davies1980

Hello!

I am wanting some guidance and advice please!

My husband and I love Canada, and really want to try to get over there. I have contacted his place of work as they have offices in Canada in various locations and may be able to help us by sponsoring him.

i have done one of the free assessment and that said we have past the 1st part. my main concern is that over 10 years ago my husband got a criminal record - he had fake money on him that he had been paid in - but got a record for it. in the UK these come off after 10 years, but I am worried this could effect our case?

we are hoping to move next year and would like to live near either Vancouver or Calagary and wanted some recommendations of nice towns close by?

also any websites with information would be fab!

just need guidance on where to go now ??

thanks in advance.

SkiBunny

Hi

You should try asking about your first question - about the criminal record - in the Immigration forum as there are people there who should be able to point you in the right direction.

As for areas to live, there are normally a lot of folk online later in the afternoon UK time who live out in Calgary or Vancouver. We have done some initial research with online maps and looking up real estate for sale on Google.ca as you can pick out crummy looking/ super expensive areas from that.

SkiBunny

Almost Canadian

The city limits of Calgary has loads of communities within it (very different to city living in the UK) and I'm sure you will be able to find a community within the city limits that you like. Perhaps if you gave the forum details of what you like/dislike you will get pointed in a more specific direction.

Outside of the city limits, Okotoks in the south Cochrane in the West and Chestermere in the East are nice towns - within 30 mins of downtown.

Can't really help you with other areas as these are the only ones we've really researched

kt0157

What does this mean? He went to court and got convicted? If he didn't get convicted, he doesn't have a conviction.

They may be "spent" in terms of UK law, but that doesn't apply to Canadian immigration assessment, which is carried out under Canadian law. The police may have deleted their records in the computer though (normal after 5 or 10 years depending on the offence and the circumstances). So it might not show up on a police check. Of course, you have a duty to declare it even if there is no evidence of it.

K.

Alberta_Rose

My hubby had a conviction I didn't know about ..... for "mooning" when under the influence, some 30 years earlier. He'd had a 25 pound fine and had forgotten all about it, but there it was on his record as a "sexual offence"!!

We had to mention this on the application and managed with some difficulty to obtain a copy of the court record with the charge and the result recorded, and we encloed a covering letter describing the event and assuring that he was a reformed character!

Our advisor checked the letter and cheerfully assured us that it would probably give the immigration officer a good laugh!

Anyway, we got in!

kt0157

So, a convicted sex-offender, eh? In the eyes of the Government (i.e. the tabloid newspapers) he is a danger to children, and banned for life from teaching, working in a hospital, or in a care home, or even driving a bus.

And people wonder why I want to quit the UK..

On a more serious note, you might want to challenge that record. There are procedures for complaining to the chief constable and asking for a highly misleading record to be expunged. It should normally have been deleted after 5 or 10 years (assuming no further convictions). The record of a bank robbery would be deleted by now!

K.

Alberta_Rose

Well that's what we thought too, but he did seek advice (can't remember who from) and was told that it could not actually be removed!

I mean it sounds awful in legal terms. I was horrified. The story was he was outside his house, and he and a friend had had a few and were being a bit noisy, when some disembodied voice shouted out of the darkness for them to shut up, whereupon (as 19 yr old boys are apparently inclined to do ) they both turned their backs on the voice and dropped their trousies!

Next thing he knew was a policeman at the door a day or two later with a warrant! The charge was "indecent exposure with intent to insult a female" if I remember the wording correctly. He pleaded guilty and paid the fine and thought that was it!

I don't know if it will ever affect us again, but it would be nice to know if it could be removedfrom his record!

davies1980

How long ago did you move to Canada?

can you help on locations close to Vancouver that would be suitable for us, we ideally would like a town with some bars etc but close enought to vancouver for a night out and for work!

Alberta_Rose

September last year. Sorry can't help with Vancouver questions.... we live in Calgary, Alberta!