oliver27 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hi all, Wondering whether you can help (searched the internet already!). I am travelling to Australia in November for 3 weeks. I have applied and been granted an eVisitor visa, but noticed that one of the conditions is that I have no criminal convictions. I believe this is for a conviction that is 12+ months (whether served or not served, and no 'spent' applies). I have a DR10 from 10/11 years ago (stupid mistake when I was young). I can't find any documentation to this as it was so long ago, and have no idea whether this would be classed as a conviction (but presumably so) and for how long this conviction was for. All I remember was that I got a driving ban for 18 months, and a fixed fine. Didn't go to prison or community service etc. I have applied for a police check for £10, and will see what that returns, but wondered if any one has any information about this? Whether a driving conviction (drink driving) is classed as a conviction etc. And because I have already had an eVisitor approved, if it did turn out I need to change the visa type - how do I go about this? On another note, my partner is Australian, and we are giving serious thought to moving over there permanently in the next 1.5/2 years. I can do this on a de facto partner application (which should be fine as we can easily prove we have been living together for 1+ years), but the application fee is £3,700(ish) for stage 1, but doesn't give any texture on how much the application fee is to turn the visa into permanent 2 years after I have had the original visa. Has anyone got any idea of this also? Bit of an in-depth 2 X questions, but hopefully someone can help Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronyaur Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hi all, Wondering whether you can help (searched the internet already!). I am travelling to Australia in November for 3 weeks. I have applied and been granted an eVisitor visa, but noticed that one of the conditions is that I have no criminal convictions. I believe this is for a conviction that is 12+ months (whether served or not served, and no 'spent' applies). I have a DR10 from 10/11 years ago (stupid mistake when I was young). I can't find any documentation to this as it was so long ago, and have no idea whether this would be classed as a conviction (but presumably so) and for how long this conviction was for. All I remember was that I got a driving ban for 18 months, and a fixed fine. Didn't go to prison or community service etc. I have applied for a police check for £10, and will see what that returns, but wondered if any one has any information about this? Whether a driving conviction (drink driving) is classed as a conviction etc. And because I have already had an eVisitor approved, if it did turn out I need to change the visa type - how do I go about this? On another note, my partner is Australian, and we are giving serious thought to moving over there permanently in the next 1.5/2 years. I can do this on a de facto partner application (which should be fine as we can easily prove we have been living together for 1+ years), but the application fee is £3,700(ish) for stage 1, but doesn't give any texture on how much the application fee is to turn the visa into permanent 2 years after I have had the original visa. Has anyone got any idea of this also? Bit of an in-depth 2 X questions, but hopefully someone can help Thanks in advance! Hi, i think youd be ok with the DR10, but it wouldnt hurt to mention it on the landing card and then if stopped you can explain. As far as the stage 2 visa fee. There is none. Your initial visa cost is for both stages. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Drunk driving sounds like a criminal conviction to me. Did you declare it when you applied for your visa? If not, well I would want to clear this up now even if that means that you have this visa cancelled and start again. Otherwise you will have to either declare the conviction on the landing card, which then highlights that this is inconsistent with your visa, or you lie on your landing card, but this could be discovered later. For someone that maybe wants to move to Australia permanently in the future this is not a great start and just needs sorting. It is only convictions leading to sentences of more than 12 months that tend to be problematic, but that does not mean that these are the only ones that need to be declared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hi all, Wondering whether you can help (searched the internet already!). I am travelling to Australia in November for 3 weeks. I have applied and been granted an eVisitor visa, but noticed that one of the conditions is that I have no criminal convictions. I believe this is for a conviction that is 12+ months (whether served or not served, and no 'spent' applies). I have a DR10 from 10/11 years ago (stupid mistake when I was young). I can't find any documentation to this as it was so long ago, and have no idea whether this would be classed as a conviction (but presumably so) and for how long this conviction was for. All I remember was that I got a driving ban for 18 months, and a fixed fine. Didn't go to prison or community service etc. I have applied for a police check for £10, and will see what that returns, but wondered if any one has any information about this? Whether a driving conviction (drink driving) is classed as a conviction etc. And because I have already had an eVisitor approved, if it did turn out I need to change the visa type - how do I go about this? On another note, my partner is Australian, and we are giving serious thought to moving over there permanently in the next 1.5/2 years. I can do this on a de facto partner application (which should be fine as we can easily prove we have been living together for 1+ years), but the application fee is £3,700(ish) for stage 1, but doesn't give any texture on how much the application fee is to turn the visa into permanent 2 years after I have had the