The police certificate that holds up a Skilled Worker visa is not always the one with a conviction on it. It can be the one issued eight months ago, the one from a city police station where a national certificate exists, or the one whose translation turned "no record in this district" into "no criminal record".
UKVI's caseworker guidance, Criminal record certificate requirement (version 4.0, November 2025), is precise about all three. A police certificate translation has to be just as precise, because the caseworker reads the result line, the scope and the dates in English.
Below: who needs a certificate, how recent it must be, what the translation must show, how certificates differ by country, and the other UK bodies that ask for them.
Which UK visas need an overseas police certificate?
Skilled Worker entry clearance applicants sponsored in listed occupation codes, and their partners. Paragraph SW 16.1 of Appendix Skilled Worker requires "a criminal record certificate from the relevant authority in any country in which they have been present for 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the 10 years before the date of application, and while aged 18 or over". SW 34.1 applies the same rule to a partner applying for entry clearance.
GOV.UK's Skilled Worker page lists the sectors: education (teachers, school inspectors, childminders, teaching assistants), healthcare (nurses, doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, dentists), therapy (psychologists, speech and language therapists, counsellors) and social services (social workers, probation officers, welfare and housing officers). The Health and Care Worker page requires a certificate from applicants outside the UK unless the job is one of four codes, such as laboratory technicians.
For the rest of the file, see Skilled Worker visa documents. Three points people miss:
- Entry clearance only. The rule applies when you apply from outside the UK, not when you extend from inside it.
- Other routes. The Home Office's guidance for overseas applicants says "Visa applicants in all other routes are not currently required to provide criminal record certificates", although every entry clearance form asks about previous offending.
- The UK itself is excluded. You need certificates from other countries only.
If a certificate cannot be obtained, SW 16.2 accepts "a satisfactory explanation why it is not reasonably practicable". The caseworker guidance gives examples: no procedure for issuing certificates, none available to foreign nationals, armed conflict, or an applicant who fled and cannot re-establish contact. Describe your attempts in detail: if UKVI decides you could have obtained the certificate, the Home Office says the application "is likely to be refused".
How recent must a police certificate be for a UK visa?
Six months, measured in two different ways. UKVI's caseworker guidance treats a certificate as normally valid:
| Country | Certificate must be issued |
|---|---|
| Your latest country of residence | No earlier than 6 months before the date of application |
| Any other country where you spent 12 months or more | Within the 6 months before your last stay there ended, which "can be any date" |
So a certificate from a country you left in 2019 can be an old one, as long as it was issued in your last six months there. The certificate from the country you live in now has a shelf life, and translation time counts against it: order the certificate, then the translation straight away, then apply.
Does a police certificate need a certified translation for a UK visa?
Yes, if it is not in English. The caseworker guidance says: "If the certificate is not in English, a translated copy of the certificate must be provided which meets the requirements of paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules." You may provide "either an original or scanned copy" of the certificate itself.
Paragraph 39B(f) asks for "the version in the original language and a full translation that can be independently verified", dated, with confirmation that it is accurate, the full name and signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company, and contact details. Because the requirement applies to entry clearance, the extra in-country element (a qualified translator's certification and credentials) does not normally arise. See what a certification statement must include.
What must a police certificate translation show?
Every line, because each one answers a question the caseworker is asking:
- Names: the holder's full name and every former or alternative name the certificate lists, matched to the passport.
- Identifiers: date and place of birth, parents' names and national ID or passport numbers, exactly as printed.
- Issuing authority and scope: whether it is a national register or a regional or local office.
- The result, word for word: "no record", "no convictions", or the full entry for each offence, court, date and sentence.
- Date of issue and any stated validity.
- Serial numbers, verification codes, QR codes and any instructions for checking the certificate online.
- Stamps, seals, signatures and electronic signatures, described in square brackets, plus the reverse side and any apostille.
Where the certificate and your application form disagree, the guidance lets caseworkers ask for an explanation, and recognises that a certificate may not show a conviction that is spent under that country's law. A complete, literal translation is your best evidence when that happens.
Regional and local certificates: when one is not enough
Some countries keep criminal records by state, province or district rather than nationally. UKVI says a regional certificate "will normally be acceptable" if it comes with "an explanation outlining attempts to acquire a national certificate, or satisfactory evidence that one is unavailable", plus evidence that you lived in that region. If you lived in several regions, you need a certificate for each, or an explanation. Brazil, for instance, has both a Federal Police certificate and state certificates from each state's public security department.
Which certificate does each country issue?
