If you are applying for a UK visa from overseas, you may need to submit a certificate of criminal records in your resident country or home country according to the specific visa application category. Your visa may be refused if you fail to provide an overseas criminal record certificate or if you do not give a reasonable explanation as to why you have not submitted it.
Which category of visa should I submit proof of overseas criminal records?
All UK applicants are required to disclose previous offending on their visa application and their spouse or partners are also required to provide evidence of their criminal record.
It is not necessary to submit evidence of overseas criminal records to all UK visa applications.
The overseas criminal record certificate requirement applies to an application for entry clearance in certain specific visa routes.
If you are applying for entry clearance from overseas for a Tier 1 investor visa, Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa or Skilled Worker visa to take up certain employment (such as child education, childcare, health or social welfare occupation and pharmacist, physician, etc.), you must submit an overseas criminal record certificate.
You do not need to satisfy an overseas criminal record requirement if you apply to enter the UK on any other route.
When switching to or extending permission in the UK, you do not require to submit evidence of overseas criminal records
What are the requirements for the overseas criminal record certificate?
Where this requirement applies, a certificate must be submitted if the applicant is 18 years of age or over. The criminal records for the previous 10 years must be provided before the date of application. The criminal records for any country (excluding the UK) that the applicant has been present in for 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the 10 years.
It is important to note that all types of stay and any duration in a country will count towards the 12-month qualifying period for submission of a certificate, not just ordinary residence or settlement.
A criminal record certificate should be no more than 6 months old at the date of the visa application.
If the certificate is not in English, a translated copy of the certificate must be provided. The translation should be certified by a professional translator, confirming the translator’s credentials and confirming that it is an accurate translation of the original document. It should also be dated and include the original signature of the translator.
How do I apply for an overseas criminal record certificate?
Certificates that confirm an individual's overseas criminal records can usually be issued by the local police or other appropriate law enforcement agencies in the residential country.
How to obtaining certificates from overseas agencies may vary from each country. This can be found on the UKVI website. However, the applicants should check the relevant authorities directly in each country.
If you are unable to obtain a criminal record certificate, perhaps because the country that would ordinarily issue a certificate has no functioning criminal record regime or because it refuses to provide criminal record certificates to non-citizens, then you should explain with your UK visa application.
UKVI will consider your explanation against the situation in the relevant country or countries. If UKVI is satisfied that you have provided a satisfactory explanation as to why it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a criminal record certificate from any or all of the relevant authorities then they should waive the requirement.
Why does UKVI require an overseas criminal record certificate?
To check and identify the suitability of staying in the UK, all UK visa applicants are required to disclose previous offending on their visa or immigration application form. According to Home Office guidance, the requirement to disclose that the applicants have no criminal record is to strengthen the entry process by checking whether or not they have committed crimes abroad, and specifically for some skilled worker visas, this requirement is an additional safeguard for children and vulnerable people.
Where a criminal record certificate discloses that the applicant has a criminal history, the UKVI will consider whether there is any ground reason to refuse the application under the immigration rules.
If the applicant is found to have been arrested and charged and is awaiting prosecution or a court hearing, the application will be pending until the outcome of the proceedings.
What happened if failed to submit an overseas criminal record certificate?
According to UK Immigration Rules, if you are required to submit a certificate of overseas criminal records and you fail to provide one, your visa application will be refused unless you provide a reasonable explanation for not providing one.
However, if the UKVI considers that the applicant accidentally omitted a criminal record or it is possible to obtain a certificate (or reasonably explain why the criminal record cannot be submitted), it may contact the applicant or the representative in writing to request the document or explanation to be provided within 28 days.