Holiday visa with a criminal record?! Help!!
 

When I was 16 I was given a referral order for ABH by the magistrates court, when I was 17 I was given a fine for drunken disorderly. I am now trying to apply for an Australian visa for next year when I'll be 21.. it says if my conviction is under 6 months then I can apply for the ETA but I may be refused entry at the border ?? so apparently I might want to apply for the Tourist visa (subclass 600). Why would I be turned away at the border if my conviction sentence was under 12 months? Has anyone else had this trouble and can share any stories from experience

Re: Holiday visa with a criminal record?! Help!!
 

Apply for a subclass 651 eVisitor visa online. It's free for British citizens unlike an ETA. Providing you haven't been sentenced to 12 months, cumulatively or consecutively, then you remain eligible. However you must tick 'Yes' on the incoming passenger card on arrival in Australia. You'll be asked about your conviction and sentence. Just be completely honest and you'll be fine.

Re: Holiday visa with a criminal record?! Help!!
 

Thank you, my referral order resulted in 6 months community service. I received an email saying I'd be eligible for the evisitor but may want to consider the other one as I could be rejected at the border with the evisitor?! For what reason would I be rejected?

Re: Holiday visa with a criminal record?! Help!!
 

Because you are not an Australian citizen. Only Australian citizens have the right to be admitted to Australia. Everyone else can be turned away at the border. It's a very unlikely scenario, but not impossible.

Re: Holiday visa with a criminal record?! Help!!
 

Indeed. Anyone other than a citizen can be turned away at the border. This applies to any country, not just Australia. In practice if you are a genuine visitor and reply honestly to any questions then you won't have any problems.