Certificate of Good Conduct 6 Months Validity

Note: This is part of a series of hidden blog posts I wrote about my preparation to move to New Zealand. Though posted weekly, the original date stamps will give you an idea of how time-consuming this process takes. At the end of each post, I will add in new details that I have learned since then.

[Originally written on 23/3/2010]

I just found out recently that New Zealand's immigration department (NZIS in short) will only accept Certificate of Good Conducts up to 6 months old. Darn.

I'll have to spend RM30-ish again to get a new Certificate because my first cert is dated January.

[End of original post]

Luckily I didn't have to because I submitted all my supporting documents (including this certificate) a few days before the 6 month expiry date.

A Certificate of Good Conduct is a piece of A4 paper issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that basically states that you are a citizen of good conduct with no prior blots in your history. It is required as a background check for long term migration processes, and some countries issue a Police Certificate instead.

Certificate of Good Conduct Sample

For Malaysians, this can be obtained from Kementerian Luar Negri in 2 ways:

1. Queue up at their Putrajaya headquarters with the necessary forms.
2. Send the necessary forms and a self-addressed self-stamped envelope to Putrajaya.

Option 1 is the fastest while Option 2 can take up to 3 weeks (or more). However, (this is unconfirmed) Ivan mentioned that the wording on certificates is different. Option 1 is worded to sound like it's a preliminary check, while Option 2 is a more comprehensive certificate. Again, I can't confirm this.

I went with Option 2 as I already detest traveling to KL, what more Putrajaya! I downloaded the English forms from the Ministry of Foreign Affair's Forms page. Just fill it up, get it stamped by a Commissioner of Oaths, and send it over with the required fee. I placed a self-address Pos Ekspres A4 envelope to ensure it arrives promptly, and it arrived 2 weeks later without any complications (which would be a totally different story if I were Anwar Ibrahim) :P