problem. They have advised me to wait a little longer for a reply from the Chinese Embassy and also said that I can apply for the de-facto visa without the police clearance though this will then need to be talked through with the Case Officer at a later date in order to see what can be done in order to obtain the necessary documents.

I've been keeping a note of emails sent (date), phone calls made (date, name) which hopefully will strengthen the case as at least it proves I've been making an effort to get the information.


----------



## jenifermarie (Jan 8, 2010)

Hey Joolz,

Not quite the same situation, but when we submitted my partner's application for a de facto visa, we were still waiting for his Aus police check (the AFP managed to lose the first request yet still take our money). I lodged the application in person and explained that was still outstanding. The woman who took the application was lovely and explained it wasn't really even necessary at that point - the CO looks at all the relationship evidence first and when they're happy you satisfy that criteria, then they move on to/request police checks and medical. 

It made us feel better knowing that our file wouldn't go into some "incomplete" pile until we got the police check in. Hopefully it will make you feel a bit better too if you get to the point where you can submit everything but the police check.


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

jenifermarie said:


> Hey Joolz,
> 
> Not quite the same situation, but when we submitted my partner's application for a de facto visa, we were still waiting for his Aus police check (the AFP managed to lose the first request yet still take our money). I lodged the application in person and explained that was still outstanding. The woman who took the application was lovely and explained it wasn't really even necessary at that point - the CO looks at all the relationship evidence first and when they're happy you satisfy that criteria, then they move on to/request police checks and medical.
> 
> It made us feel better knowing that our file wouldn't go into some "incomplete" pile until we got the police check in. Hopefully it will make you feel a bit better too if you get to the point where you can submit everything but the police check.


Thanks. That is rather reassuring. The Police Check for Germany is currently "in progress" and shouldn't be a problem unless Deutsche/Australia Post manage to lose the thing. The Chinese Embassy *STILL* haven't got back to me re the email I sent them (*does some Whinging Pom whinging* ) and the Vietnamese Embassy sent me this:

"_For a police check in Vietnam, you have to contact your friend or your
office in Vietnam, they will help you to get a police check. You have to
make an authorisation letter to your friend on your behalf to contact
relevant authorities to get a police check for you. The authorisation
letter must be certified by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade and then be certified by the Vietnamese Embassy. The fee is
AUD30/documents pay by money order or cheque, payable to Vietnam
Embassy_."

This might be rather difficult as I have no friends who are still working in VN. I'm thinking of emailing the school I used to work at to see whether they can help, but...

Does anyone know or have experience of CO's being able to help with these kind of issues? I seem to be doing everything I can and getting nowhere with 18 days left of my visa...


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

I'd say by the look of


> "For a police check in Vietnam, you have to contact your friend or your
> office in Vietnam, they will help you to get a police check. You have to
> make an authorisation letter to your friend on your behalf to contact
> relevant authorities to get a police check for you. The authorisation
> ...


They may have mis-interpreted the request and think you might be after a police check for Vietnam re going there.
Did you actually look at following the procedure outlined on P35 - http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/character-penal.pdf


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

Wanderer said:


> I'd say by the look of
> They may have mis-interpreted the request and think you might be after a police check for Vietnam re going there.
> Did you actually look at following the procedure outlined on P35 - http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/character-penal.pdf


I explained my situation in the first email I sent the Vietnamese Embassy, and pointed out what it said re: the character requirements document from the DIAC and the difficulties. However, that is a good point you make and shall send them another email to make sure that the situation has not been misinterpreted.

Gee, I'm beginning to wish my globetrotting wanderlust had been a little less now!!!


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

Joolz said:


> I explained my situation in the first email I sent the Vietnamese Embassy, and pointed out what it said re: the character requirements document from the DIAC and the difficulties. However, that is a good point you make and shall send them another email to make sure that the situation has not been misinterpreted.
> 
> Gee, I'm beginning to wish my globetrotting wanderlust had been a little less now!!!


Have a look at that link and you'll see it's nothing to do with the embassy just as if someone is after a police clearance from Australia, it is nothing to do with the embassy and if it's a case of the language difficulty, plenty of Vietnamese in Australia and you ought to hunt one up.


