also called ACRO · DBS · FBI Identity History Summary · certificate of good conduct · criminal record extract
A document listing any criminal record you hold, issued under a different name in each country: an ACRO certificate or DBS check in the UK, an FBI Identity History Summary in the US, and others elsewhere.
This is a document listing any criminal record you hold, and it goes by a different name in each country: an ACRO or DBS check in the UK, an FBI Identity History Summary in the US, and others elsewhere. Police clearance certificate is the generic phrase for the same idea, but a visa office usually names the specific one it wants and how recent it must be. Bring the wrong country's check, or an out-of-date one, and the clock restarts.
A residency application asks for a police clearance, and you send the check your own country issues. The office actually wanted the version from a country you previously lived in, issued within the last few months, so your application stalls while you order the right one, which takes weeks and needs fresh fingerprints.
Visa and residency applications specify which country's check they want and how recent it must be, and getting the wrong one, or an out-of-date one, restarts the clock. Some take weeks and need fingerprints, so knowing the exact name your destination wants is the first step, not an afterthought.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
A police clearance certificate is an official statement of whether you have a criminal record, required for many long-stay visas.
Criminal record check by country is the same document under a different name in each place: an ACRO or DBS check in the UK, an FBI Identity History Summary in the US, and others elsewhere, so knowing the local name is half the task.
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