How to Conduct an International People Search

When searching for people and information from another country, it is necessary to utilize different resources than when you’re simply looking through public records available in the U.S. Each country exercises its own privacy and access laws, so there may be differences in the information you can access when crossing new borders.
 

Searching for People in the UK

If you want to find someone in the UK, you can begin by looking for them by name using a free online people search engine. You can often gain access to the person’s address, age group and even other family members in the area. It is helpful if you have city information when searching these records to provide a more accurate result. You can also simply use an online international phone book, or conduct a reverse search if you are receiving calls from an unknown overseas number.
 

Finding People Records in France

When searching for someone in France, you’ll likely use the official white pages of the country, known as “Pages Blanches.” You can search for a person or business name, and may search by geographical area to narrow your results. France also has a national directory of people where you can conduct reverse searches.
 

Canada People Searches

Much like the U.S., Canada employs official white pages where you can look up people by name and region or province, and even conduct a reverse search.
 

Search for People in Asia

When looking up someone in Asia, you must know which country they are located in. Each country in Asia has its own phone book and directory, including both people and businesses. Some cities also have their own official directories, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. Also keep in mind that many of these directories are only available in the native language of that geographical area.
 

Australian People Records

When using directories and official phone books of Australia, you need to keep in mind that the official Telstra directories are divided by territory and/or state. This means that you should have an idea of which area of Australia the person you’re searching for is located. 

New South Wales includes Lord How Island and Sydney; Victoria includes Melbourne; South Australia is where Adelaide is located; Queensland includes Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns; Hobart is in Tasmania, Darwin and Alice Springs are in the Northern Territor;, Perth is in Western Australia; and Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory.
 

German People Records

Searching for someone in Germany may require some knowledge of the native language to be successful. Many Germany directories are only available in German, and others may require you to search geographical areas using the German names of those cities and regions. For example, you will need to search for your person in the city of “Koln,” not “Cologne.”

Regardless of where the person you are searching for is located, each individual country will require you to utilize different types of international search engines and tools. The more information you have about the person, such as city, state or territory where they live, the faster and easier your international people search will be.