----------



## h1zchan (Feb 22, 2010)

Hey Joolz I'm not sure if I can help you with anything but try sending the following message to the Chinese police:


敬爱的警察同志

您好，我是一名曾在中国居住过的德国公民，现居德国。我目前正在申请移民澳大利亚，作为该申请的一部分，澳大利亚移民局现在要求我提供 无不良记录证明，以证明我在所居住过的所有国家都没有不良记录，包括中国。

我在中国期间的 无不良记录证明 必须由中国的警察部门提供，因此我需要你们的帮助，希望你们能够为我提供该证明，我会提供必要的相关资料。

先在此表示感谢

__________________(replace your name)

and don't forget to attach your contact details


====================English Translation===============
Dear comrade police officer, (doesn't sound quite right in English but that's how they are refered to in formal situations in Chinese)

I am a German citizen who had once resided in China. I now live in Germany but I am currently applying for migration to Australia. As a part of the application process, the Department of Immigration of Australia is asking me for Certificate of Good Conduct, to prove that I had no records of bad behaviours in any country that I have onced resided, including China

The Certificate of Good Conduct during my stay in China is to be provided by the police department of China. Therefore I need your help. I hope you can issue this certificate. I will provide the supporting documents needed.

Thanks in advance

_______________(replace with your name)


p.s. I have never written any letters to the Chinese police myself so I have no idea if this would work. I also suggest that for anything regarding legal matters you should consult the professionals since I have very limited knowledge of the law of both Australia and China. I am a Chinese citizen but I'm studying in an Australian university at the moment and probably won't have time to return to China within the next two years. Still, if you think there's anything that I can help with, feel free to contact me via email. My email address is (sorry i can't post links yet I need 4 more posts) Good luck with your appllication.


----------



## Mary Cockerill (Feb 22, 2010)

I have never had to get police clearances for my clients from China or VN, so sorry cant help there. I can help people who need to get South African police clearances though. So if anyone needs help just give a shout.


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

h1zchan said:


> Hey Joolz I'm not sure if I can help you with anything but try sending the following message to the Chinese police:
> 
> 敬爱的警察同志
> 
> ...


*Posting of email addresses is also something that'll not see thanks very much.*

If you have a look at the Immi site you see clear reference for getting police checks.


----------



## lgendo (Apr 27, 2010)

*how did it go?*

Hey Joolz,

how did the china police check fiasco go? I am applying for spouse visa (820) and I have no idea where to start the chinese police check procedure.
Does the letter of authorisation need to be stamped from any department here in Melbourne?

cheers,

Lgendo


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

lgendo said:


> Hey Joolz,
> 
> how did the china police check fiasco go? I am applying for spouse visa (820) and I have no idea where to start the chinese police check procedure.
> Does the letter of authorisation need to be stamped from any department here in Melbourne?
> ...


You can see what it says about China @ http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/character-penal.pdf


----------



## Joolz (Jan 29, 2010)

lgendo said:


> Hey Joolz,
> 
> how did the china police check fiasco go? I am applying for spouse visa (820) and I have no idea where to start the chinese police check procedure.
> Does the letter of authorisation need to be stamped from any department here in Melbourne?
> ...


Ooops, I've been busy with work and other stress recently... 

The only proper information I received from the Chinese (and in this case it was the British Consulate in Shanghai) was that I would need to ring a number regarding getting an authorisation letter, but it was only a Chinese language service so...

Anyway, despite my attempts at trying to obtain the police clearances from China and Vietnam, it didn't go at all. I was advised by my CO to keep a record of the attempts I made (i.e. log time/date of calling, copies of emails sent and replies received if any). This was then submitted to the CO and the DIAC where they then try and get their own people at the various consulates to look into the matter. At the moment I'm still waiting for information regarding that situation, but was told by my CO that if the DIAC/consulate people can't do anything, then it gets sent to a higher department where all the other checks/background/application/etc are taken into consideration before a decision is made.


----------



## girl from the world (Aug 2, 2011)

*Chinese Police Check*

Hey Joolz,

I sincerely feel your pain here!
I went through a defacto application as well and I have lived in China for 3 years thus I needed a Chinese Police check as well.
I contacted the French consulate in Shanghai and they have given me all that you needed to do.
I am more than happy to help you here as it took me more than 8 months to get my Chinese police check!! 
Are you still looking at getting your Police check?


----------



## dusty_springfield (May 19, 2011)

I have no idea about obtaining China police check, but for VN all you need to do is you have to sign letter give authority to any other person in VN to lodge police check application on your behalf, bcos VN don't except posting/mailing method. There is plenty of Law firms over there that can assist you on this. And of coz you have to pay a fee.

Cheers


----------



## Repran (Jan 10, 2012)

For my Chinese police check I hired a lawyer in Beijing to do the work for me. It cost about 700 AUD and was well worth the money. Anything else went smoothly via email. Th lawyer I used was Salans - just Google them and find their Beijing office. Hope that helps.


----------

