A candidate’s history does not always remain within one country. Someone may hold a passport from one jurisdiction, qualifications from another and employment experience from several different regions. Each part of that history may need to be checked through a different source.
Global Screenings coordinates pre-employment background screening and verification assignments across Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Latin and South America. The screening scope is built around the candidate’s history, the position being filled and the records available in the countries concerned.
International Screening Is Not One Standard Search
Record systems differ widely between countries. An education record may be confirmed directly with an institution, while a court search may require a local registry, police authority or manual courthouse request. A professional licence may be available online in one jurisdiction and require written confirmation in another.
A global screening assignment may therefore involve a combination of:
- Online databases
- Direct verification with employers and institutions
- Government or regulatory records
- Court and police sources
- Professional bodies and licensing authorities
- Local-language media research
- Manual or local record searches
- Candidate-provided documents and authorizations
The same check may not be available in the same form, at the same cost or within the same timeframe in every country.
Global Pre-Employment Screening
International recruitment often requires employers to verify information supplied across more than one jurisdiction. A screening programme may include checks relating to identity, education, employment, credentials, work eligibility and relevant public records.
Available pre-employment checks may include:
Identity and Address
- Identity document verification
- National identity card checks
- Passport verification where relevant
- Current and previous address review
- Citizenship or nationality information where relevant and permitted
Education and Employment
- Education verification
- Previous employment history
- Job title and employment-date checks
- Employment gap review where included in the scope
- Professional and character references
Professional Credentials
- Professional qualification verification
- Professional licence checks
- Professional membership verification
- Approved-person or regulated-status checks where applicable
- Executive resume review
Work Eligibility
- Employment eligibility assessment
- Right-to-work checks
- Work permit verification
- Police clearance documentation where required
Role-Specific and Public Record Checks
- Criminal record checks where lawful and available
- Workers’ compensation history where legally available
- Driving history where relevant to the position
- Other role-related checks included in the approved screening scope
A fuller description of candidate checks is available on our Pre-Employment Screening page.
International Public Record Research
Public records may provide information about court cases, company interests, financial matters, ownership, sanctions exposure or other issues relevant to an authorized screening decision.
Depending on the jurisdiction and purpose, the search may include:
- Bankruptcy, judgment and tax-lien records
- Shareholder and directorship searches
- Sanctions and watchlist screening
- Politically exposed person screening
- Conflict-of-interest checks
- Property ownership records where available
- County, state or federal criminal records where applicable
- International criminal history searches
- Civil court record searches
- Local-language media searches
- Motor vehicle and driving records
- Financial and credit history where relevant and permitted
- National theft database searches where available
- Sex offender registry searches where lawful and accessible
Public record access differs significantly by country. Some jurisdictions provide detailed electronic systems. Others require a manual search through a local court, registry, authority or research source.
More information is available through Public Record Searches, Court Records Checks and Global Database Searches.
Electronic and Manual Verification
Online databases are useful where the relevant source provides reliable electronic access. They are not a complete substitute for direct or manual verification.
Manual research may be required when:
- The record is held by a local authority or courthouse
- The country does not maintain a complete online database
- A possible database result needs confirmation
- The source requires a formal application or supporting documents
- The information is available only in a local language
- The location is rural or less digitised
- An employer or institution must be contacted directly
The screening method should reflect the source that holds the information rather than relying on one search method for every country.
Local-Language Research
Important information may not be published in English. Local-language media, court records, company information and public notices can provide context that would otherwise be missed.
Where relevant, research may include:
- Local-language media searches
- Regional news sources
- Government and regulatory publications
- Corporate and court information
- English summaries or translations of relevant findings
A translated summary should preserve the meaning and context of the source. Allegations should remain attributed to the original publication and should not be presented as confirmed facts.
Matching International Records to the Correct Person
Names can be written differently between passports, local records and English translations. Transliteration, spelling variations, previous names and naming conventions can all affect a search.
Where available, a possible record should be compared with information such as:
- Full legal name
- Known name variations
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Current and previous addresses
- Passport or identification information
- Employer or institution details
- The jurisdiction in which the record was found
A similar name alone should not be treated as confirmation that a record belongs to the candidate.
