Available. Korean National Police Certificate (KNCP) is available to visa applicants of any nationality who were physically present in South Korea after 1945 and who are either now in or out of South Korea. KNPC is unavailable for persons who were present in Korea only before 1945. KNPC request forms may be downloaded from www.usembassy.state.gov/seoul.
To obtain a KNPC, a visa applicant must submit a KNPC request (SEO-11) and supporting documents to the U.S. consular section that is processing the visa application. That U.S. consular section then forwards the SEO-11 to U.S. Embassy SEOUL/CONS/IV, which will send it in turn to the KNP for processing. The KNP takes three weeks to process a KNPC once it receives all documents in hard copy and good order. The KNP does not accept "rush" or faxed/e-mail requests. There is no fee for the KNPC. The KNP will only process one KNPC request per applicant every two years. U.S. Embassy SEOUL/CONS/IV will forward the hard copy results to the U.S. consular section processing the visa application. SEO-11s must include the applicant's visa case number, including the three-letter consular post code and preferred return mail address, or email address if time is of the essence.
The KNPC may not include derogatory information essential to determining visa eligibility due to a 1980 Korean law that expunges certain data regarding crimes and convictions at stipulated times after sentences have been served. Short of an applicant's admission to an expunged crime, it is impossible to know the complete criminal record of a KNPC subject.
KOREAN CITIZENS: The KNP performs checks of Korean citizens according to each Korean citizen's unique, lifetime Korean identification number, found on Korean national identity cards and Korean passports adjacent to the applicant's name.
Korean citizens residing in Korea must submit two copies of SEO-11, one KNP hangul request, three 4x4 cm photographs, and one copy each of their Family Census Register (FCR) (hojeokdeungbon) and Residence Register (Jumideungnok Deungbon) issued within the last three months. A married Korean woman must additionally submit one copy of the FCR from which she was removed after her marriage (Jejeokdeungbnon).
Korean citizens residing outside of Korea must submit two copies of SEO-11, two 4x4 cm photographs, one copy of their FCR and a photocopy of their passport identity page.
NON-KOREAN CITIZENS: KNPC checks of non-Koreans are done according to the requestor's name, nationality and date of birth, as well as passport number used during their stay in Korea if available. If a non-Korean's name is likely to have different romanizations, please include the phrase "the English spelling of the subject's name may be inexact" on the SEO-11. Regardless of current address, in or out of Korea, non-Koreans must submit two copies of the SEO-11, two 4x4 cm photographs and a photocopy of their passport identity page. |
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