ICP Now Requires Police Clearance Certificates for 16 Nationalities — Here's the Translation Step Most People Miss

A new ICP directive landed in early April 2026 via internal memo from a Sharjah freezone authority. It requires applicants from 16 nationalities to submit a police clearance certificate as part of their entry permit application. The requirement is real, the confusion is widespread, and there is one procedural step that most people — including experienced PROs — are getting wrong.

The 16 nationalities

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.

If you hold a passport from one of these countries and are applying for a new entry permit through the Northern Emirates, a PCC is now part of your application file.

What the directive requires

The requirements depend on where you are:

Outside the UAE or on a tourist visa inside the UAE:

• PCC issued from your home country
• Attested by the UAE Embassy in that country
• Then attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

Inside the UAE on a cancelled residence visa:

• PCC issued within the UAE through Dubai Police or MOI

The attestation chain is non-negotiable. An unattested PCC will not be accepted, regardless of which authority issued it.

The step most people are missing

Here is where applications are going to stall.

Most PCCs from the 16 affected countries are issued in the national language. Algeria and Cameroon issue in French. Cuba and Mexico in Spanish. Indonesia in Bahasa. Sri Lanka in Sinhala. Nepal in Nepali. Several African countries issue in local languages or a mix of English and local language.

ICP processes documents in Arabic or English. If your PCC is not in one of those two languages, it needs certified translation before the attestation chain begins.

This is where the sequence matters critically:

1. Obtain PCC from home country authority
2. Translate into Arabic or English
3. UAE Embassy attestation
4. UAE MOFA attestation

Step 2 must happen before step 3. Attestation stamps authenticate the document as it exists at the time of stamping. If you attest the original PCC first and then translate it, the translation is not covered by the attestation seal. ICP will reject it. You restart from step 3.

We have already seen this mistake play out with other attested documents. The PCC directive will produce the same problem at scale because many of the affected countries issue certificates in languages that require translation.

The exceptions

Egypt, Iraq, and Algeria typically issue PCCs in Arabic. If yours is fully in Arabic, skip translation and go straight to attestation. But verify carefully — some Algerian PCCs include French sections, and some Egyptian certificates from certain governorates have mixed-language formatting. When in doubt, send it to us and we confirm in minutes.

What this means for HR teams and PROs

If you sponsor staff from any of the 16 nationalities, every new entry permit file now has an additional document requirement. Factor the PCC timeline into your recruitment and onboarding schedules.

For candidates already in the UAE on cancelled visas, the path is simpler — a UAE-issued PCC from Dubai Police or MOI comes in Arabic and English. No translation needed.

For candidates being recruited from abroad, plan for the full attestation timeline: typically 2-4 weeks from PCC receipt to MOFA attestation, depending on the home country and embassy processing times.

Timeline to expect

• PCC issuance: Varies by country (some take weeks)
• Certified translation: 1 business day
• UAE Embassy attestation: 1-2 weeks
• MOFA attestation: 3-5 business days

Start early. A delayed PCC holds up the entire entry permit.

If you have a PCC in any language that needs translation before attestation, send it via WhatsApp. We confirm the language, translate same-day, and advise on the attestation chain for your specific country.