original visa. Has anyone got any idea of this also? Bit of an in-depth 2 X questions, but hopefully someone can help Thanks in advance! There is no fee for the PR stage. Yu pay the one fee up front at the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver27 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Firstly, thank you all for the replies and help! Drunk driving sounds like a criminal conviction to me. Did you declare it when you applied for your visa? If not, well I would want to clear this up now even if that means that you have this visa cancelled and start again. Otherwise you will have to either declare the conviction on the landing card, which then highlights that this is inconsistent with your visa, or you lie on your landing card, but this could be discovered later. For someone that maybe wants to move to Australia permanently in the future this is not a great start and just needs sorting. It is only convictions leading to sentences of more than 12 months that tend to be problematic, but that does not mean that these are the only ones that need to be declared. I've actually just looked into the specifics, and it says: The holder must not have one or more criminal convictions, for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) are for a total period of 12 months duration or more, at the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia. Also, if you google 'DR10 maximum sentence' this is 6 months max - so I don't have to put on my visa (according to the conditions) but if the landing card asks me to declare any convictions (regardless of length) then obviously I will. But like others have pointed out, I assume this wont be a problem, as it was a driving offence (albeit a stupid one) when I was young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Firstly, thank you all for the replies and help! I've actually just looked into the specifics, and it says: The holder must not have one or more criminal convictions, for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) are for a total period of 12 months duration or more, at the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia. Also, if you google 'DR10 maximum sentence' this is 6 months max - so I don't have to put on my visa (according to the conditions) but if the landing card asks me to declare any convictions (regardless of length) then obviously I will. But like others have pointed out, I assume this wont be a problem, as it was a driving offence (albeit a stupid one) when I was young How do you come to the conclusion that you don't need to mention it on the visa application. Its a conviction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Firstly, thank you all for the replies and help! I've actually just looked into the specifics, and it says: The holder must not have one or more criminal convictions, for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) are for a total period of 12 months duration or more, at the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia. Also, if you google 'DR10 maximum sentence' this is 6 months max - so I don't have to put on my visa (according to the conditions) but if the landing card asks me to declare any convictions (regardless of length) then obviously I will. But like others have pointed out, I assume this wont be a problem, as it was a driving offence (albeit a stupid one) when I was young All convictions must be declared. Failure to do so can result in serious consequences, including visa refusal/cancellation and and exclusion period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver27 Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 No, for an eVisitor you don't have to declare if you have a conviction (or multiple convictions) that are below the 12 month threshold: New Division 651.6 provides for the specified conditions to be imposed on a Subclass 651 (eVisitor) visa. New clause 651.611 provides that conditions 8201, 8527 and 8528 must be imposed on the holder of a Subclass 651(eVisitor) visa. Clause 8201 in Schedule 8 to the Principal Regulations that prescribes condition 8201 provides that the holder must not engage, for more than 3 months, in any studies or training while in Australia. Clause 8527 in Schedule 8 to the Principal Regulations that prescribes condition 8527 provides that the holder must be free from tuberculosis at the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia. Clause 8528 in Schedule 8 to the Principal Regulations that prescribes condition 8528 provides that the holder must not have one or more criminal convictions for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) are for a total period of 12 months duration or more, at the time of travel to, and entry into, Australia. Source: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_reg_es/mar20087n205o2008417.html And also: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_reg/mar20131n32o2013399/sch5.html I would have to mention the conviction (any) if/when I apply for a permanent residency (de factor partner visa as mentioned previously) and I will have to declare any convictions on my landing card - but not on my eVisitor visa (as my convictions don't equal 12+ months, as DR10 maximum conviction is 6 months).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver27 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Hi, I'm on the forum about to post another question, but thought I'd update this (for anyone googling!) - I was right in that I didn't have to declare this on visa (as not 12 month conviction), but did declare on landing card (as no stipulation as to length of conviction, just wanted to know about any criminal record). I did so, and a border guard just asked a few questions and took some notes. I told them it happened years ago, I haven't had any convictions since, etc. They asked where I was staying, etc. Actually seemed thankful that I was honest about putting it on my landing card, and they were just going through the motions I felt (rightly so)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.