UK "Criminal Record Check" - a how-to guide

Legal Visa & Residency
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Please note: Some of this info is out of date. Make sure to read the responses below.

After having explained the process to a couple of fellow Brits, I thought it would be easier to put it up here and refer people to it in the future. This document is required to obtain a residence visa based on marriage. The steps below are how I did it - there may be other ways possible.

The UK Police do not issue such a thing as a “Certificate of Good Conduct” or a “Police Clearance Certificate”. What you have to do instead is apply for Subject Access under the terms of Data Protection Act.

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You will need to apply to the local police force of your last place of residence in the UK (in my case Avon and Somerset Constabulary). You can download the application form online - here is ASC’s example (pdf doc). I used my father’s address (which was where I last resided in the UK) and so the form was sent to him - they will not send the form overseas. (EDIT: it seems I was wrong about this - see highwave’s post below.)

One crucial thing to remember about this document is that as far as the Taiwanese authorities are concerned it is only valid for three months from when it is issued. So getting everything done is a real race against time.

  1. Fill the form out, add your cheque for ten pounds, copies of your ID and then send it off to the filth.

  2. They will issue the response within 40 days (probably towards the end of this period) and send it to the UK address you listed on the form. Check the date on the response - the clock has started ticking on your three months.

  3. Your helper in the UK (my Dad, for me), should then send it to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to have it legalised. There are two ways to do this - in person or by post. If your helper applies in person the office can have the document back to your helper on the same day. Applying by post takes up to four weeks, but for me was the only option (seeing as my Dad lives in Bristol and works full-time).

You need to make sure that your application includes the police report, a short covering letter explaining why you want the document legalised, an SAE (recommend a pre-paid Recorded Delivery envelope) so they can return it to your helper, and payment for the service (27 pounds, payable by company (not personal) cheque, postal order or debit/credit card - for which you need to fill in another bloody form (pdf). Send that lot to:

The Legalisation Office
Old Admiralty Building
The Mall
London SW1A 2LG

  1. When they send it back to your helper, they will then need to send it to the Taipei Representative Office in London for authentication. This application should include:

i) an application form (Word doc)
ii) the police letter, now nicely stamped by the FCO
iii) payment, by business cheque, banker’s draft or postal order, for eight pounds
iv) an SAE (Recorded Delivery is good)

Save yourself hassle, and download the application form in Taiwan, fill out and post it to your helper in advance. If you ask them to fill it in for you (and you don’t want them to forge your signature!) then you need to have given them power of attorney over your UK affairs (which is another additional hassle you don’t need).

So, your helper needs to post that lot to:

Taipei Representative Office
50 Grosvenor Gardens
SW1W OEB
London

They will then stamp it and return it in a week or so.

  1. Once your helper receives this letter back (now stamped by both the FCO and TRO), they should send it out to you in Taiwan asap.

  2. Receive your letter in Taiwan, and admire the piece of paper which only took three months and seventy-odd pounds (including p&p) to obtain. But don’t admire it for too long, because you need to get that down to the National Immigration Agency fast before it expires.

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As you can see, the key to getting this done is forward planning - you need to work out when you will need the certificate and then apply at the right time. Apply too early and it will have expired before you need it, apply too late and you’ll be waiting for this one piece of paper to process your resident visa application.

Remember too, that if you have been in Taiwan over five years - rejoice! You don’t need to apply for an English certificate - you can get it done locally at a fraction of the hassle and cost.

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Useful post, Taffy. Thanks for taking the time.

I sent my application directly (also Avon and Somerset Constabulary). They will send it overseas. I posted mine (gua hao, 7 Jan), and on 23 Jan got confirmation they’d received it . The document arrived on 20 Feb, dated 10 Feb.

[quote]3. Your helper in the UK (my Dad, for me), should then send it to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to have it legalised. There are two ways to do this - in person or by post. If your helper applies in person the office can have the document back to your helper on the same day. Applying by post takes up to four weeks, but for me was the only option (seeing as my Dad lives in Bristol and works full-time).

You need to make sure that your application includes the police report, a short covering letter explaining why you want the document legalised, an SAE (recommend a pre-paid Recorded Delivery envelope) so they can return it to your helper, and payment for the service (27 pounds, payable by company (not personal) cheque, postal order or debit/credit card - for which you need to fill in another bloody form (pdf).[/quote]
I paid by credit card and opted to spend the extra 5 squid for International Recorded Delivery. I sent the application via DHL (which I did at 1am at a 7-11… Taipei is so convenient). Good ol’ FCO had the document legalised and back with me 10 days later.

Now for Step 4, and the clock is ticking…

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Thanks Taffy. One question I have is where you say if you have been here five years or more, you can apply locally for the ‘crime clearance’. Do you mean get a report from the local cops here in Taipei or do you mean I can do it through the British office. I haven’t heard of that one…

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It means you don’t need one from Britland at all. You just get one from the foreign affairs cops. What you DO need is proof of having lived here continuously for the five years. This comes in the form of a computer printout from the Immigration people that lists all your comings and goings from Taiwan.
This is what I needed when I applied for JFRV a few years ago. Of course, things could have changed since then.

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My parents are getting mine stamped in the UK right now. The FCO stamp took two hours (my mum went there in person), and they’re trying the TECO stamp today.

One thing I’m slightly concerned about is some wording on the TECO application form that says roughly “If you are applying through an agent, your agent may be required to have your Power of Attorney” (emphasis mine).

My mum doesn’t have mine. We’ll see whether it comes up.

