Certified English translations of police certificates and criminal record checks for INZ character requirements, with rush delivery when a deadline is close.
Police certificate translation for New Zealand is one of the few translations Immigration New Zealand (INZ) requires to be certified for every visa type, from visitor visas to residence. If your police certificate, criminal record check or penal record isn't in English, INZ needs a certified English translation alongside it.
VisaDocTranslation translates police certificates under our standard New Zealand option, with rush delivery for when a certificate arrives later than planned. Applicants usually need it alongside passport and ID translations and, for residence, birth certificate translations.
New Zealand
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Yes. INZ requires certified English translations of police and medical certificates that aren't in English, whatever type of visa you're applying for.
For most supporting documents, INZ's translation rules depend on the visa: residence needs certified translations, while visitor visas are more flexible. Police and medical certificates are the exception. They need a certified translation in every case.
The translation must be made by someone other than you, a family member or your immigration adviser, certified as correct, and signed or stamped by the translator or translation business. Our standard option is a company-certified translation with a signed statement of accuracy on letterhead, prepared by professional translators working to ISO 17100.
Applicants aged 17 and over may need police certificates from their country of citizenship and from other countries they have lived in, depending on the visa. INZ's online police certificate tool shows which countries apply to you.
The rules differ between residence and temporary visas, so use INZ's tool or your application checklist rather than guessing. Certificates go by many names, including criminal record check, police clearance certificate, penal record and certificate of good conduct, and INZ treats them all as police certificates.
If you need certificates from several countries, each non-English one needs its own certified translation, and you can upload them all in one order. Our guide to police clearance certificate translation explains how common certificate formats are handled; it's written for UK applications, but the documents are the same.
INZ asks for police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you submit your application. If a certificate becomes a year old before a decision is made, INZ may ask for a new one.
That six-month window means translation shouldn't eat into your time. Our standard option is delivered by the next working day, and rush delivery within 8 hours is available at £29.99 per page.
If INZ asks for an updated certificate later in the process, the new one needs a fresh translation, as it's a different document with a different date and reference number. Keep a copy of each translation with your application records.
Yes. INZ asks for certified English translations of police certificates that aren't in English, including those that show no convictions.
A clear certificate can look self-explanatory, but INZ needs to read every element in English: the issuing authority, your full name and date of birth, any reference or verification number, and the statement itself. We translate all of it, including stamps, signatures and verification instructions, so a case officer can check the certificate's authenticity.
If your certificate does record convictions, the translation is handled in exactly the same way: completely and accurately, with the original's wording preserved. Character decisions are made by INZ, and a licensed immigration adviser can help you understand how a record might affect your application.
£16.79 per page with next-working-day delivery, or £29.99 per page for delivery within 8 hours. Most police certificates are one or two pages.
Police certificates are covered by our standard option whatever visa you're applying for, so there's only one option to choose. Each document includes 2 free revisions, and the translation is emailed as a PDF to upload alongside a copy of the original certificate.
Order on the online quote form, or see the New Zealand immigration translation page for your other documents.
No. INZ does not accept translations made by the applicant, a family member or the immigration adviser helping with the application. The translation must be certified by an independent translator or translation business.
Yes. Police and medical certificates need certified English translations for every visa type, including visitor visas.
The standard option at £16.79 per page. It covers police certificates whatever visa you're applying for, and rush delivery within 8 hours is available.
INZ asks for police certificates less than 6 months old when you submit your application, and may ask for a new one if a certificate becomes a year old before a decision.
Yes. Each certificate is a separate document with its own translation. You can upload them all in a single order.
Yes. Reference numbers, verification codes and instructions for checking the certificate online are all translated, so INZ can verify it.
If any part of the certificate is not in English, it needs translating so the English version is complete. Upload the whole certificate and we'll translate everything that needs it.
Yes. INZ treats medical certificates like police certificates: certified translations for every visa type. Our standard option covers medical certificates as well.
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