Common Character Mistakes – Traffic Offences, Spent Convictions and More
Most people have committed a traffic offence at some point in their life. However, when it comes to applying for Australian visas or even citizenship, that speeding ticket you received 5 years ago could potentially come back to haunt you with a visa cancellation or a visa refusal. Other minor offences such as drunk and disorderly behaviour, fighting in public or minor theft could all have the potential to affect your immigration plans.
Can my visa or citizenship be refused because of traffic offences?
When applying for visas or citizenship, the Department of Home Affairs (‘the Department’) will consider whether the applicant is a person of good character. The definition of what makes a person of good or bad character can be quite extensive and it is important that you are able to understand what consequences your previous behaviour can have on your application.
If you want to read more about what ‘good character’ is, we have a more detailed analysis in the following articles:
The short answer to the above question is yes. For our purposes, the concept of good or bad character is best illustrated by examples. A past case we had covered involved an applicant, whose citizenship application was refused because he had driven while holding a suspended license; and had a pending charge of exceeding the speed limit by 20 to 29 km/hour. This had been worsened by the fact that he had failed to disclose the second charge.
Another applicant had been refused his citizenship application and was labelled by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) as a ‘menace on the roads’ after having been found to have multiple traffic offences, including 25 speeding fines, driving without displaying his ‘L’ plates, driving on an expired licence and driving without the supervision of a qualified person while on a learner’s license.
Although it is unlikely that you will be refused because of a single mistake on the roads, you are at risk of being considered to be of ‘bad character’ if you have multiple offences and the Department could potentially form the opinion that there is a pattern of behaviour that could be dangerous on Australian roads.
Do I need to declare my spent convictions?
Spent convictions allow for an offence to be removed off from their criminal record if they are able to complete a crime-free period. Once a conviction is spent, it usually does not need to be declared anymore, except for in immigration matters.
A common mistake we see made is where applicants fail to declare their spent convictions based on the incorrect belief that it is not required anymore. However, many times we have seen that failure to declare a spent conviction can lead to a lot of issues in the future, including being unable to meet public interest criteria 4020 (PIC 4020) and having a visa refused.
One of our previous clients had failed to disclose her spent convictions on several of her past visa applications. AHC Lawyers was able to help her fight the visa refusal, however, this was a lengthy and arduous process that would have been prevented by disclosure in the application at the start.
Key Takeaways
It is important that all criminal offences be declared, regardless of how minor you think it may be or if it had previously been wiped from your criminal record.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You?
If you encounter a similar situation and need advice on your Australian citizenship matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers or Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law to seek professional advice by calling 02-8310-5230 or email us to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office.