Garda vetting timeframe for people who have lived abroad?

Dubman7

Hi all,

I’m really interested in applying for the Gardaí when the new recruitment campaign opens early next year. It’s a job I’ve always wanted to do, and I believe I’d be good at it. I’m physically fit, of good moral character, I believe I have a lot of the traits needed to make a good police officer etc…

However, I’ve heard numerous stories about the vetting process—how long it takes and how people are often left in the dark about where they stand with their application. I’m in my late 20s, and I decided to spend much of my 20s traveling and enjoying myself before settling down as I approach my 30s. Over the past decade, I’ve lived in more than seven different countries. I've gained a lot of life experience and wouldn't change it for the world but now, I’m wondering whether this might hurt my chances of getting into the Gardaí?

I’ve never been in trouble with the law, but I’ve heard of people who have never lived outside of Ireland, applied in 2022-2023, and are still waiting for their vetting to come through. On top of that, I’ve been told the process takes even longer if you’ve lived abroad. I appreciate that it’s a long process for everyone and there’s multiple stages and hurdles to get through but would having such a long vetting checklist from multiple different countries make this dream of mine practically improbable or highly unlikely?

I’ll apply regardless, but I’m curious to hear from anyone who might be in a similar situation or has past experience with this. Do you think living abroad will work against me? Could it be a deciding factor that prevents me from getting the job, even though I’ve gained a lot of life experience—something I believe is encouraged before joining the Gardaí? I’ve loved my time in my 20s, but it’s frustrating to think that my travels and experiences might negatively impact my chances of securing the job I've always wanted, especially when the Gardaí are reportedly desperate for more recruits.

Any feedback on this would be much appreciated, thank you!😊

Lauras5839

I can't comment on whether it will count against you as I don't know the details of the recruitment process but you might want to start working on getting police clearance certificates from every country where you spent more than six months. If they're foreign language, get them translated by a certified translation service here and while I'm not certain this step is required by the guards, if you want to be extra cautious get the translation notarised by a public notary. I know for sure of one government department that asks for that, but you could wait and see what the guards say about that bit as if that's needed it would be quick enough.

However I know for sure that getting those foreign police certs can take ages and the guards won't seek that themselves on your behalf as they can cost money etc.

I was vetted for the prison service, I'm not sure how similar it is but it did take a couple of months and a guard called out to my parents house to ask about me and then he called me when I wasn't there and asked a bunch of questions about friends and about my partner at the time. Again that's my only experience and I didn't live out foreign but it did take a while.

Best of luck with your application! :D