Will My Police Caution or Arrest Record Show Up on The Police National Computer if I Move Abroad?
Will my caution or NFA be disclosed in England and Wales?
Police retain details of all recordable offences until the individual reaches 100 years of age. However, there are rules in place which means that even though the caution or No Further Action (NFA) is on your record, it may not be automatically disclosed on a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
The Police Act 1997 created the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to enable employers to check your criminal history in some circumstances. When carrying out a check there are four main types of DBS checks that an employer can do:
Basic - check for unspent convictions.
Standard - check for spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings.
Enhanced - standard check plus any additional, relevant information held by local police which includes no further actions.
Enhanced with Barred Lists - Enhanced check plus checking if the individual has been added on the Children’s and Vulnerable Adults barred lists.
In 2013, the Government introduced “filtering”. This means that not all spent cautions and convictions will be disclosed on the DBS certificate. For adults, these include cautions that were received at least six years ago. There is, however, a list of offences that the filtering rules do not apply to.
This means that even though the caution stays on the Police National Computer until you reach 100 years old, if you live in England and Wales then, after six years, your caution may not appear on a DBS check.
Do the filtering rules apply if I move abroad?
The answer is No.
The filtering rules apply solely to England and Wales. Whether your caution or NFA will be disclosed on visa applications will depend on each individual country and what documents they request within an application.
Over the last couple of years, Saunders Law have been instructed frequently by individuals wishing to relocate to countries such as China, Canada and the United States of America. Many counties are changing their visa process and are requiring an ACRO certificate as proof of an individual’s criminal history. Unfortunately, the filtering rules do not apply to the Police National Computer itself, and so your complete criminal record will be disclosed to the requesting State, regardless of the length of period that has passed since the incident. It is, therefore, important to consider whether you should make an application for deletion.
If you have an incident on your record that you would like to have it removed because you are considering relocation, please contact our Crime & Regulatory Department who would be happy to discuss how we can assist.