living in Andorra guide on residency relocation advice

The system for Police Certificate applications has recently changed as have the particular types of forms that are available.

(Jan 2012) Please note: . I am getting valuable feedback from clients that the Met themselves are confused by the new forms, and consequently the confusion feeds back to you the client. I recommend below the second link which is for the ACPO document as being very quick and reliable. It is specifically for immigration to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries but it is acceptable in Andorra. It is more expensive but with a premium service it can be completed in a matter of days.

Please note that the old form 3019 is now a Metropolitan Police check and does not appear to be UK wide which is what is required.

The other form which is causing the confusion is the ACRO form, (the ACRO SAR 1 is the application form). This is acceptable but may take considerably longer than the ACPO form.

I now include the links with the correct forms.

This first link is the PNC application form (ACRO SAR1) and this as stated above is for the ACRO form, acceptable, cheaper but takes longer:

http://www.met.police.uk/information/request_forms.htm


The other form, the ACPO is the recommended one if time is of the essence:

http://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx


The certificate must then be sent for Apostille at Milton Keynes, the turn around is a couple of days. Please see the section below on Apostilles.


Scotland police records differ from England and Wales. If you are Scottish you will need to apply to Scotland, please follow this link.

Applicants from other countries will need to contact their local police authorities to seek information. Some countries such as the USA also require fingerprint forms (see the page headed Apostilles USA) and each country may differ slightly in procedure.

Also please note that if you do have a criminal record in any country, your application for residency should not be affected save for some procedural steps which I can explain. Please note, if you have any criminal conviction whatsoever it does need to be translated into catalan, and that is best done here in Andorra. Please let me know if this applies to you.

Once you have the police certificate, then next step is to have it Apostillised.

(Since 1st April 2011 this MUST be done by post)

This is a stamp and a signature on the back of the document which confirms that the signature on the document has been checked with the database at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at Milton Keynes (for UK applicants) and is correct and genuine.

Very occasionally, and a Police report from Fife in Scotland being the latest example, The Apostille Office in the UK cannot certify the document as the signatory is not on their database. They will however certify it if it also bears the certification of a Notary or (In Scotland a Solicitor). Also recently the Apostille Office could not verify a signatory of a Marriage Registrar in England. The best way to deal with this is to have the document notarised as authentic and then have the Notary's signature Apostillised.

In the UK, the Department responsible for issuing Apostilles is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the current fee is £30 per document. The current turn around for a completed Apostille is about 3-5 days from dispatch to receipt.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/legal-services/Legalisation/

Applications must now be made by post. However it is worth possibly contacting a company in Milton Keynes who will do this on your behalf. Their company mayl have the premium service where they can go in person, then they can send the document to you wherever you are. They will of course charge a fee for this.

The following is advice taken form the following link in which the body responsible for Apostilles, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)


The public and business counters at the Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes are now closed. Members of the public and business customers should now send applications by post. The completion of an application form is compulsory (see below).

We aim to process and despatch all straightforward postal applications received at the Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes by the end of the next working day. Processing times may vary during peak busy periods, please see our homepage for an update on which day of post we are currently working on:

Step 1: Check the exact requirements of the authorities requesting the legalisation of your documentation (the Legalisation Office cannot offer advice on this)

Step 2: Check that your document(s) are in a format that we can access. (i.e. bear an authorising signature to verify)

Step 3: Pay, we require a fee of £30.00 per apostille.

(a): Pay Online . Please print off your payment status page and include this with your application. Please note than an amount will be added to your transaction for return postage by Special Delivery (FedEx). Rates will vary depending on your location (please see here for postal rates )
OR (b): Customers may also pay by UK postal order, bankers draft or business cheque (made payable to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). Customers who do not pay online must include additional payment for return special delivery ( see here for ) or a pre-paid A4 sized envelope.

Step 4: Print and complete the Legalisation Application Form [Adobe, new window] . An application form must be included with your documents and all fields must be completed or your application will be rejected.

Step 5: Post your completed application form, documents, payment and A4 sized envelope to the address below:

Legalisation Office
Norfolk House West
437 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK9 2AH


If your application is incomplete in any way, we will be unable to legalise your document(s), and it will be returned to you with further instructions as to what to do next. This will of course delay your application and may mean that you don't get your document(s) legalised in time for an important event such as a wedding. If your application is not straightforward, we cannot guarantee that it will be despatched by the end of the next working day.

Checklist

You must include the following:

Documents for legalisation
Your completed Application Form [Adobe, new window] *
An A4 sized envelope
Payment in the form of business cheque, postal order, bankers draft or printed online payment status page
A pre-paid A4 envelope if you have not included postage in the legalisation fee

* If inaccurate or incomplete postal delivery information has been provided with your application which results in your documents being returned to us then a further fee will be required in order to re-send your documents a second time and the return of your documents will be significantly delayed.

Please do not include the following:

Cash
Personal cheques
Passports or ID cards
Documents not intended for legalisation
Stamps on your A4 envelope if you have included postage with the legalisation fee

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Finally, I have often been asked if there is another office that can issue this stamp in the UK and the answer is no ! Milton Keynes is the only place in the UK that can issue this stamp and without it Andorra will not accept it.