From December 1, 2025, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will only accept police clearance certificates issued by a Regional Passport Office of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, when required from Indian national visa applicants who reside in India.
Indian visa applicants were previously allowed to provide police clearance certificates from an Office of the Deputy Commissioner or Superintendent of Police, or from their local police station. These are in an inconsistent format and more difficult to authenticate so will no longer be accepted from December 1, 2025.
Requirements for Indian nationals outside India, and for non-Indian nationals who currently or have previously resided in India, have not changed.
Indian national visa applicants resident in India are advised to leave enough time to request the correct police clearance certificate.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or if you have case-specific questions.