SC Clearance

doire_2

Hello All,

I live in Northern Ireland but work for an IT company based in the Republic of Ireland. I live close to the border and its not far to drive to the South so before Covid I was working there 5 days a week for the past 3 years
The other day I applied for a job with a London based company that offered a remote role. I got a call from them today to explain my working and living circumstances. They said as I had been working for more that 3 months in Ireland my SC clearance was no longer valid and would not be granted again for 5 years after I stop working in the South.
The company look after UK government contracts and they know that if they applied to have me SC cleared it would be rejected.

I didn't know that this was the case. Has anyone experienced this before? I was SC cleared for 13 years before I took the job in Southern Ireland. Is there any way to appeal this? 5 years is along time to have to wait before applying for roles that involve the government

Thanks

Andy_L

Clearances do expire (a short time) after leaving your last job that needed them.


Either they've misunderstood and are confusing living overseas (where you do normally need 5 years back in the UK) with working overseas (& yes I appreciate that you weren't, technically literally, overseas)  or they don't want to take the risk of a rejection as they are paying for it and are blaming HMG instead of admitting it.

richardw

I had the same thoughts as Andy_L , is Ireland abroad? Overseas?

doire_2

Just to confuse things - people in Northern Ireland can have a British or Irish passport. I know some people have both.
Not sure if that makes a difference!

techwatcher

richardw said:

I had the same thoughts as Andy_L , is Ireland abroad? Overseas?

Yes, Ireland is not part of the UK and therefore considered to be abroad.

doire_2

techwatcher said:

richardw said:

I had the same thoughts as Andy_L , is Ireland abroad? Overseas?

Yes, Ireland is not part of the UK and therefore considered to be abroad.

and if you live in NI but work abroad is SC clearance not approved for a minimum of 5 years?  Seems a bit harsh

richardw

It’s part of the Common Travel Area thingy though.

Andy_L

richardw said:

I had the same thoughts as Andy_L , is Ireland abroad? Overseas?

I meant in the strict, pedantic interpretation of overseas, as the OP just drove over the border rather than going "over sea".

As techwatcher said, It counts as a foreign country for the purposes of security clearances. 

techwatcher

doire_2 said:

techwatcher said:

richardw said:

I had the same thoughts as Andy_L , is Ireland abroad? Overseas?

Yes, Ireland is not part of the UK and therefore considered to be abroad.

and if you live in NI but work abroad is SC clearance not approved for a minimum of 5 years?  Seems a bit harsh

It would be if it were true. Your SC will have lapsed. The London company is incorrect. You live in NI (which is in the UK) but have worked in Ireland which is considered to be abroad for the purposes of security clearances. There's a UK residency requirement of 5 years for SC, a criterion which you meet by living in NI, so there's no reason that an application for SC cannot be made.