# UK fiance visa - criminal record?



## skhan86 (Mar 10, 2013)

Hi all,

Me and my Fiance are applying for a visa for him to come to the UK, he is originally from the US and we had a few questions we were hoping you could help with..

A few months ago he got pulled over for drink driving (he hugely regrets it and will never do this again!). He spent the night in a cell and went through the courts. The courts knocked the conviction down to a violation and he was ordered to do community service and attend a few courses. My questions:

1. As this is not a criminal conviction should we declare it on the application?
2. He is still completing his community service, this should be done by April, should we wait until this has been completed to submit the application?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Saira


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## AmyD (Jan 12, 2013)

1. You must declare it.

2. He will have to wait for a period of time (I believe it is a year or three years) after the sentence ends until he can enter, depending on the severity of the crime.

Edited to add: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/goodcharacter/ It says: _If you have been convicted of a criminal offence and the spent period has not passed you must include details of the conviction on your application form. If the conviction is unspent at the time of your application, it is unlikely that your application will be successful._

I believe he will still be within the rehabilitation period, but you can look that up to be sure.


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## skhan86 (Mar 10, 2013)

Hi Amy,

Thanks for the reply. Even if he wasn't convicted and it was knocked to a traffic violation would this still count as unspent?

thanks,
Saira


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## AmyD (Jan 12, 2013)

Hi, 

I'm not sure what you mean he wasn't convicted. He had to be convicted to get community service, wouldn't he? Any traffic violation, unless it was a fixed penalty case, like a speeding ticket or a parking ticket, it has to be declared. Drunk driving is treated seriously here in the US and I'm *positive* there is a record of it. No matter what, he has to declare it. Don't attempt to keep anything from the UKBA. If they find out about it and you didn't disclose it, you'll have used deception which can lead to a ten year ban.

As for it being unspent, does he have probation? And if so, how long is it?


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## mehemlynn (Nov 16, 2011)

I think what you need to do is find out exactly what he was convicted of. Not having up to date registration in my state, if you are written up for it, is still a misdemeanor criminal conviction. If he had to do community service he was convicted of something, or they wouldn't have been able to force community service. Once you know exactly what he was convicted of, you can find out what the UK equivalent is and how long before it is spent.


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## skhan86 (Mar 10, 2013)

ahh I see, he was ordered to do 30 hours of community service which is almost up. I will get him to check with his lawyer exactly what it was for.

Thanks both,
Saira


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Drink-drive offence is considered spent after 5 years in UK, so a US conviction (violation) should be the same. So your fiancé has to declare it until 5 years after the violation. It doesn't automatically lead to a fiancé visa refusal, but should he re-offend, it will affect his application for settlemnet.


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