CBR Business Solutions now offering Overseas Criminal Record Checks

Organisations recruiting staff or volunteers are now able to obtain Overseas Criminal Record Checks from CBR Business Solutions, offering employers an extra level of safeguarding reassurance.

Criminal records held overseas cannot be accessed by the UK’s Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) so a Disclosure may well not provide the complete picture in regards to an applicant’s history if they have lived outside of the United Kingdom.  This might be because they are a foreign national, but it also applies to UK citizens who have lived abroad.

‘Only in extremely rare circumstances are any overseas criminal records held by the Police on the Police National Computer and therefore DBS checks will most likely only flag up UK based convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings.  So if anyone has committed an offence abroad this is highly unlikely to be picked up.’ explains Will Hough, DBS Counter-signatory with CBR Business Solutions.  ‘‘Many organisations, particularly in the care sector, employ a number of non-UK nationals yet may not be aware that they can obtain Overseas Criminal Record Checks as part of their recruitment process.’

Oversea checks usually take 2-3 weeks to process with the cost ranging significantly from £32 for the Republic of Ireland up to £630 for Taiwan.  All prices are quoted exclusive of VAT.  OCRC CBR customer price list Jan2021

Will acknowledges that the unavoidable high cost of checks from some countries may seem prohibitive, but it is a cost that many employers are willing to incur, to ensure their safeguarding procedures are as robust as possible.

‘It is important to bear in mind though that different countries have different laws and what may be considered an offence in one country may not be here in the UK, or vice versa’, adds Will. ‘In the United States for example, it is an offence to buy alcohol under the age of 21, but obviously is not the case here.  You have to be mindful of what the conviction is for, and not just the presence of a conviction in itself.’

Will also reminds clients that an OCRC does not demonstrate a legal ‘right to work’ in the UK and employers still need to ensure that potential staff also meet this criteria.

It is to be noted too that Covid has led to some disruption for the processing of overseas checks from some locations, with some countries reducing capacity and others suspending processing altogether.

If you would like our knowledgeable DBS team to assist with Overseas Criminal record Checks for your organisation, get in touch. 

Take part in our fun CBR Business Solutions OCRC Quiz!

And then (don’t cheat!) here are the CBR Business Solutions OCRC Quiz Answers