Police Clearance Certificate

If you need to register your Profession (Beruf) for the first time in Germany, you might need a South African police clearance, otherwise, you do not need one. These will typically be for professions like Doctors, Pharmacists or Attorneys.
If you apply for a new job in Germany, the new employer might request a German Führungszeugnis.

South African Police Clearance Certificate

In South Africa, you can apply for a Police clearance certificate at your local police station.
The process can take up to six months.

The official documentation you can find at the South African Police Service.
They have an online application form available.

According to the SAPS Website: “If you are already outside of South Africa, you can do the following:
“Applicants living abroad may forward the application and required documents directly to the Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management (CR & CSM) for processing. Applications received from abroad will not be returned to the applicant.
The applicant must monitor progress via the SAPS website and upon completion arrange for collection as indicated on the application form. For security purposes the certificate will only be handed over to the person nominated by the applicant or chosen courier service. Note that certificates not collected within three months after finalisation will be destroyed.”

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Germany

A similar document can be obtained in Germany. It is called das Führungszeugnis.
This is basically a certificate of good conduct for the time you are in Germany
You need to apply for this at your local Towns office /Bürgeramt, although in some towns it must be done at the Rathaus. The best would be to just search for Führungszeugnis and your town’s name e.g Führungszeugnis Leinfelden.
To qualify for this document you need to be registered at the Bürgeramt and live in Germany.

Some companies will ask for a Führungszeugnis before they make you a job offer.
When looking for a place to rent, you might also be asked for a Führungszeugnis as well as a Schuffa (Credit report)

Online option:

Ihr Online-Wegweiser zu Ihrem Führungszeugnis

More information from the Federal Office of justice