Asia Pacific
Assignments across Asia Pacific may involve education and employment verification, professional credentials, company records, court or police documentation, local-language research and international public records.
The region includes countries with highly developed electronic record systems as well as locations where direct contact or manual verification remains an important part of the process.
Further information is available on our Asia Pacific page.
Africa and the Middle East
Screening across Africa and the Middle East may require a combination of employer and institution contact, government documents, company records, police-clearance information, court research and local-language media checks.
Source access, document formats and verification procedures differ between countries. Some assignments may require additional supporting documents or local research before coverage can be confirmed.
Visit our Africa & Middle East page for more detail.
Europe
European screening may involve employers, educational institutions, professional bodies, corporate registries, courts, public records and country-specific police or criminal record procedures.
Privacy, consent, record access and permitted use vary across the region. The screening scope should therefore be considered separately for each country rather than treating Europe as one record system.
More information is available on our Europe page.
Latin and South America
Assignments across Latin and South America may involve identity, employment, education, court, company, financial and public record research. Spanish, Portuguese and other local-language sources can form an important part of the review.
Electronic access differs by country and authority. Some checks may require direct contact, formal documentation or manual research.
Visit our Latin & South America page for regional information.
Online Screening Orders and Report Access
Organizations managing screening across several countries may need a central place to submit requests, review progress and access available reports.
Our E-Screening solution can support:
- Online screening orders
- Individual checks and approved packages
- Status tracking
- New, pending and completed order listings
- Access to available reports
- Report-completion notifications
- Authorized user accounts
- Invoice and order records
Authorized users can access the online system at any time, subject to account permissions, system availability and maintenance. This does not mean that every screening result is available immediately.
Screening Packages for Different Roles and Countries
A global programme may use approved screening packages for common positions, but those packages should still allow for local differences.
For example:
- A general employee may require identity, employment, education and eligibility checks.
- A driver may also require licence and motor vehicle records.
- A regulated professional may require licence and membership verification.
- A finance employee may require relevant financial-integrity checks where permitted.
- A senior executive may require directorship, reputation, litigation and conflict-of-interest research.
A check available in one country may need to be replaced with an appropriate local equivalent in another.
What Information Is Needed to Begin?
An international screening request is easier to scope when the candidate’s history and required checks are clear from the start.
Useful information may include:
- Full name and known name variations
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Current and previous addresses
- Countries of education and employment
- Employer and institution details
- Professional licence information
- Relevant identity documents
- The position being filled
- The checks required by the employer
- Any required notice or authorization
Incomplete information can delay a search or make it difficult to match a record to the correct person.
Timing and Availability
International screening completion times depend on the check, country and source. An online database search may be completed quickly, while direct verification with an employer, university, court or government authority may take longer.
Timing can be affected by:
- Source response
- Public holidays
- Local working hours
- Language requirements
- Manual record access
- Incomplete candidate information
- Additional documents or authorization
A realistic estimate should be provided after the countries and checks have been reviewed.
Privacy and Cross-Border Information
International screening may involve transferring identity, employment, education and other personal information between countries and authorized sources.
The requesting organization remains responsible for identifying its lawful purpose and managing any applicable notice, consent, privacy, retention and employment requirements.
Access to screening documents and reports should be limited to authorized people involved in the recruitment or review process.
Further information is available on our Data Protection page.
Understanding Global Screening Results
An unavailable result does not automatically mean that a candidate supplied incorrect information. An institution may not respond, a record may be restricted, or the information may be held under a different name or in another jurisdiction.
A global screening report should distinguish between:
- Information confirmed through an available source
- Information that could not be verified
- A possible match requiring further review
- A material discrepancy
- An allegation or unresolved matter
- A search that returned no available record
The employer should consider findings in relation to the position and follow its own recruitment and review procedures before reaching a decision.
Important Limitations
Global screening can help confirm information across several countries and identify matters requiring further review. It cannot guarantee access to every record, instant completion or a risk-free hiring decision.
Record availability, lawful access, source quality and completion times vary by jurisdiction. A search that returns no result does not necessarily prove that no relevant information exists.
Global Screenings provides findings from the agreed scope. Final employment, contracting and business decisions remain with the client and its responsible managers or professional advisers.
