UAE Police Clearance by Country: India, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Nigeria

If you need a police clearance certificate (PCC) for a UAE work visa, budget three to six weeks end to end and expect the paperwork to cost far more than the certificate: the document itself runs from roughly AED 5 (Pakistan, PKR 350 in Punjab) to about AED 45 (Bangladesh, BDT 1,500) — Nigeria's portal fee varies and is confirmed at payment — but the legalisation chain — foreign-ministry attestation at home, UAE-embassy attestation in the issuing country, and a final UAE MOFA stamp (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called MOFAIC until May 2023) — adds several hundred dirhams and most of the waiting. The requirement is administered by the ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security) for Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern emirates; Dubai's GDRFA runs its own track: its work-visa service page lists no good conduct certificate, so for a Dubai visa confirm with an Amer centre whether one is needed.

At a Glance

India: Passport Seva at home, Al Hind ICACs in the UAE

Applying in India

Indian PCCs are issued by Regional Passport Offices through the Passport Seva portal (passportindia.gov.in). Register, complete the PCC form, pay online and book an appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). The fee is INR 750 (about AED 32); Passport Seva says passport fees were revised with effect from 1 July 2026, so older guides may still quote a lower amount. If your current passport already carries a clear police-verification record, the PCC is frequently approved at the PSK visit itself and issued within days; if the RPO orders fresh police verification, allow up to 30 days.

Applying from the UAE

If you are already in the UAE — on a visit visa, cancelling status, or switching employers — apply through an Indian Consular Application Centre (ICAC) run by Al Hind Tours and Travels, which has fronted consular services for the Consulate General of India in Dubai and the Embassy in Abu Dhabi since 22 July 2026 through 16 centres across the emirates (BLS International no longer handles Indian consular work in the UAE). Under the Embassy's fee schedule in force from 1 July 2026, the PCC fee at the Indian missions and ICACs is AED 145, plus the ICAC service charge of AED 19 (and the Indian Community Welfare Fund charge where it applies); verify the exact dirham figure on the ICAC fee list at consularsevainuae.com before you go, as pre-July listings showed lower amounts. Clean records are commonly reported at two to four weeks; applications referred to India for fresh verification can run six to eight weeks or longer.

Attestation for UAE use

India has been an Apostille Convention member since 2005, but an apostille by itself is not what the UAE asks for: RAKEZ's notice relaying ICP's update requires UAE Embassy attestation. The working chain is MEA attestation in India, then UAE Embassy or Consulate attestation in India and UAE MOFA. The embassy in New Delhi and the consulate in Mumbai offer MOFA's digital attestation: one application on MOFA's website, with UAE PASS, covers both stamps, and a MOFA-approved service provider collects the original. When a typing centre asks for an "attested PCC", this chain is what they mean — ask them to confirm in writing whether your employer's channel accepts an apostille in place of the embassy step before paying for either.

Pakistan: Khidmat Markaz counters and the consulate route

Applying in Pakistan

Police character certificates are issued at district level. In Punjab, apply at any Police Khidmat Markaz or online via pkm.punjab.gov.pk; Sindh, KPK and Islamabad police operate equivalent counters and portals. The fee varies by province — PKR 350 (about AED 5) at Punjab's Police Khidmat Markaz counters, more in some other jurisdictions — and issuance times vary too, from three working days at Punjab's counters to two weeks or more elsewhere. Identity is verified against NADRA records, so your CNIC and passport particulars must match exactly — mismatches are the single most common cause of delay.

Applying from the UAE

Punjab's own route does not need you in Pakistan: a blood relative (a parent, brother or sister, for example) can apply for you at any Police Khidmat Markaz with your authority letter, which Lahore Police accept with the stamp of the Pakistani mission, or otherwise attested by two respectable people who know you, stating how long you stayed at the address. Applying through the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai or the Embassy in Abu Dhabi is also reported — fingerprints taken at the mission, the file forwarded home and the certificate couriered back in around three to four weeks — but we found no mission page confirming that route or its fee, so confirm with the consulate before relying on it.

Attestation

Have the certificate attested by MOFA Pakistan (any camp office), then by the UAE Embassy in Islamabad and UAE MOFA — one application on MOFA's website covers both, and the embassy says most requests take 2–3 business days (MOFA's page allows up to 7). Pakistan joined the Apostille Convention in March 2023, but that changes nothing for UAE-bound documents — the UAE is not a member, so the embassy chain stands.

