The NZ Police Vetting Service can process vetting requests from individuals for visa purposes, however the results can only be provided direct to the government authorities issuing the visa.
Copies will not be provided to an individual.
If you are required to provide the results to the authorities yourself or via a third party, you will need to request a Criminal Record Check from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice. Information about the Criminal Record Check process is available at: https://www.justice.govt.nz/criminal-records/
Although you may be instructed by the authorities to provide a ‘police clearance certificate’ or a ‘police check’, these and similar terms have no official meaning in New Zealand. Generally the closest equivalent is a Criminal Record Check from the Ministry of Justice.
A vetting check for visa purposes by the Police Vetting Service provides the same information as a Criminal Record Check by the Ministry of Justice where the ‘full record of convictions’ option is selected.
Submitting a visa vetting request
Complete a Section 14 ‘overseas’ form (DOCX 38KB) (Visa Purposes Only) specifying the country you require the visa for, and providing the postal address for the authorities where the result will be sent.
Please also include any special instructions, such as if the result requires Apostille certification and whether this is required to be in English or another language.
Sign the form (this can be done electronically), and send it into the Police Vetting Service at vetting@police.govt.nz.
Please attach the completed form as a .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .jpeg format file. We cannot accept .zip attachments or files in .pages format. We may not be able to accept other formats.
Authentication
If the vetting result is required to be authenticated before being submitted to the authorities, the Police Vetting Service can send the result to the Department of Internal Affairs Authentication Unit. The Authentication Unit will carry out the Apostille certification process, then send the authenticated result to the authorities. Please be aware that there is a cost involved for this process, and you will need to arrange payment with the Department of Internal Affairs.
Please also include any special instructions, (i.e whether this is required to be in English or another language).
Contact details for the DIA Authentication Unit are available here: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Contact-us#Apostille