To wonder what 'Security Clearance' actually involves?

[ArsenicSoup]

Do they rifle through your bins?

[Mark999]

Hi. I am in a process of getting SC Clearance. I've received a letter saying that they want to arrange a face to face interview with me. I was a bit surprised as I had SC in my previous employment and there was no interview. Has anyone had SC Interview before? Any suggestions as to what I might be asked? Thank you.

[PixieofCatan]

Dp is doing his placement year for a company who do techie work for the MOD. Apart from taking a good few sittings to complete the security questions (his was online), there wasn't anything too intrusive. They asked about his parents and mine though, and if he had any involvement in terrorist organisations, but the rest was mainly just relatively standard information!

[givemushypeasachance]

Someone I know through work recently had to be interviewed when her husband was applying to work in the security clearance team at the MOD - obviously they want to thoroughly check out the people who are going to be checking out everyone else! I think it took about six months to do all the checks from initial acceptance to him starting; and this was for a guy who'd only been married once and who had worked for the civil service already basically his whole life. I remember there was a particular issue with relatives who were British citizens but who'd been born overseas - that was apparently a 'flag'.

[ArsenicSoup]

It seems to be SC. So that's quite mild?

It wasn't my (married, monogamous, continuation-sheet free) sex life that worried me. It was the idea of anybody might speak to my mother and still want to employ a member of this family

Mind you, I had the same apprehension about her meeting DH and that worked out ok

[TheSpottedZebra]

Interesting, thanks both!

[shadowfax07]

Zebra, when I couldn't supply some of the information on one of the forms, I phoned our security office to be told that they are looking for honesty, so to fill out the form as honestly as I could, and explain why there might be inconsistencies. I'm not DV cleared though, that may change things.

[CMOTDibbler]

I believe (and obv I don't know for sure) that this is the case - I know that orientation and ONS isn't an issue apparently. Anything secretive, being firmly in the closet to family otoh is an issue as you might do things to avoid it being in the open.

[TheSpottedZebra]

Do they genuinely not care, CMOT? (within relatively broad parameters, natch). Is it ok to be gay, to have multiple partners, ons etc?

I spose I am thinking about Gareth Williams there... Not saying that he was into any of that, of course if not know, just wondering if he'd have had the freedom to be himself with regards to his job.

[CMOTDibbler]

Correct Zebra - they don't care what you are doing and with whom, but you have to be honest about it so it can't be used to blackmail you.

Norbert - you can tell a lot more about people in person than on the phone, its all the non verbal cues.

[TheSpottedZebra]

Why he interest in sex life for developed vetting? Is it trying to flush out blackmail worthy material?

[NorbertDentressangle]

A friend of DPs recently got a job linked to government technology (or something like that as details were naturally vague and sketchy).

He put DP down as a personal character reference as they've been good friends for over 30 years. Anyway this organisation sent someone on a 400 mile round trip one day to meet DP to talk about his friend for an hour. Why the discussion couldn't be over the phone or via email I don't know. It couldn't have been for privacy/security reasons because they met in a coffee shop for the 'interview'.

The wages for a days work and expenses for a 400 mile trip seemed a bit OTT for an hours chat!

[BuckskinnedAstronaut]

Depends on the level.

I was a referee for one friend who was getting her security clearance raised -- the security guy (who was named Alan Partridge!) called me and talked through how long I'd known her and her husband and how we'd met, whether either of them used drink or drugs and how much, that sort of thing.

My brother needed much higher level of security clearance once and he needed to submit a detailed family tree going out quite a way, and security people came and talked to my parents' neighbours, all my brother's ex-girlfriends, and had clearly checked up on the rest of us because my parents' neighbour started to say something about me and they said "No, no, we know all about Buckskinned, tell us about TheOtherBrother..." My parents had funny noises on their phone line around that time too, although that might just be paranoia...

[BrieAndChilli]

DH has security clearance for somewhere that doesn't officially exist. We had to answer questions on parts and grandparents and great grandparents, my stepdad who is Irish, financial details, if either of us had had an affair, and loads more quite personal questions I can't remember.

[Siarie]

Haha no they don't go through your bins..or do they , naturally there isn't much information given out about the various clearance level processes.

[Cinnamoncookie]

I had a temporary job in a government department a few years ago, and it took them six months to do my basic security clearance. It finally arrived the week before I left ! Wonder what would have happen if they'd decided I didn't pass

[500smiles]

at continuation sheet

[ChairOfTheBored]

I have SC, and it was basic financial disclosure and details of my parents and husband.

Wouldn't fancy DV though - no skeletons but I think I'm worried they'd find me too dull!

[BeanCalledPickle]

They asked my friend for details of all recent intimate relationships, to which she had to write 'please see continuation sheet'.

[Summerisle1]

DS1 works in an industry that requires very high levels of security. He was most apologetic the other week when he phoned up and said they also wanted to know all about DH (not DS1's father) as well as me. Apparently I'd already passed whatever security test they'd done on me which came as a surprise since I wasn't exactly quiet on the political activism front in the past.
Quite a lot of information had been required too.

[CaurnieBred]

Has been a while since I had DV level clearance but the thing I can remember is that they were very strict with regard to personal finance - ie, no high levels of debt allowed.

[500smiles]

I think the vetting is quite wide, ranging from family with political sympathies, to if you've any addictions / secrets that could be used as leverage against you to disclose information.

Re Hedgehogs friend being followed - that makes sense, they want to know what you do / who is in your social sphere and that what you tell them matches to the truth.

[UnicornsAndGlitter]

Aa Irene said Developed Vetting is the serious one and takes around 6 months IIRC. Its normally clear on the job spec if DV is required, if it just says security clearance it won't be that serious I imagine they don't want to waste time interviewing people who are not willing to go through that level of intrusion for the job. After all if you can't handle it in a safe situation you're gonna sing like a bird when kidnapped .

[Wigeon]

Do you know if it's CTC, SC or DV? There are different levels of clearance depending on the kind of material you might be seeing in the job. Is the policy area one where you might expect to be seeing secret documents on a regular basis? If not, it'll probably be CTC or SC which are pretty straight forward - no bin rifling!

[TwoAndTwoEqualsChaos]

IIRC, there was a form to be completed, mostly about proving who you and your parents were. Much longer for British nationals born elsewhere or with foreign parents.

[ArsenicSoup]

I'm not surprised hedgehogs. Several of things on this thread would make me think twice.