International background checks: Everything you need to know
As part of our partnership with Zinc, a leading global provider of all-in-one background checking solutions, we’re excited to share this insightful article to help you better understand the importance of efficient, compliant, and scalable background checks. Whether you’re hiring locally or internationally, robust screening processes are essential to building trust, ensuring compliance, and protecting your company culture.
What’s the process for a criminal check in Argentina? How do I get educational credentials from Canada? What are my requirements for checking right to work?
If you’re doing international background checks, there are a lot of things to consider. For global companies, it’s one of the biggest challenges during the hiring process.
Every country has its own laws around personal information and data protection, plus important cultural and legal considerations. If you’re wondering where to start, we’ve put together a guide that covers:
- The challenges you need to be aware of
- What to consider when you’re running international background checks
- How to make the process simpler
Understanding these three things can help you stay compliant with local regulations and mitigate risk for your business. Let’s dive in.
What are the challenges with international employment background checks?
If you’re hiring a candidate from abroad, or operating your business in multiple countries, it’s important to be familiar with your responsibilities as an employer. You should be aware of:
- Local laws
- Cultural differences
- Language barriers
- Privacy regulations
To make things more complicated, certain countries restrict access to personal data, which can make it challenging for employers to verify details like credit history or criminal records. And, on an international scale, you also have to adhere to universally recognised regulations like GDPR.
Here’s what to consider:
The good news? A thoughtful, structured process can help you sidestep risk and stay compliant.
Legal considerations for international background checks
If you’re hiring non-UK nationals, you have to navigate country-specific legal restrictions that impact background checks. Depending on the country, it can be hard to access certain information.
Once you’ve got the information you need, you have to abide by any rules and regulations in the country you’re hiring or running checks in, and make sure that any information is only used for hiring purposes.
Beyond just data privacy, you should also consider any applicable anti-discrimination laws in the country, as well as the foreign worker’s visa status. As always, staying compliant with local laws will help you avoid any potential legal issues.
Flex your approach based on different countries
If you’re running international background checks, you can’t have a one-size-fits all policy — no matter how convenient that would be.
Regulations vary significantly across countries. As an example, many European countries (including the UK, France, Germany, and Italy) prohibit employers from running checks that could reveal a candidate’s political leanings. But in countries like Denmark, these checks are fair game.
To ensure you stay on the right side of the law, research the data privacy laws of each country you’re hiring in and understand what you can and can’t ask for.
Additionally, the way countries (and even regions) run background checks can change, so you’ll need to adjust your hiring processes accordingly.
The best way to ensure compliance is to take a case-by-case approach. Zinc’s global background checking tool helps you to:
- Filter checks by country or continent to see regulations
- Access recommended checks based on each country’s laws
- Estimate turnaround times for different checks, including international criminal background checks
Data protection regulations for international background checks
Thanks to the digital age, there are countless pieces of personal information that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Great news for background checks, bad news for personal security.
Countries worldwide have passed new laws to protect the security of our personal data, and employers need to take these laws into account when they’re running background checks.
Outside of the standard GDPR requirements, some countries have laws that put strict limitations on the types of data that you can collect, and regulations on how it can be stored or shared.
These laws can vary drastically between countries, and non-compliance can have legal and financial consequences. Given how complicated international background checks are, it’s a good idea to work with a lawyer or a background checking provider to ensure you’re compliant (more on that in a sec).
Cultural considerations
Different countries have unique values, norms, and legal frameworks — so it’s essential to understand local regulations before proceeding.
It’s also important to consider cultural sensitivities and make sure you conduct background checks ethically and responsibly. In some cases, language assistance or sensitivity training might be required to help smooth the process.
How background checking providers can help
International background checks might be confusing, but they don’t have to be.
A good background checking provider (like Zinc) can help you verify candidate credentials and legal documents from anywhere in the world, ensuring accuracy and consistency. In many cases, they’re a trusted partner in your goal of hiring a safe and secure workforce.
When you’re recruiting from abroad, you have to do your due diligence to make sure you’re hiring the right person. Background checking providers can help with:
- Employment verification
- Educational credential verification
- Reference checks
- Identity checks
- International criminal record checks
- And more
Not only does this reduce your risk, but it adds an extra layer of assurance that you’re hiring qualified and trustworthy employees.