Reply to: Security Clearance

[TykeMerc]

I thought that clearance was for one particular workplace. The agents say it lasts 12 months but when I asked the HR dept of my SC perm job they said it was no longer valid and was only for them, it was well below the 12 month limit discussed.

Either they were wrong or you were only BC (BPSS as it is now) cleared or you asked the wrong department. You need to talk to their Security team not HR really.
SC and DV are most definitely portable from one List X company to another provided you've not exceeded 12 months outside of a security cleared environment.

The length of time to obtain clearance is largely down to how busy the DVA are at the time, I understand that currently it's typically 2-3 months for SC and 9-12 months for DV which is much more complicated and involved.

[Bomber]

I thought that clearance was for one particular workplace. The agents say it lasts 12 months but when I asked the HR dept of my SC perm job they said it was no longer valid and was only for them, it was well below the 12 month limit discussed.

[DS23]

whs

[TheFaQQer]

If they want you enough, they can get clearance quicker. Someone I work with says she got her DV through in about 8 weeks, which is significantly quicker than anything I've heard of.

By the way, you shouldn't be disclosing whether you've got clearance or not...

[Pete Cullen]

It takes quite some time to get sorted too. I went through the SC process when I started my first contract for a MoD contractor and it took between three to four months to finally get the all clear.

Forms are very in depth too, the DV one is even more hardcore. But it's a very desirable thing to have, when I was looking a while back the agencies were really struggling to find people with DV clearance.

[Beefy198]

Through personal experience, sometimes even if you find a contract direct you need to go through an agency if they are on the 'approved' list.

So, in short, they take some poke for doing **** all

[TykeMerc]

Correct, while a Clearance is valid for a fixed period of time (X years) it lapses irrespective of how long is left if you don't work for a List X or Government Agency for 12 continuous months.

[stillooking]

any road; the Welsh shouldn't be allowed security clearance

[stillooking]

duh, somebody's already mentioned that!

[stillooking]

I've got CTC 'valid' til next year (or so I thought) but I was told last week by a rather annoying pseudo csltcy/agent that it becomes invalid if you've not worked at a security cleared site within 12 mths of leaving previous govt sec site, I think, I'm confused now...

[TheFaQQer]

CTC is now the standard requirement for working in any building that may be seen as a terrorist threat.

[TykeMerc]

Quoted from the DVA site.....

Employment Checks

Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) (formerly Basic Check (BC)) and Enhanced Baseline Standard (EBS) (formerly Enhanced Basic Check (EBC)): These are not formal security clearances. They are a package of pre-employment checks that represent good recruitment and employment practice. A BPSS or EBS aims to provide an appropriate level of assurance as to the trustworthiness, integrity, and probable reliability of prospective employees and should be applied to:

All successful applicants for employment in the public sector and Armed Forces (both permanent and temporary).

All private sector employees working on government contracts (eg contractors and consultants), who require access to, or knowledge of, government assets protectively marked up to and including confidential.

BPSS and EBS are normally conducted by the recruitment authorities or companies themselves to the agreed standard, and because they underpin the national security vetting process it is vital that they are carried out properly and thoroughly and before any further vetting is completed.

National Security Checks

Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) is required for people who will be working in close proximity to public figures, or who will have access to information or material vulnerable to terrorist attack, or whose work involves unrestricted access to certain government or commercial establishments. A CTC does not allow access to, or knowledge or custody, of protectively marked assets and information.

Security Check (SC) is for people who will have substantial access to SECRET assets or occasional access to TOP SECRET assets and information.

Developed Vetting (DV) is the highest level of clearance produced by the Agency and is required for people who will have substantial unsupervised access to TOP SECRET assets, or for working in or with the intelligence and security agencies.

A small number of clearances are granted in spite of some reservations. Risk management requires follow-up work and monitoring of some cases. This activity is termed "aftercare", and may be required in connection with any of the above clearances.

The BC level isn't transferrable between clients (even on the same site), I'm not sure about CTC, SC and DV are transferrable.

[TheFaQQer]

Nope - you need to be through a company that is either on List-X or the other list that they have which I can't remember.

Some agencies are on the list though and can get you security clearance - remember that it lapses once you are out of a cleared role for more than 12 months though. I know that Parity are on the list, because they told me that they could start the clearance process for me if I needed it for the last role I did through them.

HTH

[PAH]

It may depend on the level you're interested in. The top ones may be more feasible/useful/transferrable than the lower levels of clearance, as many companies seem to prefer to do their own basic clearance checks rather than trust any clearance you may have had in recent times.

Had two contracts requiring the basic security clearance (CTC?), one after the other, and I had to re-apply the second time, even though the confirmation for the first clearance said it would last a couple of years IIRC. The forms even looked the same.

So the short answer is "dunno". HTH.

[TykeMerc]

Nope. You need to be sponsored by a List-X company of the MoD direct... which is typically given when you are offered a role by such an employer.

What he said.

The DVA only issue and receive applicaions from List X companies and Government Agencies.