Getting a police certificate from home when you already live abroad

Tariq, I did the Pakistani one from Canada last year, so this is fresh. The embassy route worked, but it was slow, and the fingerprint card had to be taken by an approved provider here before sending anything off. The provider was the easy part. The waiting was the rest.

What I'd do again:

• check how recent the receiving office wants the certificate to be, then count backwards from your planned submission date. Mine arrived about six weeks before I needed it, which felt comfortable without risking it going stale
• make sure the name on the application matches your passport exactly, including your father's name if it appears there. Mismatches were the most common reason for delays I heard about
• keep the tracking and reference numbers in one note on your phone, because you will be asked for them at the worst moment

Having family do it back home was an option too, but the authority letter made my father nervous and I didn't want to put him through queues at his age. If your family is comfortable with it, people tell me it can be quicker. It just wasn't the right fit for us.

Same for Egypt: I let one expire while waiting for another document and had to order a second one. Time it last, not first.

Indian one via the consulate here. The application was easy, but they needed proof of my current address in the UK and a copy of my permit, which I hadn't expected. Took around a month in the end.

Fatima, thank you, that is very useful. Counting backwards from the submission date is exactly what I was missing. We had been trying to do everything as early as possible, which in this case is the wrong instinct.

Fingerprints are the part people underestimate. Mine were rejected once for smudging. Ask the provider to do two sets while you're there.

Good thread, and a useful one for anyone on a citizenship or long-stay route. The two things that decide the right approach are the validity window the receiving office accepts (often counted from the issue date, not the submission date) and the issuing country's own process, which can change without much notice. So: confirm both from official sources before you start, and time the request so the certificate is fresh when you submit.

For Australia, the Citizenship section covers the document list, and the Documents section has more on translations and certification.

Two sets of fingerprints is such a good tip. Noted for later.

Ukraine has an online route, and it was much faster than I expected. I know that is not possible for every country, but it is worth checking if your home country has an online route before going through the embassy.