Overseas criminal record checks for new starters

If you have lived or worked abroad, a UK DBS check may not show your whole record. The Disclosure and Barring Service says it cannot access criminal records held overseas, so employers ask for a separate certificate from the country concerned. That certificate usually has to be in hand before your start date. Ask for it as soon as you accept a conditional offer.

What a DBS check misses

DBS guidance for employers says a criminal record check may not give a complete picture of someone who has lived outside the UK. In a small number of cases overseas records are held on the Police National Computer and would appear on the certificate. Otherwise the employer needs further information. You can still apply for a DBS check while you are overseas, and the employer must still verify your identity. The DBS levels guide lists what each UK check covers.

How employers handle it

The guidance says employers who want to check an overseas record should contact the embassy or High Commission of the country in question. They should also try to obtain a certificate of good conduct, plus any other references, from people who have worked abroad. Foreign police checks vary in standard, so the employer may ask the country’s authorities or embassy what a particular certificate involves.

Translation falls to you or the employer. DBS does not translate, so one of you has to obtain a certified translation of the certificate. The embassy of the country concerned may be able to help.

How you get a certificate

The process differs for every country. The Home Office page says the application process for criminal records checks, sometimes called certificates of good character, varies from country to country. You have to apply in that country or to the relevant embassy in the UK. The Home Office publishes separate country guides (A to F, G to P and Q to Z) with application details. Start there for the country you lived in, and ask whether the certificate can be requested from the UK.

DBS is not involved in applications to overseas authorities, and it is not responsible for how long they take or what they return. If a certificate is slow, tell the recruiter early and ask whether an interim arrangement is possible. Whether you can start before every check is complete depends on the employer. Starting before checks are complete explains how that works.

Visa applicants

Some visa applications have separate rules. The Home Office page states that all Tier 2 (General) visa applicants who want to work in specified health, education or social care sectors must provide a criminal record certificate. It must come from any country other than the UK where you have lived for 12 months or more, whether continuously or in total, in the last 10 years, while aged 18 or over. The same applies to adult partners applying to join you. The page says this does not apply to extensions of stay, and that applications without a certificate or a satisfactory explanation are refused. Visa rules change, so check the current Home Office guidance. See Health and Care Worker visa for nurses and care workers.

Schools and care roles

Schools in England follow safer recruitment rules that include extra checks for anyone who has lived or worked abroad. Safer recruitment in schools covers them, and the Keeping children safe in education publication on GOV.UK sets the full requirements.

What to check

• List every country you have lived in as an adult, with dates, before the employer asks.
• Find the issuing authority for each country through the Home Office guides.
• Ask the recruiter exactly what document they will accept and whether a translation is needed.
• Allow extra time, because overseas authorities set their own timescales.
• Check the conditional offer says what happens if a certificate is late.