PCC Apostille is a certificate verification process conducted by Ministry of external affairs Indian ( MEA ). PCC apostille is done if you are travelling to countries that are part of the Hague nations. Apostille is a mandatory process for the documents that are issued in India and are being used in foreign country.
How to get PCC ( Police Clearance Certificate ) Apostille in India?
There are 3 main steps in Getting PCC Apostille
- Issuing PCC from Government office. Either from Police department of from Passport office
- Submitting the Original document for Apostille at authorized Apostille Agencies
- Verification of the PCC for correctness and authenticity
- Approval of Apostille stamp by MEA India.
Police Clearance Certificate can be issued by Passport Office or Local Police of State Government. It’s always better to apply PCC ( Police Clearance Certificate ) from Passport office only. So once you receive Police Clearance Certificate from Passport office, follow the given instructions.
What is PCC apostille?
PCC Apostille is a process of verifying PCC for authenticity and correctness. Apostille is done only for Genuine documents which are correctly issued by the government office, by doing the apostille verification we can remove fake documents.
The Apostille is done by Ministry of external affairs only. This is the highest level of authentication for any document. Once you submit the documents for authentication your documents will go through many concerned departments for verification.
The apostilled police clearance certificate is a legal and valid document that can be presented in any of the Hague nations. The police clearance certificate is issued after verifying the applicants’ background thoroughly. PCC helps the other country to know that the person whose name is written on the certificate does not have any criminal record till the issuing date of the certificate.
Once the applicant gets a PCC apostille then there is no further need for the investigation of the documents through various modes as it is now authentic document. PCC is also known as the good conduct certificate, judicial record extracts, good citizen certificate, and police clearance certificate. The process to get a police clearance certificate is quick, easy, and can be completed by following the above-given steps in a few minutes.
why we need Police Clearance Certificate Apostille:
– for Higher Studies in foreign country
– for Working in other country
– Requirement of the foreign country
– For moving as a permanent resident
– In case a person wants to stay for a long period in a foreign country
Police clearance certificate is a proof of no criminal charges against your name and it is given by Passport office in India.
PCC is a key document for foreign country for criminal background check.
Most of the countries ask for PCC apostille.
Police Clearance Certificate is essential for the safety of the country where the applicant is moving for numerous reasons. The country comes to know about the criminal history of the applicant.
Details that are present in a Police Clearance Certificate Apostille
This is an overview of the details that a person can see on the Police Clearance Certificate affidavit
- Certificate No: A unique number is added
- Certificate issued Date: 00/00/0000 date and time are added
- Account Reference: ALPHA CODE
- Unique Doc. Reference: ALPHANUMERIC
- Purchased by: NAME
- Description of Document: ARTICLE 4 AFFIDAVIT
- Description: AFFIDAVIT
- Consideration Price (Rs.): ZERO
- First Party: NAME OF PERSON
- Second Party: N/A
- Stamp Duty Paid By: NAME OF PERSON
- Stamp Duty Amount(Rs.): AMOUNT
Documents that are needed to get a PCC attestation
There are only a small number of documents required for the PCC apostille
- The original police clearance certificate.
- A photocopy of an Aadhar card or a driving license.
- A photocopy of a passport’s front and last page.
How much does it cost for the Police Clearance apostille in India
PCC Apostille cost in India is 2000₹ for the PCC issued from passport office. Police issued PCC cost depends on the state in which the documents is issued.
Where to Get PCC ?
You can get PCC in 2 ways.
1) Passport Issued ( Central Government )
2) Police Issued ( State Government ).
Its always better to get PCC from Passport office since it comes under central government the verification is easy.
How much time does it take to get a PCC attestation
As there are several authorities involved in the attestation of a police clearance certificate so it is a lengthy process. The estimate time that is generally taken for an apostille police clearance certificate is 10-12 days. The time period also depends on the place where the certificate was issued. However, the duration may increase if there are ample numbers of applications or due to any uncertainty.
