Posted on the 6th August 2025 in PHTM News

INVERCLYDE COUNCIL CONSIDERS RELAXING CRIMINAL RECORD RULES FOR FOREIGN TAXI DRIVERS

Inverclyde councillors are set to review the rules on criminal record checks for taxi driver applicants who were born outside the UK, with officials noting an increase in applications from foreign nationals.

A report to be presented to the council's "general purposes board" on August 13 highlights that while a Police Scotland criminal record check is mandatory, it "does not reveal details of any convictions outside the UK."

The current policy requires applicants to provide a criminal record check for any country where they have lived for six months or more. However, the report states that "applicants from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan etc. have advised licensing staff that they are unable to obtain a criminal record check from their country of origin due to the conflict within such countries."

The council’s licensing staff have faced "increased challenges from both applicants and their advisers" when rejecting these incomplete applications. To address this, the report proposes three options for the board's consideration:

  • Option 1: Maintain the Status Quo. Applications without the required international criminal record check would continue to be considered incomplete and would not be processed.

  • Option 2: Case-by-Case Consideration. The requirement for international criminal record checks would remain, but applications could be processed with a letter explaining why the documentation could not be obtained. These would then be considered individually.

  • Option 3: Waive the Requirement for Long-Term UK Residents. The international criminal record check would be waived for applicants who have lived in the UK for a minimum of five years immediately before applying.

The report also mentions that at least 12 other Scottish local authorities have specific policies on this issue. For example, Edinburgh's policy allows an exception for applicants who have lived in the UK since childhood and cannot get a criminal record check from their home country for the period they were a minor.


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