Philippines: NBI clearance, DFA, then the UAE embassy

Applying in the Philippines

Register at clearance.nbi.gov.ph, book an appointment, and pay the PHP 130 clearance fee plus an e-payment charge of about PHP 25–30 (about AED 10 in all) via GCash, Maya, 7-Eleven, Bayad Center or online banking. Biometrics are captured at the NBI centre, and if your name raises no "HIT" (a namesake with a record), the clearance is typically released the same day; a HIT adds anywhere from a few days to two weeks for manual verification. Choose the purpose carefully at application — the multi-purpose category is the safe pick for overseas employment paperwork.

Renewing from the UAE (OFWs)

If you hold an NBI clearance issued 2014 or later, you can renew online without appearing in person — commonly reported at around PHP 200 for applicants abroad — and have the new clearance delivered to a Philippine address, where a representative with authorisation can handle the next steps. First-time applicants abroad instead obtain NBI Form No. 5 (fingerprint card) through the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai, have prints taken and authenticated, and mail the card to NBI Manila; allow several weeks.

Legalisation

Have the clearance authenticated by the DFA — PHP 200, paid as "Apostille Expedite" through its appointment system for NBI clearances, with the release date printed on your transaction slip (the DFA's general schedule lists PHP 100 regular, released after five working days, and PHP 200 expedited, after two). The Philippines has issued apostilles since 2019, but because the UAE is not an Apostille party, the DFA certificate must then be attested by the UAE Embassy in Manila, and finally by UAE MOFA.

Bangladesh: fully online at pcc.police.gov.bd

Applying in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Police runs a fully online PCC system at pcc.police.gov.bd: create an account with a Bangladeshi mobile number, upload your passport bio page and address documents, and pay the BDT 1,500 government fee (about AED 45) by treasury challan, or online by card plus its service charge. The local police station verifies your recorded address before sign-off; end-to-end times of one to two weeks are commonly reported, but vary with the district workload.

Applying from the UAE

The Consulate General of Bangladesh in Dubai supports expatriates through its designated service centre (Foshwa Global, Karama): submit your original passport with an authorisation letter for attestation at AED 14 per document (plus service-centre charges), a step the consulate quotes at a minimum of three business days. You then apply on the police portal — which still requires an active Bangladeshi mobile number — and your authorised person in Bangladesh receives the certificate and couriers it onward.

Attestation

The certificate needs MOFA Dhaka attestation (Bangladesh has also issued apostilles since 30 March 2025), then UAE Embassy attestation in Dhaka, then UAE MOFA. As with every country on this page, the apostille is a bonus for other destinations, not a substitute for the UAE-embassy step.

Nigeria: POSSAP and the Force CID

The Nigeria Police Force issues the Police Character Certificate through the POSSAP portal (possap.gov.ng), replacing the old requirement to appear at the Force CID, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos — though biometric capture at a designated police facility is still part of the flow. The processing fee is displayed at payment on the portal and must be paid only through POSSAP — reported figures for international-use clearances vary widely, from around NGN 10,000 to NGN 30,000 or more, so treat any amount an agent quotes with caution. The Nigeria Police Force quotes 5–7 working days once documentation is complete, or 2–3 working days on its express service at extra cost; budget two to four weeks end to end, as timelines vary by command. From the UAE, POSSAP takes diaspora applications: you upload proof of residence abroad (an Emirates ID, tenancy contract or work permit, for example) and pay in US dollars the exact amount the portal shows. There is no established consular issuance route, so confirm how the biometric step works for you with POSSAP or the Nigerian Embassy in Abu Dhabi before paying any third party. Nigeria is not an Apostille Convention member, so the chain is unambiguous: legalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, then the UAE Embassy in Abuja and UAE MOFA, in one application on MOFA's website.

Side-by-side: portals, fees and timelines

Issue times above exclude attestation. Add one to three weeks for the home MOFA, UAE embassy and UAE MOFA steps combined, and courier legs if you are applying from the UAE.

