PCC Apostille for Saudi Arabia

We do not issue PCCs and we do not apply for them. If you turn out to need one, you apply through Passport Seva (PSK, POPSK or the Regional Passport Office) or at the police. We only apostille a PCC you already hold.

Most people going to Saudi Arabia do not need a PCC

For years, a police clearance certificate was part of the standard visa stamping file for Indian workers heading to Saudi Arabia. In November 2022 Saudi Arabia announced that Indian citizens no longer had to submit a PCC to get a Saudi visa. That change still stands.

Many agents, older checklists and websites have not caught up. We regularly hear from people who were told to "get the PCC apostilled for Saudi" by someone working from a list made years ago. Before you book a Passport Seva appointment or send us anything, ask the person who gave you the list one question: is the PCC required by the Saudi visa process, or by the employer? If the answer is the visa, and nothing else in your file mentions it, you can most likely skip it and save both the PCC fee and our fee.

We would rather tell you this now than apostille a certificate nobody will look at.

When a PCC is still asked for

The exemption covers the visa. It does not stop a Saudi employer, sponsor or professional body from asking for a PCC for its own reasons. The requests we still see usually come from:

• An employer whose internal policy asks every new hire for a background check, often for security, finance or hospital roles
• A licensing or registration step for a regulated profession, where the authority's own checklist lists a police certificate
• A sponsor who asks for it at the residence permit (iqama) stage
• A family member's file where the sponsor has been told to include one

If one of these applies, ask for the request in writing, by email or on the employer's portal. A written request tells you exactly which document they want and how it should be stamped, and it protects you from paying for something that was never needed.

If it is needed: only the QR e-apostille

Saudi Arabia now takes the MEA apostille in place of the old Saudi Embassy attestation chain. The catch is the format. Saudi offices look for the newer MEA e-apostille, which carries a QR code that links to the MEA's online record. The older apostille sticker without a QR code is the one that gets turned back.

When the PCC comes back, scan the QR code with your phone before you hand anything over. It should open the MEA record with the same apostille number and date as the sticker. Keep a clear, uncropped scan, because Saudi employers often ask for the scan first.

Sending us your PCC

• The original PCC
• A clear copy of your passport (front and back pages)
• The written request from your employer, sponsor or licensing body

In Delhi, you can drop the PCC at our New Ashok Nagar office and collect it from there. From other cities, courier the original to us, and we return it by Blue Dart or another secure courier with a tracking number. We give you a time estimate with the price, before you send anything.

Questions about a PCC for Saudi Arabia