Criminal record check

Who needs to provide a criminal record check?

We require a criminal record check from applicants who have spent 6 months or more (in a single period) in a non-UK country in the last 5 years.

Please do not start your application until you have obtained your check because some countries can take several months to process a request. Criminal record checks must be submitted with your application.

The criminal record check must cover the entire country, not just one state or province. For example, we require an FBI Identity History Summary for the USA and a RCMP Criminal Record Check for Canada. It must also cover all types of criminal offence (not only sexual offences / offences relating to vulnerable groups).

If you are based in the UK and require a check from the FBI you may obtain this directly from the FBI or via their approved FBI channelers.

Exceptions

Disclosure Scotland checks your criminal history information held in the UK, as well as from your country of nationality, if your country of nationality is one of the following:

Germany
Lithuania
Netherlands
Portugal
Romania
Hungary
Greece
France
Ireland
Italy
Spain
Poland

If you are a national of one of the above countries and have spent 6 months or more in the past 5 years living in your country of nationality, you do not require to obtain an overseas criminal record check for this country.

Where should I get this statement?

ThIs can be obtained from:

police or judicial authorities
government departments
the Home Embassy/consulate of your country

The UK Government website provides useful information about how to obtain overseas criminal record checks, including contact details for the appropriate authorities.

How long are criminal record checks valid?

These are only valid for application purposes for 6 months from the date of issue.

This does not apply if you relocated to the UK before the 6-month period expired and have not been a resident in the country concerned since.

What happens if I don’t submit a check?

You have a maximum of 28 days to submit your check if you do not submit it at the time of application. After this period the application will be closed.

If this happens, you will be required to submit a new application and pay a further £185 Qualified outside Scotland administration fee.

What if the police authorities in the country concerned need GTC Scotland to confirm that the police clearance is a requirement?

In some countries (e.g. Hong Kong and Singapore) the police authorities require a letter from the body which has requested the criminal record check before they will process the application.

If this applies to the country where you have been a resident contact us before you apply to obtain this letter. If you apply without doing this and your criminal record check is delayed beyond the normal 28-day deadline for provision of missing documents, we will not be able to provide an extension to allow you to obtain this.