Tier1:Traffic offence

Hello friends,

Question 6.9, of the section 'Part 6 Previous Applications and Travel History' in VAF9 form for Tier1 General asks 'Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including traffic offenses)?'.

A few months ago, i got a notice from the bangalore traffic police for using a mobile phone while riding on a bike. I was expected to pay a fine. I payed the fine and they recorded my drivers license details and gave me an acknowledgment receipt for the fine paid.

Question: Is this considered a 'traffic offence' ? Should i mention this in the VAF9 ?

Kindly advise.

Regards,
tier1seeker

Hello,

Please see the following post to see the discussion about this question.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=33982

Well,

Let me logically arrive at the possible solution.

1. WHY YOU SHOULD SAY YES
I know a friend of mine who committed a traffic offense in UK ( speeding ticket). He paid the fine in UK.

He got his visa after answering the question as YES and submitting the relevant proof. I can share the cover letter template , if needed.

2. WHAT IF YOU SAY NO
Technically, Answering a NO should not create any issues as the definition of offense is slightly unclear.

Worst case scenario would be UK BHC gets to know ( " somehow " ) that there has been such an incident against your name. This leads to rejection of application and ban into UK for 10 years.

3. FINAL SOLUTION
a) Write an email to VFS South ( to ensure you have written evidence of conversation with VFS) stating your situation and act accordingly.

OR

b) Answer YES , Mention clearly in your cover letter that the offense is not serious ( maybe, get a letter from the traffic police stating the degree of offense, et al ??)


Conclusion:
Answering YES doesnot mean, Application will be marked RED.
Answering NO does mean a lot of prayers to be done on your behalf!!

All teh best mait!!

tier1seeker wrote:Hello friends,

Question 6.9, of the section 'Part 6 Previous Applications and Travel History' in VAF9 form for Tier1 General asks 'Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including traffic offenses)?'.

A few months ago, i got a notice from the bangalore traffic police for using a mobile phone while riding on a bike. I was expected to pay a fine. I payed the fine and they recorded my drivers license details and gave me an acknowledgment receipt for the fine paid.

Question: Is this considered a 'traffic offence' ? Should i mention this in the VAF9 ?

Kindly advise.

Regards,
tier1seeker

Hi I bet immigration officer won't be able to find any traffic offence record from banglore office even you can't find it.. Traffic offece means where you had been taken to court.. I would say simply No to this!

Hi

I definately agree to Kaff

Rgds

I had traffic offenses, which I declared, and got my tier 1 general visa january 2009. I wanted to clear this up for anyone because it really worried me throughout my process.

The first traffic offense was 10 years ago and I didn't have any paperwork. I called the county it happened in and they didn't have any record because it had been paid and deleted. It was a red light violation and I never went to court, just paid the ticket.

The second was speeding on the highway about 4 years ago. I had the paperwork (including traffic school and court payment receipt.) I never went to court but I paid a fine.

I marked "yes" in "have you ever been convicted" and explained briefly that they were minor and I wasn't sure I should declare them since I never went to "court" - but that I was declaring them just in case and to be up front and transparent.

Then in my cover letter I gave a little more of an explanation. I also (probably overkill) submitted my DMV printout and explained my driving record is currently clean. I also explained I didn't have the 10 year old paperwork and neither did the county where it occurred. I submitted the paperwork I *did* have for the more recent violation.

I sweated a little bit, and their "confirmation of receipt" email said "your visa will take more processing. up to 15 days..." My girlfriend's email was more like "you may be approved in 24 hours... but maybe 5-15 days." That made me worry, but bottom line is I got my visa - and after like 10 business days.

DECLARE YOUR TICKETS. Even if you never stepped foot in court. In my experience you'll be just fine.

Not worth the risk of losing $1000 if they find something - or the horror story of the guy that got denied his tier 1 renewal because they found some old tickets he didn't declare (and they didn't find) on his *first* application.

checkmate wrote:I had traffic offenses, which I declared, and got my tier 1 general visa january 2009. I wanted to clear this up for anyone because it really worried me throughout my process.

The first traffic offense was 10 years ago and I didn't have any paperwork. I called the county it happened in and they didn't have any record because it had been paid and deleted. It was a red light violation and I never went to court, just paid the ticket.

The second was speeding on the highway about 4 years ago. I had the paperwork (including traffic school and court payment receipt.) I never went to court but I paid a fine.

I marked "yes" in "have you ever been convicted" and explained briefly that they were minor and I wasn't sure I should declare them since I never went to "court" - but that I was declaring them just in case and to be up front and transparent.

Then in my cover letter I gave a little more of an explanation. I also (probably overkill) submitted my DMV printout and explained my driving record is currently clean. I also explained I didn't have the 10 year old paperwork and neither did the county where it occurred. I submitted the paperwork I *did* have for the more recent violation.

I sweated a little bit, and their "confirmation of receipt" email said "your visa will take more processing. up to 15 days..." My girlfriend's email was more like "you may be approved in 24 hours... but maybe 5-15 days." That made me worry, but bottom line is I got my visa - and after like 10 business days.

DECLARE YOUR TICKETS. Even if you never stepped foot in court. In my experience you'll be just fine.

Not worth the risk of losing $1000 if they find something - or the horror story of the guy that got denied his tier 1 renewal because they found some old tickets he didn't declare (and they didn't find) on his *first* application.

Agree completely.

@checkmate,

thanks a lot for the info mate. a very clear and to the point answer.
another friend also managed to get his tier1 visa after having declared his speeding tickets. will do the same.

regards,
tier1seeker

Very happy to help. Good luck!

hello friends,

i got my tier1 approved!!

got the passport on 5th feb, had applied on jan 19th. thanks everyone for clearing up my doubts about including the traffic offence in the VAF9 form.

I took checkmate's and other forum members' advice and included my offence details and the fixed penalty i had paid. I believed its worth the risk when compared to the fact that one could face an entry ban if they hid information like this (lets not get into a debate of how the caseworkers/IO's can come to know about traffic offences in India).

for the benefit of others i would be uploading my cover letter in a post soon.
(was working on a hectic schedule, could not post the news as soon as i got).

cheers,
tier1seeker

I'd also like to add that I reported my one at-fault accident back in 2003 and two speeding tickets in 2003 and 2004 (all in the US) on my VAF9 form, saying in the additional info section that I don't remember exact dates and only provided approximate fine amounts. The visa was approved in 2 days.