yasmin111

Hi I'm new to this forum but have seen some really useful infomation from other memebers so thought I'd post a question.

I'm an Aussie who is married to a Brit, now we are hoping to get his permanent spouse visa as we have been married for over 5 years and have 2 children so there would be no question of if our relationship was genuine however he does have prior criminal convictions that are all spent. There are 9 convictions however they are all petty such as driving without a licence, no insurance etc however nothing that would deem him as having a "substantial criminal record" however I am still concerned due to the number of convictions as Australia has such stringent rules regarding criminal convictions.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience and been sucessful in getting a visa or would speaking to a migration agent be my best option?

Many thanks

Summer05

you should really seek some advice from professionals like George Lombard at www.austimmigration.com.au or Allan Collet since your case seems a bit complicated.

Best of luck

desperatehousewife

To echo what summer said, probably worth contacting a reputable agent, they'll give you best advice, i would'nt imagine a forum like this will be able to give you a definitive answer and be aware it is public.

Hope everything works out for you

Lindsay x

langa

Hi a conviction is not a criminal offence howver such as murder or GBH or something sinister is i dont think you need to worry

desperatehousewife

Just wanted the OP to be aware that this is a public forum and can be read by anyone.

I think you might find that a conviction is indeed a criminal offence, in fact I believe an offence is a pre-requisite of any conviction hm:

Hopefully (and I'm sure probably: )the convictions mentioned by the OP are not serious enough to be a dealbreaker.

As I said before ignore advice on an online forum and contact a reputable agent

Good Luck

Lindsay

Pollyana

If they are all convictions of that ilk and all spent, they are unlikely to affect his chances of getting a visa - esp a spouse visa, as DIAC are usually more lenient on these. I have seen people with far far worse over the years get visas
He will need to declare them all, spent or not, and a letter explaining any extenuating circumstances would be useful - also if hey are old then something about how he has clearly reformed over the years, older and wiser etc......
They may well ask for character references from someone respected like school headmasters, police offciers that you know personally, solicitors - anyone in a good position in society, so have a think about who can vouch for his present good character.

Richard_Gregan

Spent convictions do not exist at International law. This is a term relating to the UK "rehabilitation of offenders" Act.

Australia will consider the entirety of the offending history.

If there are character issues involved in an application a reputable and experienced agent should be sought to represent you.

DIY migration is a very good thing unless there are areas such as "health" or "character" or "child custody" issues etc.

ponyrama

That is true however there have been several cases recently that have been taken to court of Human Rights where old conviction information from years ago has been disclosed to employers/immigration that has prevented people from gaining employment/visas. Three seperate cases supported by the Information Commissioner, three victories againts the police/ACPO based on the fact that the information was irrelevant and prevented them from exercising their right to earn a living, travel etc. The recent announcement by ACPO about "stepping down" of certain information was probably in anticipation of these judgements.

Therefore, where people have juvenile, cautionary or minor convictions from many many years ago - I would advise obtaining a police check from ACPO to see what infomation will be disclosed - at this moment in time you still need to declare everything for visa purposes but it may help you state your case if the information is no longer disclosed by ACPO as being relevant.

Sorry for the ramble - but I do think this is an important breakthrough for those people who had minor indescretions in their formative years who have spent their lives worrying about it ever since.

PaulandNic

And to think once upon a time all you needed to get into Australia WAS a criminal conviction!

JAJ

You only need to declare convictions as a rule - not accusations or some of the other police tittle-tattle that can appear on some "enhanced" disclosures.

ponyrama

I am only referring to convictions - those that are juvenile, cautionary (if you receive and accept a police caution technically its a conviction as you have admitted the offence) or those for minor offences.

"Tittle tattle" as you call it is only usually relevant if you need enhanced security clearance for some occupations such as working with children, in which case "tittle tattle" can prove extremely important.

JAJ

A caution is not a criminal conviction as it is not imposed by a court of law.

ponyrama

"simple" cautions are not criminal convictions but they are recorded on the police database and will be disclosed on police checks are they can be used to assess character - hence why they appear and are relevant for immigration purposes.

"conditional" cautions require that you admit the offence and allow police to impose a penalty which falls short of going to court, however if you fail to comply with the penalty imposed you will then be taken to court for the original offence. Again whilst they are not "criminal convictions" they are recorded on the police database and will be disclosed on a police check.

Correct me if I am wrong but the DIAC requirement is to prove you are of "good character" not to prove you have no "convictions". Therefore all of the above would be relevant and would require disclosure.

Richard_Gregan

There are provisions in The Migration Act to "fail them on character grounds" if;

the person's past and present criminal conduct; the person's past and present general conduct; ....... (give rise to concern to the minister )

There are specific amounts of imprisonment and other levels of seriousness of offending where an "automatic fail" would be triggered.

In practical terms a warning/caution in the dim distant past wont cause too much bother to a reputable experienced agent.

JAJ

The forms do not ask about cautions, as far as I can see.