The Home Office publishes country-by-country notes, Criminal records checks for overseas applicants, and UKVI's own guidance warns that they "may not reflect the current position". Cross-checked against the US State Department's civil documents schedules:
| Country | Certificate | Native name | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | Information from the National Criminal Register | informacja o osobie z Krajowego Rejestru Karnego | An electronic certificate is an XML file whose printout, the Home Office notes, "is not a document according to the Polish law". |
| Spain | Criminal records certificate | certificado de antecedentes penales | Issued by the Ministry of Justice's central register of convictions (Registro Central de Penados). |
| Germany | Certificate of good conduct | Führungszeugnis | Issued by the Federal Office of Justice; applicants abroad can apply online or in writing. |
| Turkey | Criminal record extract | adli sicil kaydı | Available through e-Devlet; the electronic version has a QR code for verification. |
| Ukraine | Certificate of criminal record or its absence | – | Since 23 April 2022 issued online on A4 with a serial number, QR code and digital stamp. |
| India | Police Clearance Certificate | – | Issued by the Regional Passport Office for Indian nationals in India, or by an Indian mission abroad. |
| Pakistan | Police character certificate | – | Issued by police facilitation centres or local police; procedures vary by location. |
| China | Certificate of no criminal record | 无犯罪记录证明 (wú fànzuì jìlù zhèngmíng) | The police certificate is then notarised; the US schedule notes the two are different documents. |
Who else in the UK asks for overseas police certificates?
Schools and colleges in England. Keeping children safe in education 2026 (paragraph 359) says staff who have lived or worked outside the UK need the same checks as everyone else, including an enhanced DBS certificate, and schools "must make any further checks they think appropriate", pointing to the Home Office's overseas checks guidance. It warns that the criteria for disclosing offences abroad "often have a different threshold than those in the UK".
Other employers. The Home Office's overseas checks guidance notes "some statutory requirements for employers to carry out such checks in the health and education sectors", but "elsewhere it is only best practice to do so." If an employer asks you for a certificate, ask which countries it needs and whether it wants a certified translation.
Using a UK police certificate abroad
The reverse is a different document. The ACRO Criminal Records Office issues police certificates for people emigrating or asked for one by a foreign embassy, and an International Child Protection Certificate for work with children abroad. Many countries then want the certificate apostilled, which the FCDO does on paper only (ACRO certificates cannot get an e-Apostille), and translated into their language. See DBS and police checks for use abroad.
Why police certificates hold up UK visa applications
- Out of date: the latest-country certificate issued more than 6 months before the application.
- A missing country: a year spent working abroad, counted in total rather than in one stay.
- A regional certificate with no explanation of why a national one was unavailable.
- A translation that widens the scope or drops a former name.
- A conviction left out of the translation, which turns a disclosure question into a credibility question.
- No explanation for a certificate that genuinely cannot be obtained.
Checklist: police certificate translation for a UK visa
Questions people ask
Do I need a police certificate for a UK spouse or visitor visa?
Not routinely. The Home Office's guidance says applicants on routes other than the listed Skilled Worker jobs and their partners "are not currently required to provide criminal record certificates". Every application form still asks about criminal history, so answer it fully and accurately.
How long is a police certificate valid for a UK visa?
UKVI's caseworker guidance treats a certificate from your latest country of residence as valid if it was issued no earlier than 6 months before the date of application. For other countries, it should have been issued within 6 months before your last stay there ended, whenever that was.
My police certificate is already in English. Do I need anything else?
No translation is needed if every word, stamp and annotation is in English. If a stamp, seal or note is in another language, that part needs a certified translation, because paragraph 39B(f) requires a full translation of anything not in English or Welsh.
My certificate shows an old conviction. Can the translation leave it out?
No. A translation must be complete, and the caseworker compares the certificate with your answers on the form. If the conviction is spent under that country's law or explained on the form, a faithful translation supports your explanation; an edited one undermines it.
What if I cannot get a police certificate from a country?
Include a satisfactory explanation of why it is not reasonably practicable, with evidence of your attempts. UKVI can exempt you, for example where no procedure exists or there is armed conflict, but you still need certificates from every other country that applies.
Does the QR code or verification link need translating?
The code itself is reproduced or described, and any text around it, such as instructions for checking the certificate online, is translated. Caseworkers can use these details to verify the document, so they should never be dropped.
How much does a police certificate translation cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words, and its dated, signed certificate of accuracy meets paragraph 39B(f) in full, down to the credentials element that applies only to applications made in the UK. A one-page certificate usually arrives as a signed PDF by email within 24 hours, which helps when the 6-month window is tight.
