Individuals who have lived outside the island of Ireland for 6 or more continuous months since the age of 16 years are required to submit an original police certificate(s) from the country or countries of residence (with authenticated translation where necessary). This applies to all volunteers / employees who have contact with children and vulnerable adults (and who are also required by legislation to undergo ROI Garda Vetting or Access NI).
All appointments in relevant volunteering roles / jobs working with children and vulnerable adults will require satisfactory police clearances.
Please note, if you require overseas police clearance and are unable to produce it at the time of the volunteer role / job offer then the volunteer role / job offer may be withdrawn.
Your police clearance must be dated AFTER you left that country and cover the entire period of your residence. Seeking police clearances from other countries (e.g. UK, USA etc) are the responsibility of the candidate. It is a process which can take an amount of time. Therefore, if you are interested in being recruited within the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul we would strongly advise that you commence seeking international police clearances now.
Note: Applicants who lived / worked / studied outside of the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland e.g. in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland), please pay particular attention to this. You will require UK clearance to cover the entire period you were in the UK. Clearance must be dated after you left the UK.
Please click below to read the FAQs relating to Overseas Police Clearance
- It is a certificate from a Police Force from a country you lived in for 6 or more continuous months other than the island of Ireland. It will state if you have any convictions and must be dated after you left that country.
- Compliance with regulatory bodies (HSE / TULSA) policies for people working/volunteering with children and adults at risk.
- Compliance with SVPs Child Safeguarding Statement.
- Compliance with best standards for safe recruitment.
- Anyone who has lived outside the island of Ireland for 6 or more continuous months or more since the age of 16, who is going to be working/volunteering with children and adults at risk.
- Certificate must be dated after leaving the country applicant lived in.
- Must be translated into English by an accredited translation company.
- Click HERE to learn how to obtain overseas clearance.
- The applicant is responsible obtaining the certificate and all costs associated with it.
- It must be submitted and approved before commencing work/volunteering with children and adults at risk.
- Where the certificate discloses a criminal offence, it will be dealt with in accordance with SVP’s Garda Vetting policy.
- Each applicant will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The applicant may also be required to submit a self-declaration form. - SVP reserves the right to stipulate the type of certificate required where more than one is available from a particular country.
Please do not send us your overseas clearance or any other documentation unless we request it from you. Applicants who accept an offer of a volunteer role or job will have specified timeline within which to produce the required documentation; otherwise the volunteer role / job offer will be withdrawn. These timelines are communicated to you at during the recruitment process - typically this is 5 working days.
When requested, a copy of your overseas Police Clearance will be retained on file and the original returned to you by post.
Note: Any costs incurred in this process will be borne by the candidate.
