MJ91 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Hi all, I am currently looking to travel to Australia on a WHV and have a minor criminal record from when I was 16 (9 years ago). I was arrested for a public order offence and did not receive a custodial nor suspended sentence, I received a referral order which meant that I had to attend a couple of sessions with a youth offender program. I have completed a lot of research online and as I did not receive a custodial/ suspended sentence I am hoping that I should be ok with my application, however I am mindful that I will likely have to submit an ACRO certificate (I have been through this process previously whilst applying for an American visa and was successfully granted a ten year visa). If there is anyone who has been in a similar position or is familiar with the application process could you please advise of any unforeseen issues that I may encounter and potentially advise on what this may do the the timescales with regards to the processing of my application? Many thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispeck Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 I haven't dealt with a case like this, but I think you are right, as you didn't receive a custodial sentence you should be fine. Be up front and honest about it. If you have to do a police check, then it will either come up, or maybe not given you were a minor? I wouldn't expect it to slow things down, it's a minor event, and the visa is a temporary visa, it's not like they are giving you PR or anything! See if you get someone else who has had a similar case to reply, and if they contradict me then go with their advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ91 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 I haven't dealt with a case like this, but I think you are right, as you didn't receive a custodial sentence you should be fine. Be up front and honest about it. If you have to do a police check, then it will either come up, or maybe not given you were a minor? I wouldn't expect it to slow things down, it's a minor event, and the visa is a temporary visa, it's not like they are giving you PR or anything! See if you get someone else who has had a similar case to reply, and if they contradict me then go with their advice! Thank you for your reply Chris, much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Hi all, I am currently looking to travel to Australia on a WHV and have a minor criminal record from when I was 16 (9 years ago). I was arrested for a public order offence and did not receive a custodial nor suspended sentence, I received a referral order which meant that I had to attend a couple of sessions with a youth offender program. I have completed a lot of research online and as I did not receive a custodial/ suspended sentence I am hoping that I should be ok with my application, however I am mindful that I will likely have to submit an ACRO certificate (I have been through this process previously whilst applying for an American visa and was successfully granted a ten year visa). If there is anyone who has been in a similar position or is familiar with the application process could you please advise of any unforeseen issues that I may encounter and potentially advise on what this may do the the timescales with regards to the processing of my application? Many thanks in advance Probably won't affect whether you get the visa or not but Australia has really clamped down on character issues and they all seem to take a lot longer than they used to, so be prepared for a delay in processing while it goes through the character unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ91 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Probably won't affect whether you get the visa or not but Australia has really clamped down on character issues and they all seem to take a lot longer than they used to, so be prepared for a delay in processing while it goes through the character unit. Thank you for your response. This may be a question that you are unable to answer but do you have a view on the potential timelines? My partner applied for her visa at the same time as me and it was approved within 1 minute however there has been no movement on mine as yet. I am assuming it is awaiting allocation to a Case Officer, we applied last Thursday. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Thank you for your response. This may be a question that you are unable to answer but do you have a view on the potential timelines? My partner applied for her visa at the same time as me and it was approved within 1 minute however there has been no movement on mine as yet. I am assuming it is awaiting allocation to a Case Officer, we applied last Thursday. Thanks Haven't a clue I'm afraid. I know I have read a few posts on here from people going for tourist visas since the character rules got tighter, and some of them have had to wait a few months, but I can't remember what offences they had. Try searching the forum for posts about the 'character unit' or even using the word 'convictions' and you might turn something up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Thank you for your response. This may be a question that you are unable to answer but do you have a view on the potential timelines? My partner applied for her visa at the same time as me and it was approved within 1 minute however there has been no movement on mine as yet. I am assuming it is awaiting allocation to a Case Officer, we applied last Thursday. Thanks I would have guessed at a few weeks, based upon similar cases I have seen in past. But it does vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ91 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Thanks for the advice all, much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.