I will be very grateful for those of you who are also from Africa and who have been through CP in London to post your experiences as I have found it very difficult to get information from London Embassy on issues relating to required documentation (police report from Africa).
I have just become current in August and have limited time to prepare. I have also heard that there is a great difference in the exchange rates they use at the embassy i.e., $/£ conversion. Any information will be helpful.
The problem I had was that when I received the first notification, there was sheet that specified that I did not require the certificate as the country of my elagibility was on a list of those that did not provide the certificate or was not obtainable, therefore I qualified for an exemption.
But, upon checking earlier this year, the exemption information was not there and even the London Embassy refere to UCIS for further information. They did not reply to my request for clarification on the matter.
It is very difficult to get a police report from UK.
The sheet you are referring to which was sent with your first NL is an old one! I had the same problem as well! The updated version is on the UCIS page. On the old list, it was stated that a Police Certificate is not needed from countries like Sierra Leone, Ghana etc but if you go to the updated page on the UCIS website, you will notice that they now require a police certificate from Ghana! I think it will be sensible for you to follow the information given on the UCIS page. Just try and obtain a police certificate from all the countries you've lived in for more than 6 months, to be on the safe side. It takes about 6 weeks to get a UK Police certificate and it costs £10.
Guys be careful.... uk police certificate doesn't cost £10 and it doesn't take up to 6 weeks.Check out this link for the latest http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp
If you are from Ghana or Nigeria then you need to obtain a fingerprint from scotland yard and send it to your native country to be certified.It is a long and tedious procedure so please get the facts right to avoid disappointment.There is a thread which details info on how to obtain police certificate from Ghana so you can fork it out.
Clarification:
Abeku66 thanks for the acpo website.
I got my UK "Person Record: Prosecution/Conviction" (which is also referred to as "Subject Access") last year and not a "Police Certificate". I was told at the time that UK Police do not give "Police Certificates but that they do give "Prosecution/Conviction History" for immigration purposes. I filled out the form and sent the required documents with the sum of £10 to the National Identification Service, New Scotland Yard. It took approximately six weeks for me to get it. It's not yet expired so I can still present it at the interview. I got this from the FAQs page of the acpo website:
When will the Embassies or High Commissions cease accepting the Subject Access Certificate
After the 15 August 2008, the USA will no longer accept subject access for visa interviews. Other Embassies and High Commissions have not yet fixed a date. My interview is before the 15th Aug. so I'm covered - or I'm I not?