The International Schools Review Forum

How common is it to have to produce a background check of countries you've lived in, and how likely is it to be worthless if obtained before you actually left the country? Or if it is more than a year old?

I'm debating whether or not to go through the bureaucratic process of getting it done before I move, in the off chance I need it in the future. To get it from overseas in the future will require some money and granting someone power of attorney, it seems, so very difficult. At the same time I see requirements like Canada where the check cannot be more than three months old, so it would be useless to have one done now.

I would know the visa requirements of the country(yes) you plan on living in. Some do require background checks, oftentimes with FBI fingerprint check (if you're a US citizen), which is a bit of a pain, but definitely not impossible to do abroad. (That depends a bit on where you are, I guess--from Europe, it was no problem, but I can't speak for SEA, for instance.) If you know you will need them soon, get them done--always better to do the proper research first. But yeah, usually they have to be quite recent.

Its more the minority that immigration would require a CRB, its more the IS and either its compliance with regulation or just best practices. In general most ISs want a CRB from your HOR (where you domicile), from whatever the national agency is that maintains CRB data. Some ISs do want a CRB from every region youve resided in for longer than some specific amount of time.

Often the CRB must be conducted within a year or less at the time of being submitted, recent however can be as recent as 3 months.

Sorry I could have been more clear - I'm living in a foreign country at the moment, and wondering if I should pick one up before I go (I've been here nearly 3 years). It sounds like it's not worth the hassle. The next country I'm going to doesn't require it so by the time anyone wants to see it, it will be some years old.

@cms989

I would pick one up, once you depart, you dont need a continually recent one. A CRB at departure, would be one of those things you may never need, but would be one less headache if the day should come that you do.

I would say get one before you go. More schools seem to be asking for them and (even in a country like Egypt) are relatively easy to get. There is also something called the ICPC which some schools require - it's based on the UK DBS system and run by Hampshire Police.

Personally, as a parent I wouldn't send my child to a school where teachers weren't CRB checked - it's not going to solve all the problems but it might solve some.

@expatscot

The ICPC isnt like a DBS CRB, it is a DBS (expanded) CRB. The only difference is the ICPC can be self initiated by the IT without having to have an employing sponsor. Its the expanded DBS version of a Basic DBS from Disclosure Scotland.