How to Get a Background Check in DR Congo for Ecuador Visa

The Extrait du Casier Judiciaire (Criminal Record Extract) is the official police clearance document issued by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is also referred to as a Certificate of Good Conduct (Certificat de Bonne Conduite) or Police Clearance Certificate.

This document confirms whether you have any criminal convictions or pending prosecutions in the DRC. It is issued by the Direction Generale de la Police Judiciaire (General Directorate of Judicial Police), through its Direction de l'Identite Judiciaire (Directorate of Judicial Identity).

Important: This guide is specifically for the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), not the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). These are two different countries with entirely separate government authorities and processes.

Ecuador requires this document for all visa applicants over the age of 18. You must submit one from the DRC and one from every country where you have lived for the past five years.

This is the most important thing to understand before you start.

Ecuador is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. The Democratic Republic of Congo is not.

For countries inside the Hague Convention, a simple apostille stamp is enough to authenticate a document for Ecuador. For the DRC, apostille is not available. Instead, your Extrait du Casier Judiciaire must go through a longer chain of authentication called consular legalization:

1. Direction Generale de la Police Judiciaire (Kinshasa) issues the certificate
2. Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres de la RDC (DRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs) authenticates the document's signature and seal
3. Embassy of Ecuador legalizes the document so Ecuador's immigration authority will accept it

Skipping any step in this chain will result in automatic rejection of your visa application.

Ecuador does not have an embassy in the DRC. The nearest Ecuador embassy in Africa is in Pretoria, South Africa (272 Bronkhorst Street, Brookfield Office Park, South Block, Second Floor, Brooklyn, Pretoria 0181). This embassy holds concurrent accreditation for the broader southern and central African region, including Angola, which borders the DRC. Contact them well in advance to confirm they handle consular legalization for DRC-issued documents and to arrange the logistics.

If You Are in the DRC (In-Person Application)

Apply in person at the Direction Generale de la Police Judiciaire, Direction de l'Identite Judiciaire, located at:

14, avenue Kalemie, Commune de Gombe, Kinshasa, DRC

The process involves: 1. Present yourself at the office with your required documents (see below) 2. Officers will capture your fingerprints 3. Your identity and criminal history will be checked against judicial records 4. The certificate is issued after processing

If You Are Outside the DRC

Apply through the nearest DRC embassy or consulate in your country of residence: 1. Contact the embassy to obtain the application form and confirm current requirements 2. Submit your identity documents and fingerprints at the embassy 3. The embassy verifies your documents and forwards your request to the Direction Generale de la Police Judiciaire in Kinshasa 4. The certificate is processed in Kinshasa and returned through the embassy

Note: Processing through an embassy abroad takes significantly longer than applying in person in Kinshasa, as documents must travel between the embassy and the central office.

Prepare the following before you apply:

• Valid passport (copy of data page, plus copies of all stamp and visa pages)
• National identity card (Carte d'Identite) or voter card, if available
• Five passport-sized photographs with a white background
• Completed application form (obtain from the issuing office or DRC embassy)
• Parents' full names and dates of birth (required on the application form)
• Place of origin details — village, sector, territory, district, and province
• Application and processing fees (see cost section below)

All documents should be originals or certified copies. The application form is in French, as French is the official language of the DRC.

After receiving your Extrait du Casier Judiciaire, you must have it authenticated by the Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) of the DRC in Kinshasa.

This step confirms the authenticity of the signatures and seals on your certificate. The Ministry verifies that the document was legitimately issued by the Direction Generale de la Police Judiciaire.

What to bring: - Original Extrait du Casier Judiciaire - Copy of your passport - Authentication fees

Processing time: Approximately 7 working days for standard processing.

Important: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication is mandatory for any DRC document intended for use abroad. Without this step, no foreign embassy — including Ecuador's — will legalize the document.

After DRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication, you must have the certificate legalized by the Embassy of Ecuador in Pretoria, South Africa (the nearest Ecuador embassy to the DRC).

Embassy of Ecuador in Pretoria: 272 Bronkhorst Street, Brookfield Office Park, South Block, Second Floor Brooklyn, Pretoria 0181, South Africa Tel: +27 12 346 1662 Consular Section: +27 12 346 1562 Hours: Monday–Friday, by appointment

What to bring or send: - DRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs authenticated original certificate - Copy of your passport - Completed consular legalization request (contact the embassy for their specific form) - Legalization fee (contact the embassy directly to confirm the current fee — consular fees are subject to change)

Logistics: Since the DRC and South Africa are not neighboring countries, you will likely need to send documents via secure courier (e.g., DHL, FedEx) or use a trusted document services agent in Pretoria. Contact the embassy by phone or email well in advance to: - Confirm they handle legalization for DRC-issued documents - Confirm current fees and accepted payment methods - Understand whether documents can be submitted by courier or require in-person presentation - Estimate turnaround time

Alternative: If you are applying for the Ecuador visa from a country other than the DRC (for example, from South Africa or Europe), check whether the Ecuador embassy in that country can handle the legalization step. This may simplify logistics.

Ecuador requires all documents not in Spanish to be translated by a certified translator. Your Extrait du Casier Judiciaire will be in French and must be translated into Spanish before submission.

Requirements for the translation: - Translated by a certified or sworn translator - The translator's signature and credentials must appear on the translation - Some consulates require the translation to be notarized

Timing: Get the translation done after the full authentication and legalization chain is complete. Translating before legalization may require you to translate again if stamps or annotations are added to the document during the authentication process.

Service option: EcuadorTranslations.com provides certified French-to-Spanish translation and notarization for foreign documents, with a standard turnaround of approximately $150 per document. This service is well-suited for the Extrait du Casier Judiciaire given its standard format.

Ecuador requires that your Extrait du Casier Judiciaire be issued within 180 days of your visa application date.

Critical rule that most applicants get wrong: The 180-day clock pauses while Ecuador is actively reviewing your application. The certificate does not expire during processing. If Ecuador takes 45 days to review your application, those 45 days are not counted against the 180-day window.

This means: - If your certificate is issued on Day 1 and you submit your visa application on Day 60, you still have 180 days of validity remaining — none of which is consumed during the review period - The 180-day limit applies to the window between issuance and the date you submit your application

Practical implication: Given the DRC's longer processing chain (issuance, MFA authentication, Ecuador embassy legalization, translation), aim to submit your visa application within 90–120 days of your certificate's issuance date. This gives you buffer time for logistics and any unexpected delays without cutting close to the validity window.

Ecuador requires background checks not only from your country of origin (the DRC) but also from every country where you have lived for the past five years.

If you have lived in other countries during the last five years — whether for work, study, or any other reason — you must obtain a separate police clearance certificate from each of those countries, following that country's own process.

Each additional certificate must also be: - Apostilled (if the country is a Hague Convention member) or legalized through consular channels (if not) - Translated into Spanish by a certified translator - Valid within the 180-day window at the time of your Ecuador visa application

Plan ahead: If you need background checks from multiple countries, start all processes simultaneously. The DRC certificate often has the longest processing chain, so begin with it first and work on others in parallel.