almukher

Hi all,

I am a UK citizen living in India for the past 20 years. I was born in the UK and lived there before my parents shifted to India. I have been working as a software developer and will pursue my Master's in Mobile Computing for 2 years in Finland.

After completing my M.Sc, I want to work and settle in the UK. Will my long absence from the country be a disadvantage while seeking work there (e.g security clearance etc)?

I would be glad for any advice.

Sue

Hi almukher,

Welcome to BE, I've moved your thread to our Moving Back to the UK forum for you.

With regard to security clearance etc, yes I think you may be at a disadvantage there. It will depend on the type of job and clearance level, but I believe you have to have lived in the UK for around 5 years. Even my son who was interested in joining the British Army a couple of years ago, and is a UK citizen, was told that he would have to have lived in the UK for 5 years prior to joining.

I also recall a member from a couple of years ago who had moved to the UK and secured a job offer for an MOD job, but wasn't able to take up the position because she hadn't lived in the UK for (I believe) 5 years immediately prior to her applying for the job. I think she had moved back to the UK from Australia.

For instance an example here states that, "Developed Vetting (DV) or DV cleared is required for individuals with substantial unsupervised access to TOP SECRET assets or for those individuals working in the intelligence or security agencies. To gain (DV) clearance you will normally have had to have been a resident in the UK for a minimum of 10 years."

You mileage may vary, but if you are looking at applying for jobs that need security clearance you should look into that in more detail so you are better prepared.

Tockalosh

Security clearance is out of the window for, I think 3 years

almukher

Thank you for your replies!! The security clearance does make working in the UK after returning there a difficult option, I guess.