Spellbound

Just checking out Form 80 and am now worried about the following question:-

Q29 - Have you etc been convicted of or found guilty of, ANY offences overseas or in Australia (include all traffic offences which went to court) etc

My husband (principle applicant) has just been caught drink driving and is due in court on Sep 11th 07.

Will this effect our visa application? Will this mean that he will fail the character assessment?

Before the moral brigade get stuck in, there are mitigating circumstances as to why he was driving after drinking, which he freely admits does not excuse the fact that he was.

biggles7374

would think it would affect your application

gina and danny

i wouldnt worry to much i just found this on the dimia website,

The character test
A person will fail the character test where:

they have a substantial criminal record
they have, or have had, an association with an individual, group or organisation suspected of having been, or being, involved in criminal conduct
having regard to the person's past and present criminal conduct, the person is found not to be of good character
having regard to the person's past and present general conduct, the person is found to be not of good character
there is a significant risk that the person will engage in criminal conduct in Australia, harass, molest, intimidate or stalk another person in Australia, vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community, or represent a danger to the Australian community or a segment of that community.
See: Fact Sheet 78 - Controversial Visa Applicants
Substantial criminal records
A person is deemed to have a substantial criminal record if they have been:

sentenced to either death or life imprisonment
sentenced to a term of imprisonment for 12 months or more
sentenced to two or more terms of imprisonment (whether on one or more occasions), where the total of those terms is two years or more
acquitted of an offence on the grounds of either unsoundness of mind or insanity and, as a result, the person has been detained in a facility or institution.

Wendy

You should be OK, try not to worry. Definitely declare it, and get your OH to put a letter in with your application explaining the circumstances.

Spellbound

Thanks for the replys, this visa application stuff really puts you on edge!

I did find some more information about character assessments and although the charge is serious, it is a once only occurrence and out of character, so to speak. My husband has prepared a statement for the court with regards to the circumstances, so we will include this with the form.

jutang

I think the character assesment refers to people who have a past and present criminal past, not just a one off occurance. I would of thought anyways. I got cautioned for smoking a joint @ a festival 13 years ago and I wouldnt of thought this would have any impact when I applied for my WHV as I do not consider myself to have a past and present criminal past. I just ticked the box saying no to convictions and I was allowed a WHV.

With regards to PR application you need to fill out a character assessment form, which asks you then if you have ever been found guilty of an offence, which obviously I would and your husband would need to tick yes, but I wouldnt of thought a one off occurance will justify anyone failing a character test, unless you killed someone or something just as bad.

lindylui

Ive just completed my Form 80 after i got my Police clearance from the federal police and ive been done for speeding that many times that im on a probationary licence and there is nothing on it to say that, it clearly states no offences commited. hope this helps

Spellbound

My husband was caught drinking and driving which is a more serious offence that speeding. We have applied for a police report and he does come up with the criminal offence of d.u.i.

Since I posted last, he has been to court and pleeded guilty and received a six month ban. He has to wait for a month and then he can apply for a day license and drive to work and back. I agree with others on this site, that although it was a serious offence, it was out of character and there was a genuine reason as to why he drove that evening, which we will include as a covering letter along with our application. I dont think that he will be classed as having a bad character in the overall scheme of things, so not panicking now.

Thanks for your reply though.

Dorothy

I don't mean to start anything here, but there is NEVER an excuse/reason for drinking and driving. The son of one of my closest friends was hit by a driver who also had a "good reason" to be driving after having a couple of drinks and suffered permanent brain injury.

Vegemite

No there's never a good reason, except I don't think she was after that sort of advice, I think she understands what you are saying anyway.

Cheers,
V.

sammyg

They may look into it, but i would think it would be ok as they are really only bothered about people that have been in prison.

Dorothy

I'm not interested in whether she was looking for that kind of advice. The statement stands that there is NEVER a genuine reason for driving drunk. It also statistically stands that he did it many more times before getting caught. Probably all with "genuine reasons".

Gonnago

You got me all nosey and curious as to what the valid reasons are? Not judging at all just really nosey lol.

jutang

Say no to drink driving!! Not worth it. I have been speaking to immi recently and they always say it depends on every individual case with regards to forms being accepted or rejected. You just need to be honest and prob worth hiring an Immigration Agent.

Spellbound

I just knew that I would get the 'moral' police on this thread somewhen, somewhere!

I wouldnt normally entertain them with a response but here goes:

No, absolutely nothing justifies drinking and driving.

My husband for the record has never drunk and driven in his 25 years of driving. In the UK, it never happened as we made conscious choices, it was extremely serious and we lived fairly close to the pub!

We now live in NZ, having emigrated. We have no family or freinds to rely on and totally rely on each other.

The evening in question, my husband had a few beers in the evening whilst watching telly at home and had gone to bed. I, who dont drink, had left the home at 11 pm to collect my teenage daughter and freind from a party and was involved in a small accident. I telephoned my husband , upset and shaken and asked him to come and collect us and in our moment of crisis, he set off to rescue us.

We didnt think, simple as that and on hinesight we could have made a number of other choices but we didnt.

We absolutely agree that their is no justification for drinking and driving, we made an error in judgement, in a moment of stress and now have to live with the consequences and comments we will have to endure from the 'moral brigade'.

I for one, just wouldnt want to live up to those very high standards as I would be worried about falling from that great height!