Police Certificates
All applicants aged 16 years or over must submit a police certificate from their current country of residence and/or nationality if they have lived there for six months or more. Police certificates are also required from all other countries where the applicant has resided for at least one year. A police certificate must also be obtained from the police authorities of any place where the applicant has been arrested for any reason, regardless of how long he or she lived there. Police certificates must cover the entire period of the applicant's residence in any area. A certificate issued by the police authorities where you now reside must be of recent date when presented to the consular officer. Certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issuance.
Police certificates from certain countries are considered unobtainable. To determine which countries’ certificates are unobtainable, please check the State Department's pages on Visa Reciprocity. If specific questions arise regarding police certificates, please consult our Immigrant Visa Unit.
Please attach IV-F06 (PDF - 96.7 kb) Police Certificate Cover Letter to the certificate Request Form (PDF - 79.7 kb) to obtain a police certificate from Poland.
Court and Prison Records
Persons who have been convicted of a crime must obtain a certified copy of each court record and any prison record, regardless of the fact that he or she may have subsequently benefited from an amnesty, pardon or other act of clemency.
Court records should include complete information regarding the circumstance surrounding the crime of which the applicant was convicted, and the disposition of the case, including sentence or other penalty or fine imposed. All court records, including Polish court records, should be translated into English.