Police checks for an Australian visa: Vietnam's Certificate No. 2 and the AFP check — how to apply, how long they last

Your visa application is moving along nicely when the case officer sends a request: provide police clearances from Vietnam, from Australia — and from Singapore, where you worked for two years. Or you’re still preparing your application and stuck on a question that sounds small but is surprisingly hard to research: judicial record Certificate No. 1 or No. 2?

The short answer: Australia generally requires a police check for every country you have lived in for a cumulative 12 months or more during the last 10 years, counted from age 16. For Vietnam, the correct document is the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2) — not No. 1. For your time in Australia, it’s the AFP National Police Check. And both are usually accepted for only about 12 months, so when you apply is a strategic decision, not just paperwork.

This article walks through each piece: which countries need a check, where to apply, how to time it — and the question many people are most afraid to ask: what if you have a record?

The base rule: which countries need a police check

Under the Department of Home Affairs’ general guidance, you need a police clearance for each country where you have lived a cumulative total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years, since turning 16. A few points people miss:

• Cumulative, not continuous. Three separate five-month stints in Japan within the same 10 years add up to more than 12 months — that means a Japanese police check.
• Not just the main applicant. Dependants in the application above the relevant age usually need checks too — confirm against the checklist for your visa subclass.
• “Lived” doesn’t require a long-term visa. Time spent studying, working or simply staying long-term all counts toward the total.

Exact requirements can vary between visa streams, so cross-check the official checklist for the visa you’re lodging before you start requesting documents.

Vietnam’s Certificate No. 2 — why it must not be No. 1

Vietnam issues two types of judicial record certificate, and submitting the wrong one is a very common mistake:

Australia’s reason for wanting Certificate No. 2 is straightforward: they want the complete picture, including convictions that have been expunged under Vietnamese law. Submitting Certificate No. 1 doesn’t make your file look cleaner — it just produces a request to resubmit and several weeks of delay.

Where to apply: VNeID, the Department of Justice, or an embassy

At the time of writing there are three main channels — and the procedure is being progressively digitised, so check the current channel before you start:

• In Vietnam: apply online via VNeID (fast and increasingly the default) or in person at the Department of Justice (Sở Tư pháp) of the province or city where you reside.
• Outside Vietnam (for example, in Australia preparing an onshore application): go through a Vietnamese diplomatic mission (embassy/consulate-general) or authorise a relative in Vietnam to apply on your behalf — power-of-attorney requirements change from time to time, so check current instructions.
• Processing time is typically measured in weeks, longer if extra verification is needed — don’t leave it until just before a deadline.

The AFP National Police Check for your time in Australia

If you have lived in Australia for 12 months or more, you need an AFP National Police Check — the nationwide check issued by the Australian Federal Police, which is different from a state police check:

• Apply online on the AFP website; the fee is paid at application and the result is delivered via the channel you select.
• Choose the right purpose type: for Australian immigration/citizenship matters, the commonly used code is code 33 (Immigration/Citizenship) — verify against the current AFP instructions before submitting, because the wrong code can mean redoing the check.
• The Department requires the AFP national check — a single state police check generally won’t substitute.

The 12-month validity window — time it against your lodgement plan

Police clearances are usually accepted within 12 months of issue. That sounds generous, but it’s where many applications stumble:

• Apply too early, while you’re still gathering everything else, and the certificate expires before the application actually needs it — back to square one.
• For long-queue applications, certificates can expire while the application is waiting — the Department can then request fresh ones.

The sensible strategy: put police checks in the “do last” group of documents, on the same rhythm as the health examination — both have similar shelf lives. Finish the documents that don’t expire first (qualifications, civil extracts, relationship evidence), then trigger the ones with a countdown clock.

What if you have a record — disclosure always beats concealment

This is the most important section of the article. Having a record does not automatically mean refusal: the Department assesses character based on the nature of the offence, the sentence, how long ago it happened and the circumstances — case by case.

Concealment, on the other hand, is almost always worse than the conviction itself. Remember that Certificate No. 2 shows even expunged convictions — meaning the information will be on the case officer’s desk whether you disclose it or not. Answering “No” to a criminal history question while the certificate says otherwise turns a character issue that can be explained into an honesty issue — the kind that can lead to refusal with long-lasting consequences for future applications.

The right approach: disclose fully, attach a statement of circumstances (what happened, when, how things have changed) and supporting documents if available. That account must also match what you write in Form 80 and Form 1221 — inconsistency between documents is exactly what case officers are trained to find.

Translating and certifying the Vietnamese certificate

The judicial record certificate is issued in Vietnamese, so it needs a certified translation attached. The safest standard is a NAATI-certified translator (if translated in Australia) or a certified translation with the translator’s details (if translated in Vietnam) — we cover this in detail in NAATI translation and certifying Vietnamese documents. Submit both the Vietnamese original and the translation, not the translation alone.

Key takeaways

Police clearances are the classic “easy to get, easy to get wrong” document: wrong certificate type (No. 1 instead of No. 2), wrong timing (requested so early it expires), or wrong handling of a record (hiding instead of explaining). The compact rule: list every country where you spent ≥12 months in the last 10 years, get Certificate No. 2 for Vietnam and the AFP check for Australia, time the 12-month validity against your expected lodgement date, and always disclose. If your case involves a record or a complicated multi-country residence history, book a free assessment with VisaAffairs to review it before you lodge.

References

• Department of Home Affairs — Character requirements — character requirements and police certificates for Australian visas.
• Australian Federal Police — National Police Checks — applying for an AFP check online and choosing the purpose type.

This article is general information current at publication. Australian migration rules change regularly — check the date and contact VisaAffairs before relying on it for your own case. Book a consultation for advice on your specific circumstances.