Offered a Civil Service Job but Worried about PEC

Hi everyone, I've been offered a job in the Civil Service, but I'm a bit worried about the residency requirements. I've read that some roles need you to have lived in the UK for at least 3 years out of the last 5 years. The issue is, I was working abroad until November 2022.
I'm worried about the PEC. In the job ad, it only states "Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check," not something like "The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years."
The overseas police certificate also concerns me. I lived in Hong Kong before moving back to the UK, and obtaining the police certificate is quite complicated.
Thanks a lot for your help!

Hmm ok just had a look - the Zhong Kong one is slightly more complicated than the one I did. You can apply from the UK though, don’t forget you can always get advice from the consular.

I can apply from the UK by postage but the problem is payment - They don't offer online payment, and I do not have a cheque that pays HK dollars, this is the only payment method they accept,