It's such a pain. For my current job I had to get a police good conduct report from Germany. Since it's Germany the request had to be notarized and pre-paid by bank transfer.
I guess I shouldn't complain. For a previous job I had to list every address for the past 10 years and phone numbers of people who knew me there. I'd been homeless and fairly nomadic so it took days to complete. It would be impossible if I tried it again. My 2 years on the road pretty much prevents me from doing the paperwork necessary for a security clearance.
I thought it's only me who thinks jobs have become stricter these days when it comes to background check!
I will try my best to keep this new job because I think soon they will probably do the same. I really don't have addresses to put the last 10 years. This process makes me feel stuck in a job and a place - unless I really make good money in the future and not having to work again.
Part of my City to City tour is to help me keep track of all the places that I stayed. If I ever have to do that type of paperwork again, I want to have all the info in one place.