Procedure to get Police Clearance Certificate Apostille
Getting PCC apostille is not so complicated like other documents Birth certificate Apostille , marriage certificate Apostille or degree certificate.
Since PCC is given by Passport authority there is no state verification required. PCC can be directly apostilled from MEA.
The PCC apostille MEA is basically the most important step. The certificate is sent to the Ministry of External Affairs for approval. Here all the major and supporting documents are examined by taking care of every small detail. When the Ministry of External Affairs is satisfied that all the details that are written in the police clearance certificate are 100% correct then only a stamp and signature are placed on the document.
The police clearance certificate that gets an apostille stamp on it can be used in any of the Hague nations as now it is regarded as genuine and lawful.
If facing any difficulty in understanding any of the point, then all you need to do is follow the steps given in Mea Apostille Proceddure Page
Or Register for Apostille and get your doubts clarified.
Note: For the nations that are not a member of the Hague nations, Embassy Attestation is needed.
- For Hague nations apostille ( issued by RPO )
Notary + MEA + Apostille - For non-Hague nations ( issued by RPO )
Notary + MEA + Embassy Attestation - Hague nations apostille ( issued by police)
Notary + MEA +Home department +Apostille - For non-Hague nations ( issued by police )
Notary + MEA + Home Department Embassy Attestation
What is the validity of PCC apostille
All the apostilled documents regardless which authentication is made(State or SDM) is valid only for 6 months.
If your Apostille is 6 months old then you need to get new apostille.
However, there are countries that accept an apostille PCC that is more than 6 months or an year old. So, to know the validity of your Police Clearance Certificate Apostille contact a trustworthy apostille service.
Can I directly deposit my documents to MEA
Unfortunately no…
Till 2012 citizens of India were used to deposite the documents directly to MEA for apostille. But the number of these documents were escalated rapidly from 2012. It was difficult for MEA to keep track of all these documents. So in order to make things simple MEA outsourced document collection and destribution to us.
However, only MEA has authority to apostille the documents.
You can Register for Apostille and get apostille for your PCC
Steps involved in Apostille
- Registering online for apostille
- Sending the documents for office /visiting our office to deposit the document
- Online payment for apostille
- Receiving the tracking number for the documents
- Check updates online
- Get emails regarding the apostille status
- Receive /collect the documents after apostille
Apostille has following details..
- Name of country from which the document was issued.
- Name of the Person to whom document is issued.
- Name of person signing the document.
- Designation of the singed person.
- Place of certification date of certification.
- Number of certificate.
- Seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate.
- Signature of authority issuing certificate.
Safety
Do you think that safety is an important parameter in PCC apostille? Yes, it is all the documents that are needed to submit for the apostille to the authorities are original. So, it is essential that they should be kept in a safe place. If the documents are misplaced then it can create a lot of problems in your visa and apostille process. So, always select an apostille service that will keep your document like their own. Do not go for cheap services, choose an authentic and reliable service provider.
Safety Measures taken for PCC Apostille.
Documents that are needed to submit for the apostille to the authorities are original. So, it is essential that they should be kept in a safe place. If the documents are misplaced then it can create a lot of problems in your visa and apostille process. So, always select an apostille service that will keep your document like their own. Do not go for cheap services, choose an authentic and reliable service provider.
Countries where apostille is required
Australia | Azerbaijan | Austria | Argentina | Belarus | Bulgaria | Brazil | Costa Rica | Canada | Czech | Cyprus | Chile | Denmark | Estonia | Ecuador | France | Finland | Georgia | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Italy | India | Iceland | Ireland | Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Korea | Moldova | Morocco | Malta | Mexico | Mauritius | Netherlands | New Zealand | Norway | Peru | Paraguay | Portugal | Panama | Philippines | Poland | Paraguay | Russia | Sweden | Singapore | South Africa | Switzerland | Ukraine | Spain | Ukraine | USA| UK| Vietnam