The attestation chain — and the apostille trap

Four of these five countries can apostille documents, which tempts agents into selling you the wrong product. The UAE itself is not listed as a contracting party to the Apostille Convention on the HCCH status table as of October 2026 — despite some guides claiming otherwise — and RAKEZ's notice relaying ICP's update specifies attestation by the UAE embassy for home-country certificates. Treat an apostille as useful only if you also need the same PCC for a Hague country. The chain that reliably clears UAE processing:

1. Obtain the PCC from the issuing authority listed above.
2. Have it attested by your home country's foreign ministry (MEA, MOFA Pakistan, DFA, MOFA Dhaka, MFA Abuja).
3. Have it attested by the UAE embassy or consulate in the issuing country.
4. Complete UAE MOFA attestation — in the same online application as step 3 where the embassy offers MOFA's digital attestation (India, Pakistan and Nigeria do; AED 300 for both stamps, as MOFA's attestation application quotes), otherwise online in the UAE (AED 150 per personal document, 1–3 business days by courier).
5. Submit it with the new work entry permit while the certificate is under about three months old.

Step-by-step detail and fee tables are in our UAE attestation guide.

Timing, validity and what a missing PCC does to your application

UAE channels commonly expect the certificate to be issued within the last three months, and the attestation chain eats two to four of those weeks — so do not order the PCC months before a job search, and do not sit on an issued certificate. The practical sequence: start the home-country application as soon as you are seriously interviewing, run attestation immediately after issue, and keep scanned copies of every stamp. If a work permit is filed without a required PCC, the application is typically returned or rejected rather than held — which burns fees and restarts the queue; see what UAE visa rejection codes mean and track your file via the channels in our visa status guide. The circulating three-phase list adds nationals of China, Iran and South Africa from 15 November 2026 (Phase 3); no official notice we found confirms it, so ask the entity filing your visa and follow the same logic with your own issuing authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a PCC for a UAE visa from India?

Apply on the Passport Seva portal and attend a PSK appointment; the fee is INR 750 from 1 July 2026. If you are already in the UAE, apply through an Al Hind Indian Consular Application Centre (ICAC) for the Indian missions, where the PCC fee is AED 145 plus the AED 19 service charge. For a PCC issued in India, complete MEA attestation, then the UAE embassy and UAE MOFA in one application on MOFA's website. A PCC issued through an ICAC comes from the Indian mission in the UAE, so confirm its attestation route with the mission or with MOFA (80044444) before paying an agent.

Which NBI clearance category should I choose for a UAE work visa?

Select the multi-purpose category when applying at clearance.nbi.gov.ph. It costs the same PHP 130 clearance fee, plus an e-payment charge of about PHP 25–30, and avoids re-applying if the certificate is needed for more than one transaction.

How much is a police clearance certificate in Pakistan for the UAE?

The fee varies by province: PKR 350 at Punjab's Police Khidmat Markaz counters (Lahore Police's published rate), more in some other jurisdictions. Issuance times also vary, from three working days in Punjab to two weeks or more elsewhere. Attestation by MOFA Pakistan and the UAE Embassy in Islamabad follows.

Can I get my home-country police clearance while already in the UAE?

Usually yes. India runs applications through Al Hind's Indian Consular Application Centres; in Punjab a blood relative can apply for you at a Police Khidmat Markaz with your authority letter; the NBI allows online renewal for clearances issued 2014 or later; Bangladesh's Dubai consulate attests your documents so a representative can complete the online application. Nigeria has no established consular route, but POSSAP takes diaspora applications paid in US dollars.

Is an apostille enough, or do I need UAE embassy attestation?

An apostille alone is not sufficient. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention as of October 2026, and RAKEZ's notice relaying ICP's update specifies attestation by the UAE embassy for home-country certificates, followed by UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) attestation, which at several missions comes in the same online application as the embassy step.

How long is a police clearance certificate valid for UAE immigration?

Issuing countries print validities of six months to a year, but UAE practice expects the certificate to have been issued within roughly the last three months at the time of the visa application. Time the application so attestation finishes well inside that window.

How long does the whole process take?

Three to six weeks is realistic: same-day to 30 days for issuance depending on the country and police verification, plus one to three weeks for the attestation chain and couriers. Start before your offer letter is finalised if your nationality is on the list.

Does the PCC requirement apply to visa renewals?

Renewals of existing residence visas generally do not require the certificate; the rule targets new work entry permits. Requirements for other new categories vary by emirate and channel, so check the current position in our good conduct certificate guide before assuming an exemption.

Related reading: start with the good conduct certificate rule and its nationality lists, then see the UAE visa guide hub for the entry-permit process, family sponsorship requirements if dependants follow later, and what happens after approval in our Emirates ID guide.