Developed Vetting

Hetup

My husband has to do one of these for his job..

I have £5400 credit card debt that i have not told him about.. Will they tell him? will it affect his DV?

If i told him it would be divorce for sure, so there is no way i can tell him, unless i have a definitive plan in place.
Please help?

I did a credit check of myself and it came up as "good" so will that help?

agrinnall

From what I recall of the explanation of DV when I applied for a job that required it I wouldn't be surprised if the debt is found, and that it affects your husband's application, but I wouldn't have thought they would tell him about it. Of course, if he doesn't get the job as a result he may think there's some issue in his background, so perhaps you should be working out a way of telling him just in case [for richer, for poorer....].

Andy_L

The debt itself, assuming its affordable, is unlike to prevent his clearance

https://www.gov.uk/security-vetting-and-clearance#personal-finance

"Why do you need my/my partner’s financial information?

If you or your partner have previously been, or are currently in serious financial difficulty, or show signs of financial irresponsibility, you could be vulnerable to pressure or bribery.

Debts such as mortgages, loans or credit cards will not normally affect your suitability to hold a DV clearance as long as you are able to keep up the repayments properly. However your financial situation will be carefully considered and each case will be judged on its merits."

Your problem is if they ask him about it if he hasn't declared it in the paperwork he sends in since they ask for 3 months worth of credit card bills from both of you.

You could phone them and ask - they must have had similiar situations before
https://www.gov.uk/security-vetting-and-clearance#contact-us

notanewuser

DH has DV and there is nowhere to hide.

kloana

An applicant undergoing DV should never attempt to hide matters of this nature - there's just no point, and to lie on an application would be career suicide.

However, you're not the applicant. A situation where one half of a partnership is 'hiding' debt must be extremely common for the vetters. Although they may 'find' your debt, they will not be able to discuss it with your husband.

The questions asked as part of a DV application relate mostly to bad debt (CCJs, etc.), though there is a small section where the applicant is asked if their partner, to their knowledge, has debts of over £5,000 in their sole name. The applicant is also asked to list credit commitments of themselves and their partner, though if husband doesn't know, he isn't doing any wrong: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61938/NSV002-Active-2-8.pdf (hint: page 40 onwards)

It's extremely unlikely for DV to be refused just for having 'good' debts (that is, common or garden debts that are paid on time), provided that they don't comprise a large chunk of your income, or that said debts are not really affordable. Where a partner has such debts, refusal is even less likely (but these debts must still be manageable).

My stepdad holds SC (lower than DV, but the financial questions found on page 45 of the DV form are the same on the SC form). Although my mum has extraordinarily bad credit (I mean really bad), he went through one SC check (successfully) without knowing anything of her own debts (they include County Court Judgements and worse). They're done every 10 years. A year or so ago, his SC came up for review. Mum saw the form, panicked, and came clean. So he answered fully and truthfully, and still got SC (he does, however, have 30+ years' service in the same sensitive position, and has undergone many such checks over the years).

But, but, but - it may be a good idea to come clean. Particularly if this job opportunity means a lot to you as a family, and especially because DV status is reassessed every 18 months or so. You have to bear in mind that DV is essentially the top level of security clearance in the UK, though.

Hetup

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I think i will get a plan of action in place and then tell him. We have been in a much much worse situation before and it went through okay, so i am hopeful it will this time. I just would be so gutted if it was my fault he didnt clear

harrys_dad

Can I suggest that to help you sort out your plan of action you go over and post on the Debt Free Wannabe board, there are really helpful people there.