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Philippines

The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) provides ‘clearance certificates’ which are issued to those individuals that do not possess a criminal record (or have only relatively minor convictions recorded against them).

Before a Filipino worker is issued with an entry visa to the UK, they must be in possession of a valid UK work permit. In order for a Filipino to receive a work permit the individual must be issued with a certificate from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).  The proper procedure for being issued with a POEA certificate includes the need for the individual to present an NBI clearance certificate to the POEA authorities.

Application procedure

The application procedure depends on from where the application is made.

If applying from within the Philippines:

Applicants should go in person to the Headquarters of the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila, the NBI Clearance Centre, Carriedo St, Santa Cruz, Manila, NBI satellite offices in City or Municipal Halls, or any NBI District/Provincial Office.

If applying from the UK:

UK residents who have spent a period of residence in the Philippines can apply for NBI Clearance Certificates via the Embassy of the Philippines in London. It is possible to telephone the Embassy to request an application form (which takes the form of a fingerprint card) and guidance notes.

The contact details of the Philippine Embassy are as follows:

Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines
9A Palace Green
London
W8 4QE

Tel: Consular services: 020 7 937 1600 ext 235
Fax: 020 7 937 2925

Email: embassy@philemb.demon.co.uk

In addition to the personal details specified in the NBI guidance notes, applicants are also required to provide:

  • A full set of fingerprints. The Philippine Embassy in London provides a fingerprinting service for those wishing to apply for a NBI Clearance Certificate, for a fee.
  • A black and white passport photograph.

Once applicants have filled in all the details on the application and had their fingerprints taken, then the completed application (including photo) should be posted to:

Identification and Records Division
National Bureau of Investigation
NBI Compound
Taft Avenue
Manila
Republic of the Philippines

Cost

Applications made from within the Philippines:

The NBI charges 135 Pesos for each clearance certificate.

Applications made from the UK:

Applications sent from the UK should contain an International cheque/postal order to the sum of $4.00 or PHP200.00 payable to "Director, National Bureau of Investigation".

Content of certificates

There is no provision in Philippine law allowing for criminal offences to be deleted from a record, nor is there legislation equivalent to the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

NBI clearance certificates will either specify that there is "no record on file" or will give remarks relating to an individual's criminal record if a record is found to exist.

The NBI clearance certificate contains a scanned photograph of the applicant, along with the right thumb print and a barcode that enable future certificates to be produced without the need to submit another set of fingerprints.

Turnaround time

Requests for clearance certificates made in person at the NBI headquarters are dealt within 24 hours if the details given by the applicant do not result in a match to a criminal record.

No timing was given for overseas applications.

The CRB has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained herein is as accurate and comprehensive as possible. In order to maintain the accuracy of the information, the CRB will update the information periodically.

However, the CRB cannot be held responsible for the level of service provided by overseas authorities. As such, please do not contact the CRB regarding applications submitted to overseas authorities.

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