A Guide to Obtaining Your PCC

Whether you succeeded in your application or not, this guide will help you obtain a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) painlessly. Do you wish to settle or what about employment or personal reasons? Go for the famous PCC and learn theoretically or practically everything you need to know; steps, requirements, and vital details. From application procedure to common obstacles, give yourself the ammunition needed to shorten the process and be sure your developments with the different social paces without any hitches.

Unabridged birth certificate South African Police applicant Police African Police service Police clearance certificate South Africa

Unabridged birth certificate South African Police applicant Police African Police service Police clearance certificate South Africa

Police clearances
South African police clearance certificates are processed at South African Police Services in
Pretoria.
Fingerprints can be taken at your local police station between 9am and 4pm weekdays only.
Once the application has been handed in at the South African police services, the applicant’s
fingerprints and identity number is loaded onto the SAPS system.
The South African Police service then uses the finger prints and ID number of the applicant to
determine whether they have a criminal record, by running them through the South African
Police Services various databases.
Should no record be listed against the applicant’s name, the Police clearance certificate will
be issued, stating that no convictions have been recorded for any crime on the Applicants name
in South Africa.
Should convictions be discovered against the applicant’s name these convictions will be listed
on the police clearance certificate, with the date of the conviction, nature of the conviction, the
sentence, jail term and fine if any. One is able to have certain convictions expunged off their
record if 10 years have passed since the date of conviction.
Police clearances certificates can be used for South Africans or foreigners that have lived in
South Africa for more than 6 months. PCC’s are used to obtain or renew certain visas, working
visas, for job applications or for immigration purposes in South Africa and abroad.
This application can only be processed in Pretoria.
The application can be sent via your local South African Police Station to Pretoria, this however
can be a logistical nightmare as the Police Station will wait until they have accumulated enough
applications to send in batches to and from Pretoria. The further away you are from PTA the
longer it will take to process the application. The estimated time frame is between 6 to 8 weeks
if there is a backlog you can wait up to 6 months.
Most Police Stations in Cape Town will require you to make an appointment to have your
fingerprints taken which could also extend the time frame of the application.
People living abroad or in different provinces can also courier or post these applications to the
South African police services. However there are many instances where these applications get
lost in the post, or get miss-placed once they have been delivered.
There have been cases where the incorrect Police clearance certificate has been sent to
applicants.
Applications made by people living abroad who will not be able to pay for their applications at
their local police station, must pay the application fee directly into the SAP’s bank account. It
can be costly to transfer such small amounts from foreign bank accounts.
It is advisable to enlist the assistance of an agency who will offer the service of paying this
amount on your behalf.
South African Unabridged birth certificates
Recently the department of home affairs and tourism South Africa announced their controversial
visa laws in which they encouraged parents and guardians to apply for South African
unabridged birth certificates for their children, even if they have no plans to travel out of the
country in the future. It is a strict legal requirement for those
Who wish to send their child on a trip accompanied by someone other than a parent or guardian
Parents who are traveling with their child, but not their spouse
Or anyone who wants to travel from or to South Africa with a child under the age of 18.
These regulations apply to all South African and travelers on departure as well as arrivals.
What is an unabridged birth certificate?
All children born in South Africa after 14 March 2013, were issued a certificate known as the
unabridged birth certificate from the government free of charge and automatically. It is a birth
certificate document that reflects the details of both parents of the child.
All the children, who were born before that, are required to comply with the new law and apply
for the certificate. Whether they are traveling out of the country or not.
How to apply for Unabridged Birth Certificates
Following is the application process for all the parents or guardians who want to apply for the
unabridged birth certificates:
Visit your nearby home affairs office and apply for the unabridged birth certificate.
You will require your child ID number along with your ID book.
The officials at home affairs will verify your biometric information
The process can take up to 8 TO 16 weeks from the date of application to acquire an
unabridged birth certificate.
Note: parents or guardians must provide all the documents with original or certified copies.
Currently, all the children traveling in and out of South Africa are liable to carry a valid passport
and unabridged birth certificate at the airport. These new regulations aimed to improve child
protection and security from kidnapping, abduction and child trafficking. The department urged
foreign nationals and citizens to comply with the regulations and apply for the certificates in
order to avoid the delays to their travel plans.