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Guys, a further question. If I go in person to the TECO office in London, will they stamp the CCRD on the same day or do I have to come back the next day or do I have to wait any longer. That’s a pretty crucial question as regards timing. Thanks in advance.

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Ok, found the answer on the authentication page of the web-site. It takes two days.

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Nice one Taffy, but just goes to show how things have changed, when i did mine approx 4 years ago the entire process took about 4 - 5 weeks start to finish.

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Taffy – or anyone – do you still have a copy of the translation into Chinese of the subject access form?

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When I went through the process the documents could be submitted in either English or Chinese. I understand from a British friend who has just picked his JFRV this week that in Taipei City they asked for a Chinese translation - however this was not the case in Taipei County when I did it (well over a year ago). Sorry.

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OK Taffy thanks. Yeah in Taipei County they’re asking for the translation now. It seems I can do it myself and take it to the court in Tucheng to have it gongzhenged. I asked the immigration woman how they know that my translation is accurate; she replied somewhat curtly that “They can read English, you know!”. If the court can read English, you’d think the immigration office would be able to too…

Also I’m not sure how to translate the phrase “this document does not constitute a certificate of good character”, since a certificate of good character (良名證) is specifically what they’re asking for.

Anybody?

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I have been trying to figure out how to get this sorted for a while, and finally found this amazing post. I have been in Taiwan for 5 and a half years, with 2 two week vacations in the UK. Do I have to go through all this? I went with all the things I required to get my marriage to a TW national on my ARC / Visa, and they told me I had to get a police report.

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I called the BOC in Taiwan and they told me there is no way I can avoid the British check. I have to go through the whole process from step one… bummer…

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Well I ended up doing my own. I took it to the notary public at 77 Minquan Lu Banqiao, which is a 5 minute walk from the immigration place. They stamped it 部分翻譯 (partial translation) because I didn’t translate stupid stuff like my own address, “Private and Confidential” and “This is not a certificate of good character”. They highlighted the bits I HAD translated and it was fine.

Anyone noticed how when you photocopy the report, the word “FRAUD” appears all over it?!

UK national identification service subject access letter, for APRC purposes:

edit: obviously change the names to the names of the officials on your letter, the right dates and the right police force name (mine was West Midlands).

There was a typo 引instead of 印 in the FCO bit, but nobody cared about this and the official version has the typo. Anyway I’ve corrected it above, now.

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I’ve been going through the process of getting a Criminal Record Check done in the UK. First I got the letter through, then realised I had to get it notarised as well as stamped by the FCO. I got the help of my dad, who found a UK lawyer to handle it.

However, although the lawyer handled the submission of the criminal record check to the FCO in London, they say that they are not legally able to stamp and sign the letter themselves, which I’d already obtained. The following is a quote from the email they sent me:

So now I have to submit the criminal record check to the UK Taiwanese consulate. I’m hoping the above won’t cause a problem. Anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? It should be said for the sake of clarification that I’m from Scotland, so I can’t rule out the possibility this might be down to a difference in Scottish law.

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Either Gary or his lawyer has misunderstood. The subject access letter is a public document and does not need notarization in the UK.

(With non-public documents, such as degree certificates, the FCO does require a lawyer’s signature. But that is done simply by having the lawyer sign a photocopy of the certificate, affirming that it is a “true copy” of the original.)

It is the Chinese translation that needs to be stamped by a notary public (in Taiwan).

How much did you pay him to have him submit the application for you by the way? You should have just paid the FCO by credit card on the web, and got your dad to post the letter to them.

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If you have submitted a subject access request form to your police force and received the reply detailing your personal data then it DOES need:

  1. Sending to the UK foreign office Document Legalisation dept for legalisation (they will attach an ‘apostille’ to the document). See FCO website for document requirements and fees, etc.

  2. THEN send your document (with the apostille attached) to the Taiei Representative Office in the UK for authentication (they will attach a stamp to the document). Likewise see:
    roc-taiwan.org/uk/ct.asp?xIt … p=132&xp1=
    for document requirements and fees.

But that’s still not enough (yet) - to be able to use this document in taiwan - its only valid for 3 months from the date on the document - that is the date shown (when the police printed the) document that they sent to you) you also MUST have a chineses translation of the document made.
Some people on the forum have posted that this translation ALSO needs to be verified by the TRO in the UK - with their stamp attached, while others have said they had the document translated when they were in Taiwan and took the document to the Public Verification Office of the Taiwan county court - in the county of their residence - for verification. You should call the NIA in taiwan to clarify which of the two methods they will accept for your visa application before you send any documents to the TRO in the UK (No. 2 above). The last thing you want is to waste all the time and money on a document that the immigration dept in taiwan will reject and set you back to square one.

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Patsun, we all know that the subject access report has to be legalised by the FCO. Garygibson was under the incorrect impression that the report has to be notarised before the FCO will stamp it. I think this is because the lawyer was trying to rip him off.

As far as getting a translation made: I posted an acceptable in Taipei County translation above. Didn’t you see it?

I don’t remember reading that the translation sometimes has to be verified by TRO in the UK. Was it in this thread? It seems a very odd requirement.

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viewtopic.php?f=67&t=65549

has some posts about authenticating the translated document at the TRO before use.
I’ve seen similar posts in the residency/visa forum too.

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[quote=“patsun”]http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=65549

has some posts about authenticating the translated document at the TRO before use.
I’ve seen similar posts in the residency/visa forum too.[/quote]

viewtopic.php?f=67&t=69554&start=0