Government Job Commissions Worldwide: The Complete List by Country

Almost every country has a national body that runs merit-based recruitment into its civil service, plus separate state/provincial ones in federal countries — the same two-tier structure as FPSC (federal) and BPSC/PPSC/SPSC (provincial) in Pakistan. The USA has the Office of Personnel Management federally and a State Civil Service Commission per state; India has the UPSC federally and a State Public Service Commission per state; Canada has the Public Service Commission of Canada federally and separate provincial systems. We list the national/federal body for each country here, with a note on provincial equivalents where they exist.

Rarely, for most permanent civil-service posts — nearly every country reserves core civil service and public-administration roles for its own citizens, sometimes extending eligibility to permanent residents or specific nationality blocs (e.g. EU/EEA citizens for many EU-country roles, or Commonwealth citizens for some UK posts). A handful of technical or specialist positions are opened to expatriates in some countries (notably the Gulf states). Always check the specific vacancy's stated eligibility rather than assuming.

It varies by country's system. Exam-based systems (China's Guokao, India's UPSC Civil Services Exam, Japan's Sogo-shoku exam, South Korea's Gosi, France's concours) require passing a structured written exam and interview before you're eligible for a post. CV/application-based systems (the UK's Civil Service Jobs, the USA's USAJOBS, Canada's GC Jobs, Australia's APSJobs) let you apply directly to an advertised vacancy the way you would for a private-sector role, competing against other applicants on merit.

No — most run recruitment across every level, from entry-level administrative and clerical posts through to senior policy and leadership roles, usually organized into grades (e.g. South Korea's Grade 9 through Grade 5, or the UK's various Civil Service grades). Filter by the level shown on each listing, or check the specific commission's own portal for the full range of open grades.

Applying directly through a portal like USAJOBS, Civil Service Jobs (UK), GC Jobs (Canada) or APSJobs (Australia) is free. Countries with formal written exams (China, India, Japan, South Korea) typically charge a modest registration/exam fee, sometimes waived for specific categories (e.g. reserved categories in India's UPSC exam). No legitimate commission charges a fee to "guarantee" a result or to see vacancy listings — treat any request like that as a scam.

It depends on the country's system. Application-based portals (USAJOBS, Civil Service Jobs, GC Jobs, APSJobs, interamt.de) post new vacancies continuously, year-round. Exam-based systems typically run on a fixed annual cycle — China's Guokao and India's UPSC Civil Services Exam, for instance, each open registration once a year on a published schedule — so missing that year's window usually means waiting for the next cycle.