Criminal check

Hello. 10 ago I completed a bachelors degree in England. As a student I was exempt from paying council tax. However as I left the country 2 months after my course finished, I was l supposed pay the council tax for these 2 months. As I was moving back to my home country I stupidly forgot to pay the council tax for these months (really beating myself up now for this)

Now I have an opportunity to work in the UK but I’m worried that I might have a criminal conviction because of the tax and I might have my visa rejected. Or in the future, even if my work visa gets approved, I would have an ILR rejected.

Is there a way of checking such convictions? I know that visa refusal could impact my applications to other countries too so I’d rather not apply at all.
I’ve heard of ACRO and CCJ checks, would they cover such instances?

Owing council tax isn't a criminal offence - it's a civil matter between you and the local authority.
Did you get a bill for the two months? If there was no bill then no issue - they need to tell you upfront how much to pay.
I don't think this would impact your future applications.

CCJ would only apply if the council took your debt to the county court, again not a criminal matter. Definitely not in ACRO.

Hi, thanks for replying.
Yes, there was a bill that I forgot to pay. If they had gone to court, which I understand might result in a civil penalty, would there be a way of checking that somewhere? Would that impact visas/IRL?
There are some sites where I can check for CCJ - if there are none, I wonder if that might mean that I’m in the clear.

This was in 2014 and I think since I left it might have gone to debt collection agency

Leela78 wrote: ↑

Thu May 09, 2024 6:52 pm

This was in 2014 and I think since I left it might have gone to debt collection agency

If you are worried still contact the council - If they don't know anything about it forget it. Just my opinion - after 10 years it can't be enforced as far as I know.