Eligibility
Everyone who applies to join HM Prison Service must meet minimum eligibility requirements. There are also additional requirements for employment as a Prison Officer.
Age
Applicants must be aged 18 before they can be appointed. The normal retirement age is 60, however people may remain in post until 65. Due to the complex training involved with this position people aged 63 and over can not be offered an appointment.
Nationality
The Civil Service nationality rules apply to all posts in the Prison Service. In order to be eligible for employment an applicant must be one of the following:
- A commonwealth citizen
- A British Protected person
- A national of the European Economic Area (EEA) (see below)
- Non-EEA nationals who are family members of an EEA national from another member state (non-UK) who has moved to the UK for an approved purpose.
The category of family members are:
- The EEA national's spouse (this does not normally include the spouse of a UK national)
- A descendant of an EEA national or the spouse who is under 21 years of age
- A dependant relative in the ascending line of the EEA national or the spouse
People with any other nationality cannot be employed in the Prison Service unless they fall within the terms of the Aliens' Employment Act 1955.
List of European Economic Area (EEA) Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria**, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania**, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland*, United Kingdom.
*An international treaty means that from 1 June 2002 Swiss nationals have a similar right to live in the UK as EEA nationals.
** From 1 January 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the EEA. The UK is limiting access for low-skilled workers from these countries to its labour market, restricting them to existing quota based schemes which will fill vacancies in the agricultural and food processing sectors. Skilled workers will continue to be able to work in the UK if they get a work permit, qualify under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, are a student, or self employed. Consequently Prison Service vacancies are not currently open to nationals from these countries.
British and non British citizens, who are resident overseas and fulfil the requirements, are eligible to apply but should note that it may not be possible to carry out the full vetting procedures whilst they are living abroad. If this is so it may not be possible to offer them a full position.
Immigration
You must be free from immigration control and have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Residency
Prison Officer posts require a national security vetting level and for these posts applicants should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for three years prior to their application.
In certain circumstances it may be possible to obtain the necessary security clearance for applicants who do not meet the residency requirements. However, this would need to be considered on an individual basis.
Membership of groups or organisations considered to be racist
You must not be a member of a group or organisation that the Prison Service considers to have racist philosophy, aims, principles or policies.
Freemason declaration
Government policy requires all new appointees to certain posts in the criminal justice system to declare whether or not they are Freemasons. This policy applies to all Prison Service posts. Any offer of appointment will therefore be conditional upon you completing a declaration about whether or not you are a Freemason.
Bankruptcy
You must not be an undischarged bankrupt.
Criminal Records Bureau
If the post applied for involves contact with children under the age of 18, appointment will be subject to an enhanced disclosure being obtained from the Criminal Records Bureau. This is a check to ensure you are a suitable person to work with children. Therefore if one of your preferred establishment options is a young offender or juvenile prison then this check will need to be completed.
