What is a Criminal Record Certificate and when do I need one?

If you are applying to enter the UK as a Skilled Worker, depending on your job type, you may be required to submit a Criminal Record Certificate (CRC) with your application. A CRC is evidence of your criminal record, or that you do not have one, on an official document. 

When do I need to submit a CRC?

A CRC is usually only required for applications submitted outside of the UK. However, if you are in the UK, this may also be a requirement from your employer.

You may be required to submit a CRC if the job you are coming to do in the UK involves working closely with children or vulnerable people. This includes work in the health, education and social care sectors. 

As part of a Skilled Worker application your employer must choose an occupation code (job type code) that most closely matches your role. If the most appropriate occupation code is included on the CRC list, you will be required to submit a CRC with your application. Such occupation codes include ‘2215 Dental practitioners’, ‘2231 Nurses’, ‘2317 Senior professionals of educational establishments’, etc. Consequently, if you work with children or vulnerable people, you should ask your potential employer to confirm the occupation code (also known as SOC codes) under which they believe your role falls.

If your partner will be accompanying you to the UK as your Dependant, and their job will be in one of these sectors, they may also be required to provide a CRC with their application.

Which countries do I need a CRC from?

You must provide a CRC from every country that you have been present in for 12 months or more (continuously or in total) over the last 10 years, whilst over the age of 18. The Home Office provides guidance on how to obtain a CRC from particular countries here. 

If you travel frequently, including repeated visits to the same country, you may find that cumulatively you have in fact been present in one or more countries for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. You should therefore obtain a CRC from this country to submit with your application. 

However, if it is not possible to submit a CRC from a certain country, this must be explained in the application, and it may be helpful to submit evidence confirming the same. This could be because the country does not have an official procedure for issuing CRCs or because the country does not hold such records about you. The Home Office can waive this requirement if they deem that it would not be practicable to obtain a CRC from a relevant country, but this will be dependent on the particular circumstances.

Gherson has extensive experience advising on Skilled Worker applications and obtaining Criminal Record Certificates.

How can we help?

Gherson’s Immigration Team are experienced in all of the above business visa applications. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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