Starting December 8, 2025, Immigration New Zealand changed an important rule. If you’re applying for a work visa, you must submit a complete police certificate with your application. No exceptions.
What Changed?
Immigration NZ no longer accepts receipts showing you applied for a police certificate. Your application must include the actual certificate, or it may be rejected immediately.
Before this change, you could apply first and send documents later. That’s finished. Now, everything must be ready when you submit.
Exception: Only Fiji, Hong Kong, and Israel can apply without certificates because their police departments send them directly to Immigration NZ.
Who Needs Police Certificates?
You need police certificates if you’re 17 or older and applying to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or more.
Get certificates from:
- Your home country
- Any country where you live now
- Any country where you lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years
Example: If you’re from Pakistan but worked in UAE for two years, you need certificates from both countries.
Special Rule for Indian Applicants
From December 1, 2025, Immigration NZ only accepts police certificates from the Regional Passport Office of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Other police documents won’t work and will cause rejection.
Why This Matters?
Good news: Complete applications get processed faster now.
Bad news: Missing certificates mean immediate rejection or shorter visa approval than you need.
Immigration NZ wants to make decisions quickly, not chase missing papers. If you’re prepared, you benefit. If you’re not, you lose.
How to Get It Right?
- Step 1: Make Your List
- Write down every country where you lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. Don’t forget your home country.
- Step 2: Apply for All Certificates Now
- Don’t wait. Apply for all certificates at the same time. Some countries take 1 week, others take 3 months.
- Step 3: Check Validity
- Police certificates are valid for 6 months from issue date. Don’t get them too early or they’ll expire before you apply.
- Step 4: Wait for Everything
- Only submit your work visa application after you have ALL certificates ready.
Common Mistakes That Cause Rejection
- Applying before getting police certificates
- Getting wrong type of certificate (especially Indians)
- Letting certificates expire
- Forgetting countries where you lived temporarily
- Not counting previous time spent in New Zealand
Your Timeline
Here’s how long the process takes?
- Week 1: Apply for police certificates
- Weeks 2-12: Wait for certificates (varies by country)
- During waiting: Prepare other documents
- After certificates arrive: Submit visa application
- 4-8 weeks later: Visa decision
Total time: 3-5 months from start to visa approval
Important Tips
- Start early. Don’t wait until you need to apply. Get your police certificates now, even if you’re not ready to submit your visa yet.
- Apply together. If you need certificates from India, Pakistan, and UAE, apply to all three at once. Don’t do them one by one.
- Check requirements. Each country has different rules. Visit Immigration NZ’s website to see exactly what’s needed.
- Keep copies. Make copies of everything you submit. If something goes wrong, you’ll need proof.
- Track expiry dates. If a certificate expires before you submit your visa, you’ll need to get a new one.
The Bottom Line
The new rule is simple: No police certificate = No visa.
Immigration NZ is serious about complete applications. They won’t hold your application and ask for missing documents anymore. Everything must be ready from day one.
This change helps organized people get visas faster. It hurts people who rush without proper preparation.
If you have a job offer in New Zealand, start getting your police certificates today. Don’t wait until the last minute. The certificate process takes months in some countries.
Plan, gather all documents before applying, and you’ll get your visa approved without problems.
Remember: One missing document can waste months of waiting and cost you money. Be prepared, be complete, be successful.