Police Certificate for Spouse Visa: When and How
Police certificates are widely believed to be part of a UK spouse visa application. They are not. This guide sets out which routes the criminal record certificate rule actually covers, and what the family route asks about criminal history instead.
- Section
- Spouse & Partner Visa
- Reading time
- 9 min
- Last checked
- 20 March 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- The family route is not on the list of routes that must provide a criminal record certificate.
- The requirement covers entry clearance as a Skilled Worker in health, education or social care roles, and the adult partners of those applicants.
- It does not apply to applications to extend a stay in the UK.
- Where it does apply, the rule is one certificate per country lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, while aged 18 or over.
- Family applications are still subject to the suitability rules: a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more is a mandatory refusal.
The criminal record certificate requirement in the Immigration Rules covers entry clearance on named work routes, not the family route. A partner or spouse application does not ask for a police certificate at any stage. Criminal history is dealt with through the suitability rules and the declaration on the application form.
The Family Route Does Not Require One
A police certificate — also called a criminal record certificate, a good conduct certificate or a police clearance — is a document issued by a national police authority listing a person's convictions. The Immigration Rules require one only on named routes, and the family route is not among them.
The Home Office guidance on the criminal record certificate requirement lists the routes it covers: entry clearance as a Skilled Worker in a role in the health, education or social care sectors, the former Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Investor) routes, and adult partners of a main applicant on one of those routes. GOV.UK states that applicants on all other routes are not currently required to provide criminal record certificates.
This holds at every stage of the family route. GOV.UK's list of documents for a partner or spouse application does not mention a police certificate, and neither does its page on applying for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) as a partner. The guidance also states that the requirement does not apply to an application to extend a stay in the UK, so it would not reach a family extension even if the route were listed.
The published guidance is on GOV.UK, with a country-by-country list of how to obtain a certificate for the routes where one is needed.
How to Obtain One Where a Route Requires It
The rest of this guide describes the certificate rule as it applies on the routes that do require one — useful if the sponsor or the partner is moving between routes, or if a certificate is needed for another purpose such as employment. It is not part of a family application.
Where a certificate is required, one is needed for every country outside the UK where the applicant was present for 12 months or more, whether in one stretch or in total, during the 10 years before the application, while aged 18 or over. The certificate for the country the applicant currently lives in must have been issued no earlier than 6 months before the date of application. For an earlier country, it must have been issued within the 6 months before that stay ended.
The process varies significantly by country. Common methods include:
- Through the national police force: Many countries issue certificates through their main police authority
- Through an embassy or consulate: Some countries allow you to apply through their embassy in the UK if you are already here. See our Home Office contact guide for UK-side contacts
- Online applications: GOV.UK records that Australia's National Police Check can be applied for online or by post
Country-specific guidance is published on GOV.UK in three pages covering countries A to F, G to P and Q to Z. The issuing body, document name, fees and timelines differ from country to country.
Key Countries
- India: a Local Police Report or Police Clearance Certificate. Applications are made in person to the local police service or the regional passport office. Applicants in the UK apply through the Indian High Commission
- Pakistan: a Police Character Certificate, applied for at the local city police station or the district office of the Senior Superintendent of Police. Applicants outside Pakistan are directed to the High Commission of Pakistan in London or Manchester
- Bangladesh: from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police headquarters, or in person at a Bangladesh High Commission or embassy for people living outside the country
- Nigeria: a Certificate of Good Conduct. Applications inside Nigeria must be made in person at the Central Criminal Registry in Lagos; applicants in the UK apply through the Nigerian High Commission in London
- Philippines: a National Bureau of Investigation clearance, applied for in person at the bureau's clearance centre in Manila or a regional office. Filipino nationals abroad can have the application legalised at the embassy and sent to a representative in the Philippines
- South Africa: a Police Clearance Certificate from the local Criminal Records Centre. GOV.UK notes that the South African High Commission cannot accept applications
See the country-specific guides for more detail on each country.
How Criminal History Is Handled On The Family Route
Convictions are declared on the application form. The suitability part of the Immigration Rules then sets out what follows. The published thresholds are:
- Rule SUI 5.1 — must be refused: a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more, in the UK or overseas; or being a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law; or having committed an offence that caused serious harm
- Rule SUI 5.3 — may be refused: a custodial or suspended sentence of less than 12 months; or a non-custodial sentence or an out-of-court disposal recorded on the criminal record
Suspended sentences of 12 months or more became a mandatory refusal ground through the statement of changes HC 1691 of 5 March 2026. The rules are published as the suitability part of the Immigration Rules. Our guide to refusals covers what happens after a decision. Giving false information on an application is dealt with separately, under the deception grounds in the same part of the rules.
Translation
Paragraph 39B of part 1 of the Immigration Rules applies to any document not in English or Welsh, on any route. The original and a full translation must both be provided, and the translation must be dated and include:
- confirmation that it is an accurate translation
- the full name and signature of the translator, or of an authorised official of the translation company
- the translator's or company's contact details
- for an application made inside the UK for permission to stay or for settlement, certification by a qualified translator and details of their credentials
Our guide to translating documents covers this rule in full.
Next Steps
The short version: the family route does not ask for a police certificate, and GOV.UK's document list for a partner or spouse application does not include one. Criminal history is declared on the form and assessed against the published suitability rules. Where a conviction is involved, the guide to using an adviser explains how to find one regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.
Related guides:
Questions and answers
Do I need a police certificate for a UK spouse visa?
No. The criminal record certificate requirement in the Immigration Rules applies to entry clearance on named work routes, chiefly Skilled Worker applications in health, education and social care roles, and to the adult partners of those main applicants. The Home Office states that applicants on all other routes are not currently required to provide criminal record certificates. The family route, whether as a partner applying for the first time, extending, or applying for settlement, is not on the list. GOV.UK's list of documents for a partner or spouse application does not mention a police certificate.
Which applications does the certificate requirement cover?
Entry clearance applications on the specified routes only. The published caseworker guidance names Skilled Worker roles in the health, education and social care sectors, together with the former Tier 1 Entrepreneur and Tier 1 Investor routes, and adult partners of those main applicants. The requirement does not apply to an application to extend a stay in the UK.
What does the family route ask about criminal history instead?
The suitability part of the Immigration Rules applies to family applications, as it does to every route. Rule SUI 5.1 says an application must be refused where the applicant has a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more, is a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law, or has committed an offence that caused serious harm. Rule SUI 5.3 says an application may be refused for a custodial or suspended sentence of less than 12 months, a non-custodial sentence, or an out-of-court disposal recorded on the criminal record. Convictions are declared on the application form, not through a certificate.
How recent does a certificate have to be, where one is required?
On the routes where it is required, the guidance says the certificate for the country the applicant currently lives in must be issued no earlier than 6 months before the date of application. For an earlier country of residence, it must have been issued within the 6 months before that period of stay ended. Where obtaining one is not reasonably practicable — for example because the country has no procedure for issuing them, or does not issue them to foreign nationals — the applicant can be exempted on a satisfactory written explanation.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.