When we are talking about the validity of China Police Clearance Certificates, we have to pay attention to the issuing authority (Notary Office) and the oversea immigration authorities.
The issuing authority of China Police Certificate does not specify the expiry date
The notarial certificate of China Police Certificate does not show the expiry date, only issue date can be found.
But if legalization by China's MoFA is required, the legalization has to be done in 6 months from the date it's issued.
Immigration authorities set varied standards for the validity of Police Certificate
As you can see the issuing authority of China Police Certificate do not specify the expiry date, immigration authority of each country might set its own standard for the validty of China Police Certificate which will be used in its jurisdiction. The table below shows the validity of China Police Certificate in popular countries.
Validity of China Police Certificate |
Exception |
|
USA |
expire after 12 months |
have not returned China since the police check was issued |
Canada |
no more than 6 months before application. |
at any date after the last time you stayed in China for 6 months or more in a row. |
UK |
no earlier than 6 months before the date of application | at any date no earlier than 6 months before your last period of stay ended. |
New Zealand |
less than 6 months old when submit application |
|
Australia |
12 months from the issue date |
|
Immigration authorities' official web pages about the validity of police certificate
USA Department of State's web page on police certificates, Last reviewed: 20 Feb 2020.
Canada Government’s web page on police certificates, Date modified: 2018-10-18.
UK Government’s web page on police certificates, Last updated: 11 January 2018.
Immigration New Zealand’s web page on police certificates, Last reviewed: 20 February 2020.
Australia Government’s web page on police certificates, Last updated: 18 December 2019.