By John Elvidge
Remote working has proliferated over the past decade. While in many ways, it simplifies a lot of employment-related issues, there are certain areas where things get a little bit more complicated.
One of these areas is surrounding the onboarding process, in particular for those living in a different country from their employer. Below, we focus on how that impacts background checks in particular, exploring whether or not you can get a DBS check from a UK company while living overseas.
The short answer is that yes, you often can, but it won’t always be simple or sufficient, depending on a range of factors.
How DBS checks work
DBS checks can be applied for from UK companies for those working overseas, but it’s important to understand how DBS checks work to understand their limitations in these contexts.
DBS checks are a type of background check specific to the UK, carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). As a result, these checks are only able to disclose any criminal information from the UK.
Who might need to get a DBS check while living overseas
Below, we’ve gone through a few potential scenarios where it might be necessary to get a DBS check
Those with a recent UK address history
If you’ve only recently moved abroad from the UK, then the majority of your recent potential criminal history – the kinds of things DBS checks look for – will still be relevant to the UK.
As a result, DBS checks will still be an important and relevant tool that UK-based employers will want to use to make sure that you’re not lying about your past, and are suitable for your role.
Roles where a DBS check is a regulatory requirement
For a number of roles, a DBS check will be a regulatory requirement. In these cases, it won’t be optional for the company – they will either have to use a DBS check or find an alternative, relevant to the country you’re living in, that covers them legally.
Employers will have to work with background check experts like Personnel Checks to figure out how to do this, often on a case by case basis.
Additional considerations
For candidates living in countries other than the UK, there is a chance that they have a criminal record in that country that DBS checks won’t be able to access.
For certain roles, it might then be necessary to also provide a criminal background check from that country as well, instead of or as well as a DBS check. What this check will look like exactly will obviously depend on the country in which the candidate is living.
Getting a DBS check while living overseas can be more complicated than when you’re living in the UK, but it is often possible. If you’ve been living overseas for a long time, then you will likely need to get a criminal background check carried out in the country or countries you’ve been living in, either as well as or instead of a DBS check.
