richard88uk Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hi all Hoping someone can help, I have recently applied for my 417 visa with the following convictions; January 2003 - ABH. Received a warning at the police station and that was the end of it as offence was serious enough for any further action. March 2007 - Drink Driving. Received a 12 month ban and a fine. February 2014 - Drink Driving. Received a 48 month ban, small fine and 150 hours community service which was completed August 2014. I have now completed an Alcohol Awareness course which was offered to my by the courts, this also reduced my ban to 36 months. The Hobart Processing Centre contacted me and requested a Police Certificate and more in depth details on my convictions which I have sent them and received confirmation that they have received this. Can anyone with experience of a similar situation tell me how likely I am to being Granted? I have seen a lot of different views online, some people seem to think Drink Driving it very serious regarding Visa applications but then some say it is virtually irrelevant. Thanks a lot Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherries002 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Hi rich. not sure on what the likely outcome would be. My OH was banned for 12 months when he was approx 18, we have submitted the subject access form and we are waiting from the PCC for an overview etc. we submitted a letter which I wrote to support the conviction stating my OH was of good character and as the conviction was 30 years ago had never done so again. I also submitted a character reference from his employee to again support his good character so I'm hoping that this will help. Waiting game now for us, I sure hope we have no problems as I've spent a huge amount of money so far good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snmp Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Hi Rich, I have/had a drink/drive conviction from 2004. I applied for the partner visa and declared it on the application form and sent an old PCC that I had from applying for my US visa. My CO asked for details around the conviction and the circumstances (i.e what I was doing on the night in question and what I got from the courts. She also asked for an email detailing what I've done to rehabilitate myself- first offence, not been in trouble since....). My visa was granted no problems. I think the rehabilitation bit is the important part. Hope this helps & Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard88uk Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Thanks both of you. From what I have seen there are a lot of people that have been granted a visa with a lot worse than me, the general idea seems to be unless you have been to prison or had a suspended sentence of 12 months then you tend to be okay. Just takes a bit longer and a bit of extra work. I have already sent my ACPO certificate along with an explanation of each conviction, just got to wait and see now. I will keep you updated on what the outcome is and maybe this will help you know where you stand with regards to your applications Regards Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Sorry a bit off topic but would I be correct in thinking you won't be able to drive in Australia either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard88uk Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Sorry a bit off topic but would I be correct in thinking you won't be able to drive in Australia either? Yes that's correct, a UK driving ban also covers Australia. I think there are some countries that this doesn't affect and providing you do the local driving test you can drive there but the ban will cover Australia and New Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Thanks both of you. From what I have seen there are a lot of people that have been granted a visa with a lot worse than me, the general idea seems to be unless you have been to prison or had a suspended sentence of 12 months then you tend to be okay. Just takes a bit longer and a bit of extra work. The issue you have is that the second drink driving was a repeat offence committed recently and you are still serving the penalty. You should also be aware that the threshold for drink driving in the UK is higher than in Australia - actually coming in the mid range category. Sentence for mid range drink driving in Australia comes with huge fines, disqualification, interlock and jail for repeat offenders. It would not necessarily be seen as a minor thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard88uk Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 The issue you have is that the second drink driving was a repeat offence committed recently and you are still serving the penalty. You should also be aware that the threshold for drink driving in the UK is higher than in Australia - actually coming in the mid range category. Sentence for mid range drink driving in Australia comes with huge fines, disqualification, interlock and jail for repeat offenders. It would not necessarily be seen as a minor thing. Yeah I understand that being a repeat offence doesn't help the case at all. Really hope it doesn't stop me from going to Oz though, I would be gutted. Still haven't heard anything as of yet so still got my fingers crossed, hopefully will get a response in next couple of days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Yeah I understand that being a repeat offence doesn't help the case at all. Really hope it doesn't stop me from going to Oz though, I would be gutted. Imagine how the family of anyone you hit whilst drunk driving would feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard88uk Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Just incase anyone with a similar record is wondering i received my email on 22nd May notifying me my visa has been granted. So relieved! See you in September! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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